Month: October 2019

Time is money and money needs managing  — safely.

Anyone who works in retail understands the challenges that go along with managing money, especially cash.  From the customer to the till to the safe to the bank, let’s face it, any number of things could go wrong along the way, the worst of which could be lost revenue, lost employees, lost customers, and even lost reputation. Smart safe technology is the solution.

If you’re a retail manager, you carry an even greater burden of daily stress. Even when you’ve hired good people and have a good process in place, there’s still the little nagging worry that follows you around each day.

Let’s look at a common sense approach to ensure safety of business cash if you do not have a CashWizard Smart Safe.

It goes without saying that some sort of safe should be used to store all cash, even if it’s small amounts such as petty cash. Cash register drawers should always be secured and under lock and key.

• Open safe only when two people are present.
• If cash is transported from one location to another, have at least two people present.
• Provide a cash count sheet which documents: Names of people removing cash from safe, Date/time cash is removed from safe, Date/time cash is returned to safe, Cash breakdown – coins, bills, checks, credit card slips, Two signatures for people signing cash
• When cash bags are removed from the safe, two people should be responsible for counting and signing the cash count sheet acknowledging that the recorded amount of cash is in the bag.
• When cash is handed off to the next person, the person accepting the cash should count the cash before accepting it and keep the signed copy of the cash record with the cash.
• When cash is returned to the safe, it should again be double counted and the cash count sheet should be signed by both parties.
• Bank deposit slips should match the cash sheets.

And then, of course, the money must get to the bank either by personnel or professional transport.

Now imagine that 90 percent of the above manual steps are automated with CashWizard Smart Safe technology. Not only does it add a layer of security, but it frees up the time spent having to manually handle and manage the cash.

Wouldn’t you rather ditch the stress and opt for a proven way to have better and safer cash management? If so, the simple solution is the AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe.

You and your employees will have more time to help customers and tend to other tasks that need your attention. Efficiency will be added to the overall operation of your business and your job as manager won’t bog you down with undue worry.

Now let’s look at the ways CashWizard Smart Safe will make your job less stressful and more enjoyable.

• Increase asset security and employee safety
• Free up managers’ time for other tasks
• Streamline business processes to increase efficiency and accuracy
• Decrease costs
• Eliminate errors
• Superior build including dead-latch locking mechanisms and anti-pry doors
• Multi Door Configuration with up to four single or bunch note bill readers
• Bill readers identify fraudulent notes
• Automated reports and alerts
• Spill–resistant keypad holding up to 500 users with easy onsite or remote user administration
• Web-based software management providing visibility to critical business information including daily deposits
• Program safe to push data to store’s point-of-sale system, ensuring all cash sales reported and deposits occur in a timely manner.

When register balances are easily reconciled, it alleviates anxiety about handling cash, relieving stress for managers and employees knowing cash receipts are secure and accurate within an automated platform.

The consistent reliability of the CashWizard Smart Safe System and its accountability also builds trust among employees and managers. Taking away stress and worry creates a more open, friendly work environment for everyone.

Contact us today!

Making the transition from selling your products on the web to an actual brick-and-mortar store can often feel like a daunting experience. Hiring employees, figuring out store displays, and dealing with all the paperwork can leave many web entrepreneurs wondering if it will eventually pay off.

Despite the convenience and popularity of eCommerce websites, 91.5% of all retail purchases are still made in a brick-and-mortar store. People want to touch and feel a product before they buy it. It not only adds a sense of trust but helps further establish your brand in the minds of your customers.

If you’re considering moving your online eCommerce business to a physical location, here are five things you should take into consideration:

Cash Flow

Brick-and-mortar business have many fixed monthly costs. Payroll, utilities, rent, and even local business taxes can add up really quickly. If you make the transition, you’re going to quickly need enough cash flow to get up and running—as it can take several weeks to a few months to see a measurable amount of foot traffic walk through your front door.

Just because your business is popular online, doesn’t mean that people off the streets will rush right in when you hang the “open for business” sign. You’ll need to advertise your physical location and then wait for the crowds to find you. A general rule of thumb is that it can take anywhere from six months to a year before a new business starts seeing a steady stream of customers.

Cash Management

While electronic payment methods are popular in retail environments, some of your customers will prefer to pay with cold hard cash. This presents several opportunities for theft and human error, which can take a tremendous toll on the bottom line of a retail business.

Adopting cash management best practices is an excellent way to limit risk and help ensure that there is a verifiable chain-of-custody that will keep your hard-earned money safe. It can also help cut down on the time managers spend tracking down errors and end-of-day reconciling.

Branding and Store Design

Designing an eCommerce website is a lot easier—and less costly—than it is to design a physical retail store. You’ll need to make sure that the shelving, display islands, and both interior and exterior décor match well with your branding.

