Even with the inexorable rise of “plastic” as a method of payment, every pub in the land still handles inordinate volumes of cash, be it coinage or note, and every publican spends hours every week counting it.
Whilst “the king is in his counting house, counting all his money” as the nursery rhyme goes – think what other more profitable activities he might be engaged in – supervising staff, looking after customers, having a break?
Buying a Cash or Coin Counting Machine is one of the few decisions you can make where you will see a very quick return on your investment (in some cases a matter of weeks!)
For the majority of pubs (with, say, under 5 tills) what you need is an entry level cash counting machine, such as the Cashmaster Sigma 170.
Typically these machines are small, with a rechargeable battery so you can use it in the office or the bar, will count loose, banded or sleeved notes; loose, bagged or rolled coins, and will enable you to enter values for voucher and tokens. Once the till count(s) are done these machines will then handle your banking requirement and give you an easy way to calculate till and banking variances.
Why are cash counting machines that count by weight the best?
Counting by weight is the clever method of money counting as it’s fast, easy and a highly accurate method of counting cash.
Weight-based money scales help you be more efficient and prevent loss.
Counting money by weight can be six times faster than by hand, is 100% accurate and is a proven way to reduce cash shortages.
In addition, money-counting machines can instantly reconcile takings and allow you to conduct on the spot till checks, if necessary in situ.
The major benefits of counting by weight:
- Speed
- Accuracy
- Security
- Overall efficiency
- Employees focus on making money, not counting it
- Reconcile till drawers, deposits, safe counts
- Count a till in less than 60 seconds (once you get the hang of it!)
- Reduce time to process cash by up to 75%
How reliable and how long does a cash counting machine last?
As there are no moving parts, as you would find in a friction counting machine (such as mechanical coin counters and note counters) there is nothing to jam up, there’s no need for lubrication or other service maintenance. Typically, as long as they are looked after, a cash-weighing machine will usually last up to 10 years and will handle millions of counting operations.
Do they really save time?
Yes they do, not only in the physical counting of cash but also in the time it takes to reconcile tills, safe floats and banking preparation. Typically, depending on the number of tills you have and the number of times you do till counts (for instance some pubs count tills between daytime and evening shifts) you can save between 30 minutes and 2 hours per day.
Return On Investment
With an entry level machine costing, say, £200, in a pub with 3 tills, operating seven days a week, performing one till count per day per till and banking cash six times a week (sound familiar?) the number of hours you might save per week is 5 hours.
Imagine being able to use those 5 hours a week to reduce staff hours. At £7.20 an hour (national living wage) that’s £36 a week, so the machine would pay for itself in less than six weeks. That’s a conservative estimate because if you were to factor in the time that you could use elsewhere in your pub business I bet you would put a higher value than £7.20 an hour on your time!
TGI Fridays installed Cash Counting Machines in all its branches during 2012 and in January 2013 reported that it was saving some 1,200 management hours a month on till-cashing … proof of the pudding indeed.