Micros POS System Possible employee theft

[SalesCatKitty]

I am a distributor sales rep for a customer who uses a micros system. I am not quite sure of the model.

As a partner with this establishment I analyze the sales per item and manage how the menu works for them. For many months I have questioned the accuracy of how the micros system was set up based on their menu and what was needed for accurate pricing per item. We found inaccuracies in several menu items that were priced according to the current menu, such as add on costs of cheeses, sauteed onion etc. Several items such as cheese are a choice on some menu items, without a cost, however some menu items do not offer cheese as an ingredient and are considered an add on yet within the micros this option did not have an add on dollar value until recently.

Unfortunatley the owner has allowed some employees the access to the manager key and believes theft does not happen around his "keen" awareness of what each employee is doing.

Sales dollars are down significantly over last years generated sales however the cost of food/supplies coming in the door has not decreased to the same level of sales lost over last year. We are off by about 30% between sales dollars and purchasing dollars. We have analyzed plate costing, portion contol and profit per plate as well as viewed the decending dollar report to analyze purchasing.


My biggest concern for this proprietor is what I see in the reports he has given me. I see many, many voids, more error corrects and a line item where it says "cancel total. "

I am unable to see where these voids, errors, etc were generated. The proprietor has three terminals and each has its own check # sequence for each machine. I beleive each terminal initiates sequential check numbers on each terminal for where all check numbers should be accounted for, however when pulling the kitchen tickets there have been many missing. I have not found any reports that can bring up reports by check # and audit what happens with each check #.

Any clue where to start in the auditing? I appreciate any and all help.

Kitty

 

[SalesCatKitty]

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!

 

[MikeRose]

The very first thing that you need to be sure of is that you have a daily sales report that balances and can give you a sanap shot of all revenue and tenders accounting for that revenue. If you sell 10.00 worth of food and have a Cash line of 5.00 you need to know where the other 5 dollars is.

Second, make sure you have journaling working for all workstations.This will help create a "paper trail" of employee activity.

You mention food costing. I have found that if you are trying to get a true analysis there needs to be a set of standard rules. At our restaurants, if the food is prepared, the ticket must be discounted. If it is, in deed, an error and no inventory has been used then a void is the answer.

 

[SalesCatKitty]

Thank you thank you for your response! Not sure which reports are the ones to review. I usually track food sales only, but because he has run me total anaylsis I see alot of discrepancies

We have been unable to run a detailed report with food sales totals only. The report he runs me is with the all drink sale totals as well.

I am not quite sure what "journaling" is.

Is there a way to track each #check number? Can you pull check numbers and view details from prior days sales?

I am viewing last fridays wokstation balance report. It appears to be an analyssi of each terminal. I see many error corrects, voids, manager voids, and cancel total amounts that are very alarming. My gut tells me errors and voids that exceed 1-3 a day is too many. Errors seem to be very high as well. Can you tell me how I can view the reason for these voids, error s and can you tell me what a "cancel toatl " is.

I appreaciate your help!!

 

[savissimo]

Please check the journals. This are the files that are generated on every workstation. Check where the backups of this journals are kept. In this journals you can see workstation log and can help you in auditing... Which back office application your site have?

 

[TobeThor]

If voids are being used to reduce check totals and pocket cash bear this in mind, ALL voided menu items will print at the original printer they were sent to. IE: voided food items will print in the kitchen, voided drinks at the bar. Since that is the case, collusion may be present as the cooks and bartenders are made aware of each void and are choosing to ignore their existence. Every Micros system (going back 15 years) has the ability to track void "reasons". Each time something is voided the Micros will prompt with a list of reasons why. This list is tracked by server.

Tell the cooks and bartenders that if void dupes are thrown out it will mean dismissal. Save every void dupe, those dupes will tell the story.

 

[SalesCatKitty]

are the journal logs a report that is printed from the station?

Is it usual to have numerous "error" per shift? What do you know about "cancel ticket"

Also, isn't there a way to bring up a report to track the daily check #'s?

