Making Cash Handling Safer And Cost-Efficient In Medical Dispensaries
July 07, 2021
With the change in administration, there is hope on the horizon for dispensaries. With the potential for movement on federal laws, a lot more banking options will open up. However, with other priorities to focus on, such as taming a pandemic, it could be years before changes in the medical dispensary industry start to be seen.
Where We Stand Now
The realities of running a medical or recreational dispensary mean that there are some clear challenges for all business owners in this industry. To find the right solutions, it helps to have a clear understanding of the most pressing concerns that dispensary owners face.
Mostly Unbanked
Federal restrictions mean that using any federal bank is impossible. As this so severely limits business options, it means that a large proportion of dispensaries are unbanked. Being unbanked only serves to heighten the challenges of working in a predominantly cash-based sector.
For instance, many states require businesses to pay taxes monthly or quarterly. For unbanked businesses, this is an added burden. To make payments, dispensary owners often have to travel with large amounts of cash to secure deposit locations.
Not only is this a logistical challenge, but it's also time-consuming and high-risk from a security perspective. The only other option is to pay for the services of an armored cash delivery van, which can significantly eat into your profit margins.
Security Challenges
Having large amounts of both cash and product onsite can make you a tempting target for theft. This can be from external or internal sources. When your business is an attractive target for armed robbers, it can be hard to keep good staff.
It can also be hard to retain staff when they are continually being placed in front of temptation in the form of easy-to-pocket cash.
Long Processing Times
When you're mainly dealing with cash, you have to spend a lot more time dealing with your accounts. At the end of the day, you can't just lock up and go home. You need to balance your cash registers. This means counting and recounting your takings to make sure that everything adds up.
There is also the logistics of keeping track of what's in your registers. The average cash register begins to look overly full once it's got around $1,000 in it. Depending on your float's size, you only need to take $500-$800 in sales before it needs to be partially emptied. Since sales easily exceed $1,000 on a busy day for a dispensary, you need to keep tabs on how much is in each register's drawer. This means less time in front of customers.
Bigger Market
The combination of Covid and more states moving to legalization means that there is a larger market. While this is excellent news, it also represents a challenge for dispensaries. When you deal in cash-only transactions, you need to have a good handle on how many customers you expect and have the resources to deal with the appropriate number of transactions.
Solutions
Since cash payments in dispensaries are clearly here to stay, it's time to consider some cash management solutions.
For businesses looking for a simple option to speed up their cashing-up process and to make accounting more straightforward and faster, a CountEasy TS cash counter is ideal. It weighs the currency, both notes, and coins, to give 100% accurate counts the first time. You can count a full till in under a minute. You can even connect it to your computer to get the count automatically exported to a spreadsheet to make accounting easier.
For dispensaries in need of a more durable option, the CounterCache intelligent (CCi) cash storage and counting device is ideal. You install this unit by the cash register. The cashier places notes into the counter as soon as they get them.
The counter then counts and securely stores the notes in a triple-locked box. It's efficient, safe, and easy to use. It's an excellent option for dispensaries with ATMs. The CounterCache intelligent stores the cash in pristine order keeping it ATM-ready.
Benefits
Of course, investing in a cash handling solution will have to provide the ROI that is right for your dispensaries. Here are just some of the ways that you can see a positive, impactful return on investment from utilizing cash handling technology.
Efficiency
Both of the solutions outlined above will make counting your cash much faster. With the CounterCache intelligent, the cashier only needs to put notes into the machine. It will count and record the total amount of money it contains. There is no need to do a count at the end of the day.
If you need multiple machines, there is software to help you monitor them and keep tabs on your totals.
The CountEasy TS will significantly speed up your cashing up process. It's around six times quicker than counting by hand. There is also no need to recount. As it keeps a running total, you will never lose your place. Not only will this reduce the time spent at the end of the day, but it will also allow you to quickly set up your floats at opening time.
Reduced Touch Points
If you go for the CounterCache intelligent option, you will significantly reduce the number of times that anyone will need to touch the cash that moves through your business. Instead of each bill being handled as much as 14 times throughout the cash process, it's only touched once. All the cashier needs to do is put the note into the machine, and it's secured and counted. That's it, one-touch between purchase and secure storage.
The CountEasy TS can utilize till cups to reduce cash handling through the reconciliation process too, helping to minimize cash contact.
Loss Prevention
When you can quickly and easily count up at the end of the night, it allows you to balance the cash against the tills promptly. This means that there is no longer a window in which staff might feel tempted to pocket some notes because you'll quickly detect it. With the CCi, there is no temptation because the notes go directly into the secured storage box and are counted as they go. Installing either of these options is a great way to minimize your losses.
Security
The CounterCache intelligent is an excellent option for dispensaries that have safety concerns. As soon as the cashier puts the money into the machine, it is out of their reach. This means there is a considerable barrier to robberies. With three layers of locks, your cashiers can't get at the money, and neither can potential thieves.
Looking to protect your workers and save time and money with your cash handling process? Volumatic offers free consultations where you can discuss your needs and find the right solution for your dispensary. To book your free consultation, contact Krystal Adams, Vice President of Sales North America, on 1-888-296-3010 (toll-free) or by emailing usainfo@volumatic.com for more information.