Top 10 tips for operators to safeguard your money

1. ​​Make money by saving it​​

It is essential for operators to not only look for ways to make money, but also to save it.

The key is to have a solution that identifies opportunities where it can be saved, in such areas as expenses, labour and cash management.

2. ​​Track your sales from your tills to the bank​​

Safeguard your money and ensure you have a solution that has the ability to track sales directly from your tills to the bank. You can then see the transactions move from your EPOS solution, into your daily takings, which in turn will be reflected in your banking.

This way you can guarantee every penny is completing its journey through a simple, regular reconciliation process.

3. ​​Do you really know what you’re spending?​​

You’ve worked hard to drive revenue into your business, but this is pointless if each and every penny is not making its way into your bank account. With so many outlays every month it is easy to forget that it is the cash that truly matters, especially when you factor in launch events and marketing campaigns, which can hit cash reserves hard. This is why it is important for operators to have an in-depth back of house solution that can monitor all expenses, which in turn will accurately reflect financial performance.

4. ​Ensure your EPOS solution is up to the job​​

With most operators now being 2nd or 3rd generation EPoS users, it is important to review your current system to ensure you are utilising the latest technology.

What you’re looking for is a single, intelligent solution, which has the means to access and analyse data across all sites, whilst still being easy enough for the whole team to use. The beauty of this is that it will provide your business with a back-of-house solution if cash loss is an issue, whilst applying all the relevant controls.  

5. Say goodbye to spreadsheets​

When it comes to thinking smartly about cash management, you have to ditch the Excel spreadsheets! Multiple spreadsheets for numerous financial processes will hinder your business, and be a drain on your resources.

Human error is inevitable, your trusty spreadsheet can easily be tampered with and your hard drive could crash losing everything. Savvy operators choose one single platform solution which is easy to view, easy to use and easy to manage.

6. ​​One solution to manage and view multiple-sites​​

When running a multi-site operation it is vital to be able to monitor the whole estate from one central location. By adopting this approach, operators can see the performance of each individual site, easily identifying any underperformers.

7. ​​Be operationally efficient with your cash​​

To do this you need to streamline. Don’t waste valuable resources having multiple systems for your rota, payroll, business analysis, cash and banking, instead streamline your processes by incorporating them into one solution which will allow you to manage your whole estate. This will provide you with a complete picture of how each site is performing against forecast and each site’s sales breakdown.

8. ​​Be effective with your reporting​​

Make the most of reporting functions. Intelligent reporting will allow you to track performance of each individual site, whilst also providing you with valuable insight into your sales with trend analysis across one or multiple sites

9. ​​Technology can control your labour costs​​

Effective labour management is an easy way for you to avoid unnecessary costs. Technology is helping by aligning suggested staffing numbers with financial forecasting, ensuring your labour spend is at the correct level.

This will help you track the amount you are spending on labour. Gone are the days of overstaffing – today it is all about optimisation based on service levels.

10. ​​Security keeps your cash guarded​​

You should have a back of house solution that requires different levels of security control. The ideal situation would be for management to input all financial data, whilst head office monitor the input of this data across multiple sites.

The beauty of this is that you can instantly see in the bank reconciliation what has been declared, whilst monitoring banking on a daily basis, which significantly reduces the risk of lost revenue