Thank you so much for your help

 

[TobeThor]

You have yet to identify the actual Micros model you're using so I assume it's the e7 or 3700 but confirmation will help. Cancel totals are just that, someone started a transaction and cancelled it. IE: a server picks up a check and adds two beers then realizes they actually picked up the wrong check, they press the cancel button twice to end the transaction. The two beers equal $8, that $8 just went into the cancel total on their server report. The cancel total is of minimal concern unless the bartenders are doing it a lot. IE: bartender rings up 4 beers ($4 each), turns to their customer and says "that'll be $16", customer hands bartender a $20 bill, at the bar POS the bartender presses the cancel button twice (now total due is only $8), bartender presses the cash button, cash drawer opens, bartender gives the customer back $4 in change. The bartender can leave the extra $8 in the till and there are multiple clever ways to get it back before their shift is over. So cancels at the bar are a BIG concern.

Electronic journal - the Micros POS can establish an electronic journal that details every single transaction and that would allow you to view every transaction by server or by check # to monitor exactly what is happening in regards to voids & discounts.

Do the employees use #'s or a card swipe to sign on?
Do Mgr's use cards or finger print ID scanner?

 

[ecuser]

TobeThor is point on with the bartenders. This is a practice used with several POS systems. Also, someone mentioned the version of Micros installed. I believe most versions generate a "Void Check" report with the end of day/start of day process. This can be printed with the back office application and should list the authorizing employee for the voids. (I cannot speak to e7 on this reports availability) The journals can be very helpful as well when a small number of terminals such as in this case. I believe they are structured by day. Targeting a few key menu items to start may help as well. This will allow you to look for any trends by employee.

 

[SalesCatKitty]

thanks guys I appreciate all feedback. The system is micros and I have yet to find a way to run a previous day check register.

I spoke to someone who informed me a void report, comp report, transfer report should be run at the end of the day and this would give more info do we may define what the amounts are and reasons why. This person told me I should be able to run all these reports for a period up to the full year to date. We are in the process of waiting for micros to return the call to assist us with the instructions. I understand that I may be able to run the void reports, comp reports and tranfer reports that should give me a birds eye view of what was voided/comped/ or what errors may have generated these types of transactions and hopefully show what the server(s) are actually doing. WHat I am contemplating is if there is possibilty one particular server (who had a manager option with her profile until yesterday) could have been deleting items (coding an error)and canceling the entire check which would be "cancel ticket" and possibly voiding items after presenting a check to a customer and accepting payment. I would like to see a report identifying previous voids, errors, cancel tickets. We have not identified where reports can be printed/viewed for prior days/periods.

Is there a report that should be run at the end of the day that would indicate the ticket/check #'s used for all transactions or that would tie check/ticket(transactions) #'s to each error, void, etc?

What is the systems customary to run for daily auditing purposes for end of shift reports?

Thank you so much for your responses.

 

[SalesCatKitty]

A micros e7 system
system balance report from 5/7/10

6 voids 29.95
2 mgr voids 8.00
23 error correct 68.21
6 cancel total 0.00 ( what is this???)

Avg ticket / per credit card sales 36.00
avg ticket/per cash sales 20.00

90 tickets begun/paid

Any thoughts?

 

[pmegan]

You should also take a look at the individual server and bartender reports. They will show you how many voids, returns and error corrects each person did during their shift. This can help you determine if everybody is about the same or if they coming from one or two people. This will also give you the number of times the "No Sale" button was hit by the bartenders.

Also, and this is a very low-tech also, drop by and check out the bartender's station, especially if those error corrects are coming from the bar. Look for small piles or stacks of coins, paper clips, anything that could be used for counting. It's a pretty common practice for bartenders to ring in an order, put all the cash in the drawer and then cancel the order. They keep track of how much they have to take out of the drawer will little piles of objects, usually coins - pennies = $1, nickles = $5, dimes = $10 and quarters = $20. So 1 quarter, 2 nickles and 3 pennies tells the bartender that $33 has to come out of the drawer before it's counted.

Another low-tech test is to tell the staff that you're going to implement some kind of security change in the POS system that will result in a minor change in procedure. Whoever complains the most is probably stealing the most and you'll want to keep an eye on that person. Low-tech, un-scientific, but after 7 years working in restaurants and 12 years working with POS systems I can probably count on one hand the number of times this didn't prove true.

