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POS systems can help point out theft
Having the right POS can help restaurant operators track mistakes or dishonest employees.
April 17, 2007
For years, pizzeria owner Wayne Rempel didn't believe he needed a point-of sale system in his restaurant.
Rempel the owner of Just Pizza in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, used paper slips to track orders until about a year ago, when he installed a POS system from Lynden, Wash.-based Speedline Solutions Inc. Once he began exploring the intricacies of the system he noticed a disturbing trend.
"After about 3 months of me figuring out exactly how it worked and how to read everything, I started noticing that I was having a lot of credits on my monthly report," Rempel said.
"If someone ordered a pizza and there was a mistake, we would put it through as a credit for the next time they ordered," he said. "I noticed there was one particular person who had a lot of them."
The person in question normally worked the register, though, so it made sense he would have the most credits, Rempel said. As he looked deeper, though, Rempel noticed that many of the credits were going to the same people.
Rempel questioned the employee, and while he was still suspicious, he gave him the benefit of the doubt. As a safeguard, Rempel took away the employee's privileges for issuing credits, and the number of credits fell dramatically.
A month later, however, Rempel began seeing an increasing problem with cash shortages. He noticed that cash always came up short in an even amount, such as $40 or $80, even coming in at $180 once.
Using his POS system's scheduling program, Rempel was able to compare a schedule spreadsheet with the days when cash came up short. He realized that the shortages compared with the days when the employee who had problems with excessive credit has worked.
Rempel had a camera installed near the POS system and was eventually able to catch the employee stealing from the cash drawer. Rempel estimates the employee took in excess of $1,500 before he was caught.
It could have been more, he said.
"I never would have known any of this if I didn't have the POS," Rempel said. "That definitely was what alerted me to it."
Catching the mistakes
Jeff Finkhousen, owner of Brick Oven Pizza Co. in Auburn, Ala., not only credits his POS system with making such thefts tough for employees, but for giving him the ability to track all questionable transactions, inventory variances and labor schedule changes.
Even when employees might make a mistake, Finkhousen's POS system ensures he doesn't lose out, such as when customers request mixed toppings combos.
"I've had other businesses for the last 11 years, and I've always had a point-of-sale system in those and in my pizza business," said Finkhousen, whose system now requires fingerprint I.D. "I don't see how people can use just a cash register and really track what's going on."
Speedline Systems marketing manager Jennifer Wiebe pointed to a POS system's ability to watch other costs such as labor and food. Employees can't clock in before their scheduled time, and with fingerprint I.D. systems, other employees can't swipe I.D. cards for coworkers.
POS systems also help operators track what Wiebe called "bad apple customers" who regularly try to scam operators for free meals.
"You may be too busy to notice you have a problem with a customer who's always calling in wanting a freebie, but the POS identifies that easily," she said.
Wiebe also said the system can, at the time an order is placed, red flag customers who've paid with bad checks in the past, and allow the owner to choose whether to serve that customer.
Rempel said since the initial cash shortage incident, he's managed to solve a variety of theft problems using POS reports, including an employee who was using his staff discount to feed his friends.
"I'm the one guy that for seven years said I didn't need a POS system," Rempel said. "Now, I'm the guy that says if you don't have one you are crazy."
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