Restaurants use the customer checks with pre-numbered sequence codes because it
reduces the risk of criminal activities such as fraud or theft. Without these sequence
coded customer checks, servers receive cash for a meal and steal it. Its also possible that
servers could give out free meals to friends and family.
b b b b b To help prevent these possible criminal activities, each server should have their
own set of numbers that are printed on every check they create. Its also important to have
all voided checks handed to the restaurant manager.
b b b b b While these criminal activities can happen in any restaurant, small businesses are
more vulnerable due to various reasons such as a lack of employee screening and internal
controls. Although costly for some small businesses, adapting internal strong controls and
managers to maintain them is critical.
b b b b b I believe there are other options for controlling cash receipts, but they will be
more costly. The restaurant would need to adopt a Point-Of-Sale system that would
eradicate arithmetic errors, advance inventory tracking, manage staff and time sheets,
automate accounting reports, and increase efficiency. All orders, cash or check, are placed
by a server through a POS system terminal. Then, those orders are sent to the kitchen like
any other ordering system. The key difference is that an order/check cannot be voided or
have items deleted without managers authorization.
Reference
Wells, J. T. (2003, March 1). Protect small business. Journal of Accountancy. Retrieved
December 1, 2022, from
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2003/mar/protectsmallbusiness.html
