Cash-handling regulations have become an integral part of business in the 21st century. Businesses that handle sums of money need to implement regulations that will protect the company and employees from fraudulent activities, human error and theft. Proper regulation includes linking employees to register transactions, daily deposits and regular audits, clear and precise refund policies and managerial staff to account for financial transactions. These simple procedures can help business owners track all incoming funds and detect issues concerning business profits.
Mistakes
Although business owners may wish that human error was a curable phenomenon, it is not. Employees may give incorrect change, ring up merchandise or services incorrectly or just miscount totals. These actions can result in a shortage of funds, excess funds or several refunds and confusing transactions. Assure employees that if they make a mistake, they should alert a supervisor as soon as possible. If the mistake is caught early enough, it may be remedied. However, after an employee leaves for the day it will be harder for supervisors to unravel the faulty transaction.
Accountability
One of the most effective cash-handling regulations is accountability. Employees should have to log in to the register or otherwise be accountable for transactions made on their register. Accountability may sway a would-be thief as well as allow supervisors to reference the right employee over questionable transactions.
Deposits / Audits
Supervisors and senior staff members should make regular deposits. Each deposit should be audited for accuracy. A copy of the register tape can be used as a reference to balance transactions against the original bank. Sale transactions should match cash, checks and credit card transactions. Regular accounting and auditing can catch mistakes as well as missing funds before either becomes a serious problem.
Refunds
Employees should not be able to make payouts from a register. With the exception of giving out change, there is no reason for an employee to remove money from a cash register. However, returns and refunds must be accommodated. It is important to implement procedures to accurately handle these situations. Preferably, a manager or supervisor should be present and should approve all refunds. This way, the employee must present evidence of a refund as well as allow the supervisors to make the transaction. This point needs to be stated in advance of an employee's first refund request.
Protection
Having cash-handling regulations in place protects the employer and employee. Employers must ensure that all monetary transactions are accounted for to avoid losing revenue through excessive mistakes and employee theft. But employees also gain protection from effective cash-handling regulations. Employees do not want to be accused of something they did not do, and knowing that mistakes can be addressed will relieve a certain amount of the stress associated with handling other people's money.