 

[MichaelWayne71]

There are actually several types of voids in Micros & are all tracked differently & add/deplete from inventory differently...

Void-any time someone physically selects an item on the screen
and depresses the void button. Before or after servicing.

Mgr Void-any time a void is done that requires a auth from the
manager.

Error correct-press "coke" 3 times then press void to remove
the last one. BEFORE SERVICING THE TICKET.

Cancel ttl-ring up 5 items and press "cancel transaction".
Micros gives you the total when they hit cancel.
Very useful in a bar environment.

 

[SalesCatKitty]

Thank you so much, we found there were alot of voids and I was able to view with the owner. The voiding procedures now have systems to ensure the accuracy of any mistake/customer issue. We found the error correct/cancel ticket issue, we found this was a not a revenue calculation or producing element to tickets, however we had seen high instances with certain staff. I found the amount of error corrects to be extremely high as well as the amount of voids on a weekly basis. I have been checking the nightly tix from time to time and funny, how there are no more voids or cancel tix....

I believe there was something going on, just not quite sure, but since everyone knows the tracking is being seriously audited by not only the owner but by others I bet the revenue increases....

thanks so much everyone!

 

[POSLifeline]

There's a really handy program called EJ Organizer. This utility will allow you to load your journal files and look at the information any way you like. It's absolutely priceless when it comes to chargeback requests and allows you to locate specific entries with incredible ease.

You're able to search the entire journal by check number, employee, and many other variables. This can be used to look through a particular employees entire night with ease. Everything is there.

The best part is you can then copy and paste into notepad everything you find that is relevant. Why is this helpful? Because when it comes time to confront an employee you've got the evidence printed out and can ask them for an explanation.

I ran a large (10 station) nightclub for almost 10 years. This little program got a ton of use.

Jason

 

[DKX]

Has anyone found a copy of EJ organizer? As well....I
m terrible with Micros....when looking at the journal files...can it tell you how many times a bill was printed and at what times? I can't even find this journal file....does anyone have an example of it or what it would be called?

Or is the journal file limited to voids, transfers, cancels, ect?

I would really appreciate an example...

Restaurant....Micros 3700 POS

 

[DKX]

PS: I searched for EJ Organzier on google and couldn't find it...any help?

 

[savissimo]

There is no such thing as EJ Organizer, but there is app called EJ print and it is included in Micros 3700. The shortcut for this piece of software you can find it at
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\MICROS Applications\Utilities\POS.

Good luck

 

[pmegan]

DKX,

You have a pretty good amount of control over what prints to the journals. The Print button is linked to an item in your Tender/Media setup screen. Find that item, probably named Print, and get the number for the Print Class assigned to it. Click the folder icon to the right of the print class box and scroll down to that Print Class. On the top right will be a series of check boxes. If Journal is blank, check it. That will cause "Print" to go to the journals. In most systems I've seen, "Print" shares a print class with the payments, so this may already be set up for you.

The next thing you want to do is find out where the journal files are, and how they're being used. Journals are assigned by workstation, so open Devices/User Workstations. Go to the Printers tab and look at the Journal Printer assigned to each workstation. Click on the folder icon on the top-right of the printer dropdowns to open the Device setup screen. Find the devices that the workstations use as journal printers and go to the Printer Definition tab. THe "Print To Disk Filename" box will show you the path and filename for each journal printer.

Since the journals are assigned by workstation, my usual setup is one journal for dining and one for bar. Workstations behind the bar use the bar journal, everything else uses the dining journal. Some people will use multiple dining journals, or one for each workstation, but that makes it too hard to track down a check in my book. The only time I use more journals is in a restaurant with multiple floors or outlets with dedicated workstations.

 

[MikeRose]

There is a tool called EJ Organizer that will help make your journals more readable. If you are using multiple journal files I would suggest consolidating them as art of your end of day. Thay way you can go back and search a single file when doing historical research.

I am not sure it is right for me to post it here. I will look into the licensing. One thing I ask is that when you make a claim that something exists or not, be sure you know. Bad information is much worse than no information on these kinds of forums