Security is an important part of any business. You want to protect your assets as well as keep your employees safe, so you get an alarm system and some good locks. But what else can you do? You can heighten your security with a little cooperation from your employees and some planning on your part.

Restaurants, especially popular ones, take in thousands in receipts every day. This is a great draw for criminals and a great danger for the business and the people who work there. In order to protect yourself you will have to take a few precautions aside from having a security system.

When you start your restaurant business keep in mind that the less the money travels, the fewer chances you’re taking with safety.

The first deterrent is a safe place to keep excess cash until you can make a deposit to your business account. Many businesses have drop safes for this purpose. A drop safe can be freestanding under the counter, set into the floor or can even be located in another room altogether. The employee, once they reach a predetermined cash total, unobtrusively puts the money in an envelope and drops it into the safe through the drawer. In turn, the safe is emptied periodically and the receipts taken to the bank or picked up by a courier service.

Many business owners choose to make bank runs by themselves. If this is the approach that you have decided on then your safety depends on a lack of a routine. Go to the bank at different times, take different routes each time and you may even want to vary the car you drive. Don’t let criminals observe patterns in the way that you go about doing your banking as it only makes it easier for them to plot against you.

A courier service relieves you of the dangers and hassles of multiple trips to the bank. The drivers and the couriers themselves are armed and trained to protect their cargo and the lives of everyone in their immediate presence. It may cost more to engage a courier service but it will make your insurance premiums smaller as well as avoid putting your life in danger. For large popular restaurants doing a considerable daily turnover, this method has become a necessity.

Always have more than one person open up at the beginning of your business day and close the restaurant at the end. Security cameras are very useful at these times, letting the employees choose when to exit the building at the safest time. Cameras behind the restaurant where the waste is disposed of will be useful, too, in avoiding undesirables that may be taking a shortcut or waiting for someone to emerge.

Your employees are your most valuable asset and you must take steps to protect them. Use a buddy system when a shift ends so that no one has to walk to their car by themselves.

Safety is mainly a function of common sense. There are courses offered by police departments and local civic groups on staying safe in the workplace and keeping your business crime free. Remember, the more you know, the safer you, your business and your employees will be.

Start your restaurant off right by including a section in your business plan on security in order to protect your cash, assets and employees.

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