There are also many psychological nuances to store design that can heavily influence sales. For example, 90% of consumers will tend to make a right hand turn when they first enter a store.

You can approach the layout of your store in one of two ways:

• Hire an expensive professional to design it and spare no expense
• Research online and design it yourself.

If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional retail store designer, there are plenty of online guides that go into much greater detail about the psychological principles and best practices of retail store design.

POS System

Choosing the right point-of-sale (POS) system is very important in keeping your business running smoothly. In addition to selecting the right vendor based on the features that they offer; you’ll also need to apply for several merchant accounts through the banks and credit card companies.

Even though a POS system costs more than a traditional cash register, it can save you money and headaches in the long run. They offer more security, can help save money on bookkeeping and accounting fees, and can electronically incorporate their data into CRM’s, various SaaS products, and even smart safes.

Smart Safe

A smart such, such as the CashWizard from AMSEC, can streamline troublesome cash management practices. It will help eliminate human error, theft, and reduce the amount of time your cashiers and managers spend dealing with cash.

A smart safe can also connect to the cloud, perform change order requests, and even allows for remote access and management. It performs manual tasks that are often prone to human error or internal theft. This will help free up the time of your cashiers and managers and allow them to focus their efforts on running your business.

Moving Your Business from Web to Offline

There are many things that businesses should take into consideration when moving from an eCommerce site to a brick-and-mortar one. While physical locations can have higher monthly operating expenses than a website, they can also make a lot more money—and aren’t solely dependent on traffic from Google and Facebook.

There are several tools, such as POS systems and smart safes, that can help increase efficiencies, secure your cash, and give you peace of mind at the end of the day. If you’d like to learn more about CashWizard smart safes, visit our website or give us a call at (951) 685-9680.

With multiple points of sale (POS), hotels and resorts have greater success with the addition of smart safe technology.

Because hotels and resorts accept cash at so many different points of purchase, it’s vital that cash management is effective and accurate. There are restaurants, bars, the front desk, gift / flower shops, and sometimes other areas where cash is transacted. Using an AMSEC CashWizard Smart Safe can streamline both accuracy and profitability, making cash handling and management less a problem and more a solution.

From the time cash is accepted to the time it’s deposited, your cash can be safe from theft, counterfeit losses, and human error by using a CashWizard Smart Safe. Following are some points to consider for hoteliers and resort owners to ensure cash management is secure, manageable, and profitable.

Well-Trained Employees

With multiple employees handling cash in different areas of your hotel or resort, it’s vital they be properly trained on your cash management system. Even with advanced cash management systems in place, human error can still occur and result in painful revenue losses.

Selecting a smart safe cash management system, ensures your employees will easily learn and use the simple process. Employees value smart safe technology for several reasons. First, they don’t have to leave the premises to make deposits, alleviating the worry of discrepancies, whether internal or external. And well-trained employees are usually eager to share what they know with new employees, instilling more confidence in the team overall.

Access to Relevant Data

Fast access to relevant data empowers your hotel or resort to make better decisions. Our smart safe technology supports a broad set of reports that lets you harness and interpret your cash business. Having real time access to this kind of data enables your managers to make important decisions regarding staffing, security procedures, banking, and other cash handling procedures.

To achieve greater efficiencies in business is difficult without the right level of relevant smart safe technology. Important, real-time visibility of cash status can enable smart money management and maintain the agility needed to compete and grow. Here are some of these key advantages:

• Web portal tools to view real-time cash status on digital devices
• Safe reports to view cash status on-site
• Ability to monitor multiple safes simultaneously, and across multiple locations
• Cash trend analysis tools
• Data breakdown by cashier, by department, by transaction type
• API for integration with POS allows for the coordination between the point-of-sale system (POS) and the smart safe
• On-screen guidance for cashiers of when to deposit cash into smart safe to avoid too much exposed cash

Established Security

Protecting your business from theft and fraud is important when you’re dealing with large amounts of cash, which can often be the case in hotels and resorts. A cash management solution that includes currency recyclers, cash counters, and cash management software will make your establishment’s cash management processes more secure, faster, and more efficient. You can avoid loss and maintain more productive, reliable employees.

Smart Safe Innovations from AMSEC

AMSEC was recently awarded a U.S. patent which governs the ability of its line of smart safes to automatically connect to a bank or third party to place a change order. Here’s how this recent innovation is a valued benefit.

AMSEC’s smart safes have secure chambers for receiving cash deposits and a sensor for counting the secured cash. The safes allow merchants to buy change in specific denominations. During the courier pick-up, the courier retrieves the cash deposited and delivers the change order. The customer is debited when the change order is placed and credited when the daily credit file is sent to the customer’s bank. This greatly simplifies reconciliation for the customer.

Contact us today to find out more about CashWizard Smart Safes.