Get a handle on your inventory . Don ’ t let food walk out the restaurant door . Your managers should have tremendous accountability with inventory control . Know what items your staff can freely access and consume , and put processes in place to track employee meals .
Invest in POS fraud software . Consider technology to be your friend . Fraud software , integrated with your POS and accounting systems , can help you stay on top of both real and fraudulent transactions . You can also track inventory by ingredient . And some systems allow you to remotely manage or review what ’ s going on at the cash register at any time and from anywhere through the cloud .
Standardize your processes . Document your house standards and processes , and share them with your staff . When do you expect staff to reconcile cash ? What is the procedure for closing the register for the night ? Who does it ? Do you have redundancies built into your processes to help reduce fraud ?
Execute a surprise cash count . Employees who commit fraud often do so when they ’ ve learned the routine of how your restaurant operates . Just like dropping off bank deposits at random times can throw off a robbery , the same routine disruption works in your restaurant . If a staff member has been taking cash from customers without entering anything into the register , they ’ ll probably wait until the end of the night to remove the cash . You can disrupt a potential thief by taking a reading at the register at random times throughout the day .
Embrace monitoring technology . In a study conducted at Washington University in St . Louis , researchers
Employees who commit fraud often do so when they ’ ve learned the routine of how your restaurant operates .
measured the effect of theft and fraud before and after the installation of POS monitoring software at 392 restaurants in 39 states . The researchers discovered that after installing the monitoring software , revenue per restaurant increased an average of about 7 percent . Restaurants also experienced a 22 percent drop in theft . Surveillance can change employee behavior .
Send the message that stealing and fraud won ’ t be tolerated . From the moment you hire an employee , communicate your core values , and set an expectation that you ’ re not going to put up with fraudulent activity .
There are certainly other small changes and precautions you can take to decrease the chances of fraud happening in your restaurant . But these are simple steps you can take now to save yourself a headache in the future . S
STACY SMITH , CPA , is a shareholder of Mize Houser & Company P . A ., a full-service accounting firm that has provided the Elevanta Accounting & Payroll Solution for FBS members .
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THESCORE | 2017 Issue 1