Loss happens, but unexplained loss requires a closer look. Many store owners notice certain products don’t match the expected count or that cash doesn’t line up at the end of a shift. These gaps often point to missing money. Cheers POS tracks item edits, login history, and drawer activity to help you identify where losses are happening.
Below, we’ll explain how Cheers helps identify missing money, which reports to use, and what steps to take to stop it.
How Missing Money Shows Up in Your Store
Missing money isn’t always obvious. It can come from product giveaways, altered inventory counts, unauthorized discounts, or frequent drawer openings without a corresponding sale. If your system doesn’t track key actions, you might not notice the problem until the losses start adding up.
We’ve helped store owners recover between $30,000 and $75,000 in losses using Cheers POS. One of the most important features we offer is employee footprint tracking. This tool logs every transaction, drawer open, item edit, and login, giving you a detailed record of who did what, when, and why.
Footsteps and Footprints: Tracking Every Action
Know Exactly What Your Team Is Doing
Our system records user actions with a feature we call “footsteps.” It tracks each instance an item is scanned, edited, voided, or removed. For example, if an employee scans a product and then quickly removes it from the register while pretending a sale was made, Cheers captures that sequence and shows it in the report.
Unauthorized Access and Edited Inventory
Sometimes, employees use a manager’s login to alter item counts. We’ve seen cases where staff reduced inventory after hours using someone else’s credentials. Cheers records the login history by user, allowing you to spot when someone signed in under a different profile and made changes. That level of tracking makes it easy to see who is adjusting quantities and when.
Use Reports to Investigate Suspicious Behavior
Spot High-Risk Items with Inventory Activity Reports
If you notice a particular item is always out of sync during inventory, that’s a red flag. Cheers POS allows you to run an inventory report for any time frame: daily, weekly, or yearly. You can filter the data by employee, product, and action type to see who interacted with each item and how.
One store owner used this report to uncover repeated edits to a specific product that consistently showed a lower count than expected. The report showed frequent changes to the product during key shifts. That pattern led to a review of security footage and ultimately confirmed the source of the theft.
Find Out Why the Drawer Is Opening So Often
Another helpful tool is our cash drawer report. You can see how many times the drawer opened during a shift and how many of those openings matched actual sales. If the drawer was opened without a transaction, it’s noted in the system. This helps you determine if someone is accessing cash when they shouldn’t be.
Employee Accountability: The Key to Preventing Missing Money
Activity Logs and Audit Trails
The activity report tracks user behavior minute-by-minute. This includes:
- Product scans and removals
- Inventory edits
- Drawer opens (with and without sales)
- Manual cash adjustments
- Notes for withdrawals or expenses
If someone enters “Cooler repair” as a reason for pulling cash, you can see that entry, match it to the timestamp, and confirm it against your video system. It’s a simple way to verify if money was taken for legitimate reasons or not.
Require Justification for Cash Removal
Cheers POS gives employees a way to leave a note when cash is taken out of the drawer. Store owners can review these notes and compare them against recorded transactions and shift activity. If money goes missing and no note is left, you know exactly where to start asking questions.
Stop Guessing. Start Tracking.
Missing money doesn’t always mean a flaw in your process. Sometimes it’s the result of intentional actions from staff who know the system too well. That’s why having a POS that tracks behavior, not just sales, is critical.
At Cheers POS, we’ve created features specifically based on real requests from store owners like you. You asked if we could track drawer opens, employee edits, and unauthorized logins, and we built it. With Cheers, you don’t need to wonder where your losses are coming from. You can prove it, correct it, and prevent it from happening again.
Let Us Help You Protect Your Profits
If you’re dealing with inventory discrepancies, suspicious employee behavior, or missing money, we’re here to help. Cheers POS is designed to give you full control and clear visibility so you can run your store with confidence. Let’s talk about how we can set up your system to track the details that matter most.
Contact us today to get started.
