The 6 Best Ways to Protect Your Business From Theft

Anita Ginsburg

December 04, 2013

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Business owners must always be concerned about theft, as it can reduce revenue and cause inventory and accounting problems. Theft affects both large corporations and small retailers, so there are steps you need to take to prevent it from happening to you. Here are six ways to protect your business, so you can have peace of mind:

Limit Access to Keys or Access Codes

The keys or codes needed to open doors should be given to only a few trusted people. Giving new employees keys or codes can increase the chance of theft. Handing out a large number of keys increases the chance they can be lost or stolen. Only the individuals who absolutely need the keys or codes should have them, as usually there is no need to distribute these to everyone. Make sure managers and people who come earliest in the morning and stay late in the evening have access to the building so they can open the doors for others and lock up when the leave.

Limit Foot Traffic Through the Business

The chance of theft rises when large amounts of foot traffic are allowed through all areas of the business. Business owners should keep the majority of doors locked during the day. Customers should be limited to specific monitored areas. Likewise, employees should not be allowed to casually walk into sensitive areas where inventory or money is kept.

Install Strong Locks on All Doors

Every door inside and outside of the business should contain a strong lock. This includes doors to bathrooms and doors on outside storage containers. Deadbolt locks with anti-theft features will stop most criminals. Outdoor storage containers should have container locks that secure the crossbars. This will protect the business against outside theft when there is no surveillance or people around.

Store Valuables in a Safe

Valuable items like cash, expensive products or data backups should be stored inside of a safe. The safe should be mounted to the ground or a structural part of the building and should be kept in a locked room as well. This will make it incredibly difficult for thieves to get to the most valuable items in the business.

Install a Monitored Security System

One of the best ways to protect a business from theft is to install a complete monitored security system. The system can detect unauthorized entries and breaking windows. It can provide forensic video evidence of theft. Monitoring services can even protect the business while it is closed.

Separate Job Responsibilities

Some theft can occur because of malicious employees. A way to prevent this is to separate job responsibilities. People who handle money from a register should not perform accounting or bookkeeping duties. Overlapping similar responsibilities can give a single employee the opportunity to steal from the business without being easily noticed. Employee theft is something the can be monitored and controlled, and following tips to reduce employee theft will allow you to focus your efforts on other problem areas, as long as you can trust your employees.

Business owners must constantly look for security weaknesses in the business. This means weaknesses with processes, physical access and customer policies. Protecting a business from theft requires adapting to new potential threats as they appear.