It is incredible to see how fast the rate of cash payments is dwindling in today’s world. From a business agent’s point of view I must admit that this makes my job a lot easier when it comes to verifying the takings of a food and beverage hospitality business; and that this in turn naturally streamlines the due diligence process for both vendors and buyers alike throughout a business sale period.
But there are so many operational benefits in going cashless, that I believe we are now at a tipping point where business owners can almost not afford to embrace this change. Here are just seven benefits of operating a cashless business:
1. Environment. More cashless payments generally equals less printed receipts, and the technology is now leaning towards either emailing receipts or having them sent by sms to a customer’s mobile phone.
2. Hygiene. Cash is dirty stuff, and in a hospitality premises hygiene is of prime importance. Furthermore it is cumbersome and inefficient to have staff members handling cash and hand-washing, or staff with gloves working alongside staff without gloves, or gloves on gloves off… going cashless does away with all of this hassle.
3. Reconciliation. Balancing card and cash payments is an everyday balancing act in itself, but cash transactions are demanding as they need people to record them and during service it is easy for some cash transactions to be incorrectly recorded or worse - not recorded at all. Going cashless improves accuracy and ensures that the till always balances; plus - payment reconciliation, book keeping and accounting all become a lot less painstaking. Also without the burden of cash, a business owner spends less time at the beginning of the day (no need to prepare a float) and less time at the end of day (no need to cash up and waste time balancing the till). The added benefit for all business owners (particularly those who are non-operational) is that a business is much easier to keep track of too if all payments are made electronically.
4. Service. Going cashless will invariably improve your service by way of efficiency. One of a customer’s biggest gripe’s is waiting to pay on arrival or waiting to pay on exit; there is a lot more to servicing a customer of course, but going cashless (with the right systems in place) can improve business efficiency. Allowing you and your staff to focus on your product and in delivering excellent customer service.
5. Space. Consider your current POS system(s), till(s), payment terminal(s) and printer(s); when you add the work-space of all of this equipment together you can visibly see that going cashless and embracing mobile POS technology will also allow you to gain space! That’s another invaluable seat in your cafe, restaurant or bar; more room for product on display in your takeaway. Cashless technology opens the door to a more efficient and minimalist approach to your set up and a more productive retail space.
6. Speed. Card and particularly contactless payments are fast and efficient which helps to minimise queues during rush periods. The same benefit can also be achieved within a table service establishment; with point of sale (POS) technology at such an advanced stage waitstaff are now able to deliver the bill to the customer and present a pocket sized payment terminal to eliminate further delays that can be incurred both upon customer exit and between each cover.
7. Theft-less. With no cash ever on premises a business will be a lot less susceptible to an opportune break in. However, unfortunately the threat of theft can more often than not come from inside the business. A cashless business all but eliminates the risk of cash being stolen on the premises whether by staff members or otherwise.