12 Jun Every Business Has A Thief, Yes Every One.
Who steals from you? Every business has been stolen from. Yes even yours. I know, I know. You trust all your staff, you know nobody would steal from you, you know this isn’t a problem. I hear it every day and every day someone steals from you. Now I know that not all theft makes the papers like the bookkeeper that stole $100,000 from that store, or the employee who broke in and took the cash, or the guy at the hardware store who was stealing materials, but your employees and help are stealing. To steal by the Merriam-Webster definition is “to take surreptitiously or without permission” and I guarantee it happens in your business whether you know it or not.
Employees steal in many different ways.
- They take money;
They may steal a few dollars from your cash register. They may change the numbers on the withholding filings with the government so they get a bigger tax return. They may take checks you receive in the mail and deposit them into their own account or cash them.
- They Use company funds to pay for personal expenses;
They pay their own personal phone bill with a company check. They do it monthly and their carrier is the same as the companies so the check signer doesn’t even notice. They may pay credit card bills online or via the phone using the company routing number and account number from their paycheck. They may take out credit in the company name using the tax i.d. provided on their W-2.
- They use or take goods and inventory;
They bring home a box of envelopes here and there to mail their personal mail. They report a case or two as spoiled and toss it into their back seat for later. They take a bottle or two out of each case of wine and report what the count should be during inventory. They “borrow” items and never return them.
- They give away your goods, services and inventory to others without payment;
They give away that sandwich from the counter and void the sale once it is processed. Free refills on the fountain drink. They ring three units when they sold 5. They give 10 taxi rides in the night and only log 1/2 of them.
- They extend discounts to others without authorization or authority;
They use the staff discount when their buddy buys a movie ticket. They ring it as a clearance item when it isn’t.
- They create fraudulent time records that influence their pay;
They record their arrival time at 8 not 8:10. They have a buddy punch them in because they are running late. They don’t punch out for lunch. They are present and on the clock but checking personal email and making personal phone calls. They are behind the counter but texting instead of helping customers.
- They use company property for personal use or gain.
They mail their own items with the company postage meter. They are mowing lawns of their own customers with company equipment while on your clock. They are taking templates that you created and your employees use for their own customers on their own time and getting paid for the template.
What are you doing to prevent it? This week we will post several things you can do in a few minutes to prevent theft.
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