Today's small business owners and managers often underestimate the need for a depository safe since they do not feel as though they are dealing daily with a large amount of cash funds. Many also feel secure due to the fact that because they are a small salon or shop, that they are at a lower risk of being robbed, and decide to leave their cash right in the registers over night. However, if they do unfortunately become a victim of a break in robbery, the cash register is the first place a thief will look and it takes only seconds to smash one open.
You can upgrade your business's protection immensely with a small investment in a quality safe. When you begin researching the safes available, there are several factors that you should consider. First and foremost, you need to decide how large a safe you require and where on the premise you will be storing the safe. This will allow you to make the choice between a drop safe and a depository safe. Drop safes are typically smaller and are commonly used when you just need to a secure location to keep a deposit from an evening shift until the bank opens in the morning. Larger depository safes have additional safety features and are ideal when more than one employee has access to cash funds, because deposits can be made throughout out the day, at the end of the shift or at any other time, such as after an unexpectedly large purchase.
Tidel, one of the leaders in the field, makes a number of depository models that adds the ability to run a Windows operating system and come designed to open by key, numbered key pad and combination dial varieties. These models also allows you to store upwards of 40 thousand transactions in it's memory and the ability to select of different languages for the interface. They also can produce a wide variety of reports and summaries that can even track transactions by individual users which acts as a deterrent of in house thievery because employees know that their transactions are tracked and reviewed with regularity.
When you look at the models available to you, you'll likely want to select on with a rating of "B" or better. This means that it is resistant to drills and employs some sort of anti-fishing feature making it impossible to pull out funds by hand, coat hanger, etc. Unfortunately no depository style safe currently on the market is fireproof, due to the drop slot, but it's rumored that Tidel is currently working on such a safe.
Finally, you'll need to determine the amount of funds you can reasonably allocate to this level of safety. How much money is typically kept in your store on any given night? Unfortunately, most business owners don't look into depository safes until after they've been robbed. How much can you afford to lose? Despite the initial cost of purchasing a safe, in the long run it is an important investment in the future of your business.
