Important Steps to Improve Your Parking Asset
In the parking industry, there are always steps you and your business can take to improve your parking asset, both on the consumer end and on the operator end. One easy way to greatly improve asset operations is to take steps to reduce cash slippage and parking fraud.
Cash slippage and parking fraud involve any money slipping through the cracks of your business. These losses could be through theft or through negligence, but the sting of financial loss hurts the same in both cases. Any gaps or inefficiencies in your parking revenue management processes can open your company up to cash slippage and parking fraud.
In this article, we will discuss five tips for combating cash slippage and parking fraud to protect your parking revenue.
Tip #1— Implement Monitoring and Access Systems
One easy and inexpensive way to combat cash slippage and fraud in and around your parking assets is to install monitoring and access systems, especially around important areas.
Using surveillance cameras and advanced monitoring systems to keep track of cash transactions and parking activities can effectively deter fraudulent behavior and provide evidence in case of cash discrepancies or incidents. To make the best use of surveillance systems like these, you must be vigilant and regularly review the footage to identify any irregularities.
Surveillance measures are only one-half of preventing cash slippage and fraud. Implement access systems with control measures such as key cards, passwords, or biometric scanners to restrict entry and monitor who has access to these areas. If only authorized personnel can access sensitive areas of your asset, the risk of cash slippage and fraud decreases significantly.
Tip #2— Strengthen Internal Controls
Implement a strict internal control procedure for handling cash and managing parking operations to strengthen your countermeasures against cash slippage and fraud.
Divide important duties between your operators, ensuring that multiple individuals are involved in cash handling and accounting processes. Cash fraud and slippage risk dramatically increase when one or a few individuals have all the power within your business.
In addition, regularly conduct audits to detect any discrepancies or suspicious activities and encourage your employees to speak up if they notice anything out of the ordinary.
Tip #3— Embrace Technology and Automation
One constant in the universe is “to err is only human.” Money will inevitably slip through the cracks if only humans handle the cash and operations of your business.
Consider investing in automated cash handling systems and parking management software, which offers secure and transparent tracking of transactions, working in tandem to reduce human error.
In addition, on the customer side, implementing a digital pass system for your asset helps to prevent the reuse, sharing, and duplication of fraudulent parking passes. ParkHub has industry-leading automated cash handling systems and parking management software; consider implementing one of ParkHub’s many solutions for parking revenue management.
Tip #4— Properly Train and Educate Staff
High-tech surveillance and automated cash handling systems are fancy but useless pieces of technology if your team doesn’t know how to make the best use of them. Providing comprehensive training to employees involved in cash handling and parking operations is important. Ensure that your employees are always kept abreast of any changes in operations before making any switch.
Ensure your employees are educated about potential fraud risks, proper procedures, and the importance of adhering to protocols. Encourage a positive culture of vigilance and accountability among staff members.
Tip #5— Drive Out Cash
The easiest way to decrease cash slippage and prevent fraud is by going cashless in and around your parking assets. The switch to cashless operations is a trend that has been on the rise throughout the parking industry due to the numerous benefits it can provide.
Going cashless can offer you increased transactional speed, improved inventory management, and an enhanced customer experience, in addition to security and financial benefits.
ParkHub can help you transition to cashless for your business with integrated technologies like Suite and Mobile Point-of-Sale that will do the heavy lifting.
Experience the Benefits of ParkHub
Every business experiences cash slippage or fraud eventually. Still, when it occurs often enough that the lost revenue begins to add up, it is important to act to prevent such losses in the future.
To eliminate slippage and fraud in your business, book a demo today to speak to a parking expert and experience the ParkHub difference firsthand.