Sept. 13, 2016

Three Reasons Why a Retailer May Need a Cash Dispensing System

Cash Management Systems

Cash Recyclers

Smart Safes

In prior blog posts we have discussed the value a smart safe brings to a business. In this article, we’ll expand on this and discuss ways a proven cash dispensing system can positively impact an organization’s overall cash management environment. A cash dispensing system and a smart safe work together to provide a secure, fully automated system for depositing and dispensing cash whenever required. Much like a smart safe, transactions from a cash dispensing system are completely auditable and can easily be programmed to enable the appropriate governance a store may require to help protect their cash and run their business.

A retail organization may reach a point in their business where a cash dispensing system makes sense. But what are these trigger points?

Here are three reasons why a retail organization may decide to adopt a cash dispensing system:

To expand their business

A convenience store may decide to expand its offerings to generate new revenue streams. Here are a few examples:

• Check cashing – stores can generate check cashing fees in exchange for offering a convenient means for their customers to cash their checks.
• Lottery tickets – stores selling lottery tickets may need to pay out winnings to customers, which will require a system to dispense cash whenever required.
• Money Service Business – a convenience store may decide to offer wire transfer services to its clients. If on a receiving end of a wire, the store will need to dispense cash to its client. Fees generated from this service represent a new revenue stream for the store.

To reduce labor costs

Without a cash dispensing system, a larger store, one with multiple cashiers, may quickly realize that the manual handling of cash at the start of a shift is an extremely inefficient, time consuming, and costly process. With a cash dispensing system, a cashier can fill his or her till in under a minute. In this scenario, the advantage of using a cash dispensing system is that start of shift funds can be pre-set per the store’s policy. Therefore, when a particular cashier logs into the system to dispense funds to fill a till, the exact amount of funds that is required will dispense. Each transaction is tracked, so balancing cash against the day’s point of sales data is much easier and efficient, which greatly reduces labor costs associated with manual balancing.

To enable better accountability and tracking of cash

With a cash dispensing system, each transaction is tracked to the individual cashier. It is very easy to determine funds that are checked out, at any given time. In addition, pre-determined amounts of cash can be set by the store manager or someone with higher authority, in order to provide the right oversight, governance, and overall security to the dispensed amounts. Similarly, with a pre-set amount of cash dispensed at the start of a shift, balancing cash at the end of a shift against a cashier’s point of sale data is much more streamlined. Discrepancies are reduced, which in turn minimizes the need to conduct investigations.

Summary

A retail store may evolve its business to the point where the exclusive utilization of a smart safe is no longer adequate for its cash management needs. Retail stores, particularly those that operate in an extremely competitive territory, are always looking at ways to differentiate their offerings, and create new revenue streams. In addition, labor costs continue to increase, so maximizing the efficiency of store labor is critical to success in today’s retail world.

From a cash management perspective, solutions exist that can help address a retailer’s journey of strengthening its offerings and becoming more competitive. A proven cash dispensing system, working in tandem with a smart safe, can offer the flexibility, convenience, auditability, and security required to help a store navigate this journey.

If you are a retailer that would like to have a better understanding of Tidel’s cash dispensing solutions, and how they can impact your business, please email [email protected] or call 1-800-678-7577.

Jan 9, 2022

How Retailers are Adapting to Today’s Labor Market

Cash Management Systems

Cash Recyclers

Smart Safes

The United States labor market has undergone many changes in recent years, the most significant of which is the shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based one. This change has enormously impacted the types of jobs available and the skills that workers need to succeed.

It has also resulted in the service sector’s sustainability and growth. There is a growing demand for workers in healthcare and technology, less so in manufacturing and other traditional industries.

Let’s explore the current labor market in the United States and the major changes that have impacted workers and businesses.

The Pandemic’s Effect on Labor

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the US labor market in many ways. In the early months of the pandemic, there was a sharp decrease in employment as businesses across the country closed their doors.

Since then, there has been gradual recovery as businesses have reopened and more people have returned to work.

But the pandemic resulted in a change in the types of jobs that are available. There has been an increase in demand for positions that involve providing care or assistance to others, such as home health aides and childcare workers.

At the same time, there has been a decrease in positions that involve close contact with customers, such as servers and bartenders. Many workers have left to explore new career paths with higher pay and better benefits than what the restaurant industry offers.

Retail Stores Are Reducing Hours

Since the pandemic, many retail stores have reduced work hours or closed altogether. Operating hours have been limited due to the labor shortage. Employees are rejecting the offer of the same exhausting shifts pre-pandemic and are not settling for such working conditions.

In the past two years, more people also explored other opportunities, which has seen more people leaving their jobs. Called the Great Resignation, it forced many companies to explore different ways to manage their stores or businesses with limited staff.

Restaurants Are Closing Dining Areas

Many restaurants have closed their dining areas because of the difficulty in finding wait staff to service them. The extended lockdowns and social distancing requirements made it difficult for many restaurants to offer in-dining experiences, resulting in layoffs and closures. And former employees no longer want to return to the positions they left behind.

This trend has been troubling for the restaurant industry, which is still slowly recovering from the pandemic. Finding staff is a tremendous struggle, and business owners have explored other ways to provide good customer experiences.

Minimum Wage Is Increasing

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. However, many states have set higher rates, with some having multiple minimum wage rates (for example, one rate for workers in the retail sector and another for those in hospitality).

In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.

Since the pandemic, there has been a push by many workers in the retail and service industry to raise the minimum wage more quickly.

Business Owners Now See Automation as a Labor Solution

Many retailers and business owners are now exploring technology and automated solutions to manage scarce labor resources and high inflation. Automation opens new possibilities, so staff can focus on improving customer experience and service, instead of dealing with repetitive tasks.

Self-service kiosks and self-checkout systems are examples of a retailer’s automation strategy, and the trend of implementing such solutions is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Business owners and retailers are also implementing solutions that  automate cash handling processes within their store. Smart safes and cash recyclers negate the need for employees to manually count cash and deal with the challenges that go along with it. This frees them up to focus on more complex tasks to improve operations and enable a better shopping experience for their clients.

These are the best solutions in today’s labor market, which continues to trend toward automation, machine learning, and digitization.