 Employee theft is a common problem in small- medium-size businesses. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 75 percent of employees have stolenhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-future-of-food-safety-matt-and-francines/id1673580302?i=1000639720769 from their employer at least once. It can be of particular concern in restaurants: One report estimates that quick-service restaurants, in particular, lose up to 7 percent of their sales to employee theft. There are plenty of ways for restaurant employees to steal from their employers – even if you are processing far fewer cash transactions than you used to. While the tech-based tools and systems you have adopted in recent years may not have been introduced for the purpose of identifying employee theft, they often provide that benefit by helping you get to the root of the problem more quickly and preventing theft from continuing. For example, a recent report from QSRweb.com says your tech-based systems for managing inventory and invoices can alert you to the theft of food and other supplies. Your POS may also help you detect voids, cancellations or other manipulations of your sales. At a time when loyalty programs are so widespread, your loyalty program can help you identify users who are generating more frequent discounts and reward points than would be legitimate. Informed use of security cameras can also discourage theft of cash and supplies. Of course, having a culture that is sensitive to the causes of employee theft can go far in preventing it, as can making staff aware of your policies in handling it if and when it happens.
 Restaurant employee theft is a common problem, accounting for 75 percent of inventory shortages and 4 percent sales, according to the National Restaurant Association. Your systems and tools can help you stop it soon after it starts – or even prevent it altogether. A TouchBistro report advises leaning on your POS for help. For example, your POS settings can help you place controls on what employees can do when placing orders – such as preventing the printing of a bill if an order has not actually been served, or the deletion of items on a bill before it is closed and then keeping the cash. Your POS reports can also help you investigate questionable activity by flagging transactions that were removed or modified after they were finalized and those that involved voids or discounts, and scrutinizing day-end reconciliations that create an opportunity for underreporting earnings. It can show you how many times a cash drawer was opened and by whom, so you can quickly identify the employees to speak to in the event of a shortage. It can also identify discrepancies between an employee’s scheduled hours and how many hours they are reporting. Beyond your POS, consider the use of cameras at your POS and inventory storage areas, which can help you send the message that you’re committed to keeping everybody honest.
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