This policy of accounting for every customer check helps the
restaurant control cash receipts by providing proof of each transition,
so cash on hand and credit totals can be reconciled against amounts
received. Discrepancies in these totals can be red flags for theft or an
indication that more staff training is required. Also, accounting for
each customer check active or voided can help to prevent the theft of
cash orders.
I believe using technology can be a more efficient way to control cash
receipts. The employee can still utilize customer checks to take
orders, enter the order into a computer system that will 1) generate a
receipt for the customer, 2) track who entered the information/time
stamp 3) send the information to the kitchen. This process can
eliminate errors in the order due to handwriting, allows the manager
to have live/hourly knowledge of revenues, and adds another layer of
checks and balances to the internal control. This would also be a
backup if the original customer check were misplaced.
You can take it a step further and have the customer place their own
order electronically and pay for the order themselves. This would
decrease the need for employees to handle customers' cards, possibly
decreasing the chance of credit card theft. The customer can indicate
electronically that they will pay with cash, and this lets the system
know and thus prevents the theft of cash orders.
The article mentioned those smaller companies are more prone to
theft due to poor screening, poor internal control, and trusting too
much (Wells, 2003). The use of technology provides another set of
eyes to monitor the cash flow and provides updated revenue
amounts allowing the management to make live decisions. For
example, if the business is slow, management can send employees on
break or even home early, to labor costs. Or decrease the amount of
food prepared to limit the waste of inventory.
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/protects
mallbusiness.html
