Individual logins, always
Shared PINs make every report useless because nothing traces to a person. Individual logins cost nothing and are the foundation for everything else on this list.
Approvals on the risky actions
A short list covers nearly all of it.
- Manager approval for voids after payment
- Discount limits by role
- Refunds require approval
- No-sale drawer opens logged
Review exception reports weekly
Voids, discounts and no-sales by employee. You're looking for outliers, not absolute numbers. One person with triple everyone else's void rate is a conversation, not necessarily an accusation.
Keep it matter-of-fact
Tell staff the controls exist and why. Transparency prevents more than surveillance does, and it doesn't poison the culture.
Cash handling procedures
Counting drawers at shift change with two people present, and depositing cash the same day, closes off the two most common opportunities for cash to quietly disappear.
Role-based permissions beyond the register
Limit who can edit the item catalog, change prices, or issue gift cards. These actions are rarer than voids and discounts but can cause larger, harder-to-spot losses when left wide open.
When a pattern does show up
Pull a few weeks of data before addressing anything, document it plainly, and have the conversation privately. Most flagged patterns turn out to be training gaps rather than theft — treat the first conversation as fact-finding.
Physical and camera basics
Controls in the software work best alongside a camera on the register and a clear line of sight to the drawer. Neither replaces the other.