How do I stop staff stealing from the till?
Prevention beats detective work. Most shops that “stop” till theft do it by making cash hard to game — clear ownership, boring process, and quick review of exceptions — not by staring at CCTV all afternoon.
Short answer
Stop opportunity first: assign drawers, count in/out, dual-control drops, and require reasons on voids/no-sales. Then review exceptions weekly with short camera clips. Culture matters — staff who know cash is audited honestly steal less than staff who know nobody ever checks.
Prevention habits that actually stick
- Drawer ownership per shift where rostering allows.
- Visible counting ritual at open and close — not optional “when we remember.”
- Void / no-sale notes as habit, not punishment.
- Manager spot-checks on exception reports, not random live watching.
- Same rules for everyone including trusted seniors — favouritism is how process dies.
If theft already happened
Tighten process the same day. Document the pattern you found. Follow a fair conversation and your local employment obligations. Pair with how to catch employee theft and why is my till always short so you’re fixing the system, not only one person.
Also useful: signs of employee theft.
Make cash exceptions visible without living on CCTV
SoraData soft-connects existing cameras and POS so till exceptions aren’t buried in end-of-week spreadsheets. Use that to coach the shift — request a trial or view plans when it fits.