Keeping an Eye on the Cash Register: Detecting Fraud Based on Data

Trust is good. Control is better — even in retail. Because grabbing cash from the till (“the drawer”) is by no means rare. For retailers, it therefore pays off to uncover behavioral patterns and quickly identify deviations from standard procedures. This way, false accusations can be avoided — and theft can be reliably exposed.

Theft: Record numbers in retail

The past year saw as much stolen in retail as it has for a long time. According to a study by the EHI Retail Institut the damage amounts to €4.2 billion. The survey covered nearly 100 companies with a total of over 17,000 stores.  Of this loss, company-employees are responsible for €890 million in damages.

While in an office environment, according to a study by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK), roughly one in four German employees occasionally pockets a pen, paper or staples — in retail the focus of theft is usually on merchandise.

But taking from the cash register happens far more often than many realize. The immediate access to cash makes theft especially tempting in retail.

Fraud often goes undetected

Often, concealment through register actions or loyalty-/customer-card programs is easy. For example, via staged cancellations or returns, money can end up in a private pocket. But also manipulation through misuse of customer cards or similar tricks may allow employees to enrich themselves at the company’s expense. These methods often leave no cash discrepancy and therefore remain undetected.

Video surveillance of cashier stations may sound promising — but it offers only limited added value. For one, systems are expensive to purchase and maintain. For another, they require regular and careful evaluation for suspicious behavior to actually be spotted. Furthermore, manipulations via cancellations or non-cash transactions are difficult to trace by video. A suspicion often remains mere speculation.

False accusations can in turn damage the working relationship. That’s why assumptions should never be voiced. Only when it is absolutely certain that theft occurred should a conversation follow.

Uncovering Behavior Patterns

Because employee fraud repeatedly occurs, yet false accusations can break relationships, retailers should approach the topic systematically and effectively. The best foundation for that: data. Cash-register systems that offer comprehensive control via relevant key figures open up numerous advantages. Through real-time data and reports, responsible persons establish central monitoring of cancellations, returns and unusual usage patterns. Fraud thus stands no chance.

With the cash-register system ITR POS, for example, you can answer frequently asked questions by identifying behavior patterns:

• Who cancels a statistically unusually large number of receipts (“bons”)?
• What amounts are being cancelled?
• Are there particular days or branches showing anomalies?
• How do cash-register variances behave?
• How do key figures differ between individual employees?
• Which customer card is being used unusually often?

Moreover, ITR POS offers many additional reporting options plus comprehensive functionalities for simple and efficient checkouts. Particularly valuable are the industry-specific features.

For bakeries: receipt transfer between registers (so-called “floating”), information and filters for allergens and additives, easy pre-order and returns management.

For gastronomy: waiter-apps let staff take orders directly at the table and forward them to the kitchen. Flexible table management allows quick transfers or split-billing for stress-free customer interactions. Integrated kitchen displays help ensure error-free processing.

In retail: with features like digital receipts, self-checkout, order terminals, and flexible payment options, customer wishes are fulfilled. The solution becomes even smarter through automation in ordering, production planning and delivery — plus real-time data analysis for intelligent sales steering. Cashier-authentication adds security.

Reliable Detection of Fraud

Speculation has no place in everyday work. But letting fraudsters run free is obviously not an option either. With intelligent cash-register systems, retailers can find the right balance between trust and control — and reliably uncover business-damaging tampering of the cash register.

Would you like to keep an eye on your cash registers? With real-time data, you always maintain an overview and full control over your register!