Blog Post

4 Ways to Increase Adherence to Your Nonprofit's Cash Policies

  • By Admin
  • 29 Jul, 2019
Man Holding US Dollar Bills

For many non-profit organizations, handling cash and checks is a large part of operations - daily activities as well as special events. But, when money is given and received, managing it and keeping it safe is often a challenge. Even if you have created cash handling procedures, how can you ensure that they will be followed by busy workers and volunteers?

Here are four methods you can start today to help everyone involved in your organization keep to best practices when handling money.

1. Take it Seriously

Nonprofit organizations aren't the same as businesses, and they have unique challenges when trying to fulfill their missions. But, while you must make some concessions when relying on a volunteer workforce and being supported by public donations, you also need to keep some procedures business-like. Handling money is one of these procedures, so take it seriously.

How can you show that your organization is serious? Create a written policy utilizing standard 'best practices' for working with cash and checks. Use only trained volunteers to handle cash. Schedule time before, during, and after each event to properly count, record, and deposit cash. Follow up on irregularities or concerns as soon as possible. And conduct audits by an objective third party at least once or twice per year.

2. Use the Buddy System

The more often that people work in pairs when handling cash, the less likely it is that either errors or theft will happen. So, adopt a 'buddy system' - simply assigning two or three people to participate - at different points in the process.

Analyze your event or process to see where you could easily add a second person when working around cash. Have two people there when cash is counted. Assign two people to work a ticket-selling station, make bank deposits, or fill out cash-related forms. Then, let everyone know when the buddy system is in use and to let you know personally if they see anyone not following this procedure.

Of course, the buddy system only works if both parties are objective. So avoid having related family members serving as pairs or having the same pairs working together all the time. You could assign a rotation among qualified volunteers for different parts of the cash-handling process, or assign a supervisor to be the second half of a pair at key steps in the money flow.

3.  Take it Out of Their Hands

People will have to follow your procedures if you take the choice in the matter out of their hands, either through technology or separation of elements. There are a variety of ways to do this, depending on your budget and organization size.

You could use low-tech methods. If a person knows the combination to the safe, for instance, they should not have a key to the room in which it's housed. That forces the person to have a second party along when opening the safe.

Incorporate technology as well. Instead of relying on hand counting, use a money counter that provides a receipt and an objective cash count. Look for a 'smart' safe that allows only timed entry or logs entry codes to see who opens it or takes out items.

Separating duties is another easy way to politely enforce procedures. It creates checks and balances. The person taking in money at the door shouldn't be the one who counts it. The one who counts money shouldn't be the one who takes it to the bank. And the one who keeps the books shouldn't be the one who signs large checks.

4.  Assign Responsibilities

Make individuals responsible for certain aspects of money handling. Check out cash drawers and log them back in under individuals' names. Don't allow drawer-sharing. Assign a person or two to be responsible for overseeing petty cash. And designate a specific volunteer to be in charge of checking off all the items in a cash-handling checklist at the end of the day.

At The Banker Money Counting Systems, we know the value of proper cash control procedures as well as the challenges you face in adhering to them. Check out our cash management products today to see how we can help you achieve the best result for your nonprofit organization, volunteers, and donors.  

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Right now, in your convenience store, you and your employees might count and handle money the oldfashioned way. A currency counter might not seem like a necessary investment, but it's worth the cost. These are a few reasons why these devices are particularly useful in convenience stores.

1. Detect Fake Bills

Because of the sheer number of transactions that are often done in a convenience store throughout the day and because of how fast these transactions usually happen, convenience stores can be at more of a risk of receiving counterfeit bills than many other businesses.

If employees use a currency counter when accepting larger amounts of money, they can quickly check to make sure that the bills they are being given are real.

Even if money has already been accepted by employees and is being counted at the end of the day, the counterfeit detector on your currency counter machine can help you catch fakes so you'll avoid taking them to the bank or keeping them in circulation.

2. Save Your Employees Time

Your employees probably have a lot of responsibilities in your convenience store. Having to spend a lot of time counting money takes away from the other things that they may need to be doing. If you have a currency counter that they can use, employees can make quick work of counting money so that they can quickly move on to the next task.

3. Get Money Put Away Quickly

Convenience stores are at a great risk of being robbed, so taking steps to help prevent theft is important. One of the key things that you can do is to keep a limited amount of money in your cash register drawers. Having employees put money in the safe once they accumulate a certain amount helps decrease the risk of theft, and if theft does occur, it helps minimize the loss.

If employees have to count money by hand each time that they put it in the safe, the money will be left out for longer. Also, robbery may be more tempting if employees are seen visibly counting large sums of money in the store.

With a currency counter, employees can get money counted and put away very quickly and discreetly. This helps keep both employees and the money in your store safe.

4. Prevent Human Errors

Your employees are probably pretty adept at counting money. They might do it all day long when they accept money from customers. This doesn't mean that they can't make a mistake, though, especially if they're in a hurry. Wet bills or brand-new, crisp bills can easily get stuck together, making it easy for a person to make a mistake, for example.

Currency counting machines have high accuracy rates, though. If your employees always use a currency counter when counting money, they will help decrease the chances of a mistake being made.

5. Avoid Spreading Germs

It's no secret that money is often covered in germs. Your convenience store employees obviously aren't going to be able to avoid coming in contact with money, but you should still minimize the spreading of germs.

After all, your employees might prepare hot dogs or other foods for your customers, and you don't want them to spread germs that can make someone sick. You don't want your employees to get sick either.

With a currency counter, you can help minimize how much physical contact your employees have to have with money.

A currency counter is a great investment for any convenience store, whether it's a small, rural convenience store or a large truck stop on a major interstate. Contact us  at The Banker Money Counting Systems to find out more about our currency counting systems and how they can improve your convenience store.
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