Restaurant point of sale systems have loads of features that POS salespeople love to talk about. Some are glamorous, others are flashy and some are unique to their product. When showing off these new and fancy features too often these salespeople forget about the basics and why cash registers were invented in the first place.

Preventing theft. That is the purpose of a cash register. Ringing up items and safely storing cash if the fundamental philosophy that created a now multi-billion dollar industry known as the Point of Sale Industry.

Why then are so many point of sale companies, software manufacturers and POS salespeople forgetting about the fundamental principles that are still valid in todays business environment? The answer eludes and frustrates me because valuable profits are being lost by not utilizing these basic and important features.

This is a series of articles about the fundamental features that every business should be using to stop employee theft, increase sales and increase profits.

Cash In Drawer (CID) Limit

This feature has been around since I started in the cash register business some 25+ years ago. I havent heard POS salespeople talk about this for over a decade and if it isnt being used in your business you are opening yourself up for theft and possibly armed robbery of your business.

All cash registers and point of sale systems track sales and tenders. They all know how much money, checks, gift cards, credit cards and other forms of payment are in each cash drawer/till.

Most cash registers and a few point of sale software companies have the ability to set a limit on how much cash should be in each cash drawer/till. When this limit is reached the cashier is notified and then can notify management to do a cash pull from the drawer. Some systems go as far as sending a message via pager/cell phone alerting management that a cash drawer/till is over the cash limit.

Management can then go to the drawer, pull out an amount of cash, count it and enter the amount removed as a cash pull. This amount is then removed from the cash in drawer amount and lowers the overall cashier responsibility.

Do not forget that every time the cash drawer/till is opened all the cash is exposed to view and to the temptation of everyone. Not only does the money become accessible to your cashier, it is also accessible to long-armed customers who have been known to reach across when the cashier was not looking.

What could be even worse is the fact that when the cash drawer/till is open potential robbers are able to estimate and determine if your operation is worth returning for a full-scale robbery.

Cashiers like this feature in that it reduces the amount of cash they are responsible for as the cash removed is deducted from their overall cash responsibility. Cashiers also like the fact that if there is less cash in the drawer they are less apt to have a gun shoved in their face during a robbery.

Owners like this feature in that it reduces the temptation to remove money from the cash drawer/till through employee theft or through robbery.

If you are an owner, wouldnt you like keeping more of the money in your cash drawer/till for yourself? Wouldnt you like to reduce the chance/temptation of an armed robbery? This old-time cash register feature now found in some point of sale systems could be the exact answer to your needs.

Check your current point of sale system to see if the cash in drawer feature is even offered. If you are looking at a new point of sale system you should make sure that the cash in drawer feature is offered.

Dont let technology dazzle you to the point that you forget about the basics features that you need to stop theft and increase profits. Those features that have been around for decades are still valid today.

Cash in drawer limits were considered an important part of any cash register and point of sale system for many years. The reason for the feature and the need to keep your cash safe never went away. Stopping theft is still a critical aspect of any point of sale system. That being the case, why should you settle for anything less than your business needs? Dont settle for less. Demand the cash in drawer feature.