Closing time
At half past five, the shop closes and the windows are stripped. Trays come out of the window and cabinets, pieces are counted, trays go into the safe. The assistant counts rings in a tray: 23. The paper list says 24. Everybody stops.
Is it sold? Out on approval? At the workshop? Dropped behind the cabinet? Twenty minutes later, the answer turns up in the till receipts. It was sold at lunchtime and the list was not updated. Everybody goes home late again.
The next morning, the whole process runs in reverse.
Why the count is so slow
The count is by number, not by piece. A tray that should hold 24 rings and holds 23 tells you something is missing but not what. Finding out means comparing each ring with a paper list or a memory.
The paper list lags behind reality. Sales, pieces moved to another tray, pieces out on approval and items taken to the workshop all change what should be in each tray, and not all of those changes reach the list during a busy day.
And counting is done at the end of a long day by tired staff who want to go home. That is when mistakes are most likely.
What a slow, uncertain count costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Counting by number | A shortfall but no name for the missing piece |
| Lists not updated with sales | False alarms every evening |
| Moves between trays unrecorded | Pieces appear missing from one tray and extra in another |
| Staff staying late | Tired people counting precious stock |
| No record of each count | Hard to show when something went missing |
What security procedures you follow is a matter for you and your insurer. The counting is where technology can help most.
Pieces out on approval make it worse. A customer takes two rings home to show their partner, a piece is at the workshop for a quick polish, another is in the back room for a photo. Each is legitimately out of its tray, but if the paper list does not show it, the evening count reports it missing. After a few false alarms, staff start to assume every shortfall is paperwork, which is exactly when a real loss would be missed.
How we turn the count into a scan
- Each piece carries a small tag with a barcode or RFID chip, linked to its stock record. Each tray has its own tag.
- Moving a piece between trays, selling it, sending it to the workshop or giving it to a customer on approval is recorded with a scan, so the expected contents of each tray are always up to date.
- At closing, each tray is scanned. With RFID, a reader can read the whole tray at once. With barcodes, a quick pass of the scanner does it.
- The system shows any piece expected but not scanned, with its photo and last known movement. Usually the answer is immediately obvious.
- Each count is saved with the time and the member of staff, and the morning set-out is checked against it.
- A summary goes to the owner each evening, showing the count was completed and anything unresolved.
Whether barcode or RFID suits your shop depends on the number of pieces, the display and budget. We explain the trade-offs before suggesting either.
Home on time
The windows are stripped and each tray is scanned as it goes into the safe. Anything unexpected is shown by name and photo, and the answer usually takes seconds. Staff go home on time, and the owner knows the count is complete.
- Counts that name the missing piece, not just the number
- Tray contents updated as pieces move through the day
- A saved record of every evening and morning count
- Fewer false alarms and shorter closing times
Signs your safe count needs this
- Evening counts regularly find a shortfall that turns out to be a sale.
- Counting trays is done by eye against paper lists.
- Staff often leave late because of the count.
- Pieces moved between trays cause confusion.
- There is no saved record of each night's count.