Setting up multiple cashier accounts: Managing staff access to your payment terminal
As your business grows, you probably have more staff members using your payment terminal. However, you may expect them all to use the same account.
It's easier and it saves time, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, this is a mistake that many small business owners don't even realise they're making.
Let's take a look at why you need multiple accounts for your payment terminals.
One terminal, many users
In a small business, people often have to multitask. That means different cashiers will be taking payments depending on the time of day, number of customers, and what everyone else is doing. It's often tempting to just use the same login for every staff member, but this can cause far more problems than it fixes.
When you use SumUp products to take payments, you can set up separate accounts for each staff member to access the terminal. Here's why you mustn't miss out on this essential step.
Why staff access needs to be secure and organised
Ideally, every staff member should have their own individual user login. You can set them up at the same time that you train a new staffer to use the terminal. When everyone has their own separate account, so many things work more smoothly, such as:
Keeping payment data safe
Small business owners are often very careful about recruitment; often, your business feels more like a close-knit family. That's great, but even if you trust your staff members completely, you still need to think about security and data protection.
As the main account holder, your SumUp account gives you access to lots of data and payment information. This can include sensitive information. Even the most trustworthy staff member can make a mistake and accidentally share something sensitive, which can lead to huge problems down the line. Nip that potential problem in the bud by creating separate accounts with different levels of permissions.
Knowing who sold what and when
Smart business owners know how important it is to track sales by staff. There are lots of good reasons for this. It lets you keep track of any mistakes that may be made, resolve disputes, and offer more constructive feedback to each staff member.
Here's a common scenario for many business owners: a customer comes back to your store with a query about their item or experience. With every staff member using the same login, you'll struggle to remember the details of their transaction. However, if you can quickly identify the staff member who served them, it's so much easier to answer their questions.
Reducing errors and creating more accurate reports
Your daily reports will be simpler and more precise when every staff member has their own separate login. What's more, if someone's consistently having problems or making mistakes, you'll be able to identify the issue instantly. The faster you can spot a problem, the faster you can solve it.
What are staff accounts?
Staff accounts allow multiple users to work with one card machine. Essentially, each staff member has their own personal login information. Imagine the computer room at secondary school; everyone can log onto the same computer, but using their own credentials. That's exactly what staff accounts are like. Each staff member has secure payment terminal access, but with a different login.
Now, in a school computer room, everyone has their own account, but the accounts aren't exactly the same. For example, when the teacher logs in, they can project their screen or visit websites that pupils can't. For obvious reasons, the pupils have a more limited level of access. Well, you can do the same with staff accounts. The things that each account is allowed to do are called permissions. For example, staff permissions on a POS will probably involve completing transactions, but they may not be able to change prices or apply discounts; you might prefer to leave that for your owner account.
There's lots of other information you might not want individual staff members to see, too. That includes sensitive payment data, as well as information about how much money your business is taking overall. When a staff member logs in with their account, this information will be hidden from them. Basically, you can set up their account to let them do everything they need to do for their job, without giving them full access to all your business secrets.
How staff accounts help business owners
As you've seen, there are plenty of reasons why individual staff accounts are considered best practice. Beyond that, there are also a number of ways they can help you on a daily basis. For instance:
You'll have a clearer transaction history
Small business owners don't need to micromanage their staff, but they do need to know how well everyone is working. That's easy when each individual has their own account.
Using individual accounts gives you access to an incredibly detailed picture of your staff performance. That's great when it comes to feedback: you can see, for example, if someone is underperforming, and help them set clear, precise goals for the future. You can also see which staff members are doing particularly well, which is equally important. This also makes it a lot easier to deal with tips! Nowadays, cash tips are becoming less and less common, with card tips being the norm. That's convenient for customers, but tricky to work out behind the scenes. With staff accounts, it's easy to see which individual worker is getting tipped.
It's easier to track sales by shift
When you want your business to improve and grow, you need to be on top of all the relevant metrics. That's so much easier with separate business accounts. All the information you want is just a couple of clicks away, laid out plainly. Once an employee uses your card reader for a transacation, that information will go straight to your dashboard. Over time, you can build up a clear picture of the busiest and most profitable times of day and so on.
You can increase accountability
A big reason to introduce separate accounts is to prevent employee payment errors. Accidents happen in every business; in the worst case scenario, you may have an employee acting dishonestly. However, even if that's not the case, we all make mistakes from time to time.
Separate accounts allow you to identify who is responsible for mistakes and react accordingly. For example, you might find that some employees would benefit from a bit of extra training. Having the statistics clearly in front of you means that employees will have to be totally accountable for their mistakes. That's ideal if you're trying to foster an honest, open environment in the workplace.
How to set it up in SumUp
Staff accounts are totally free, and you can add as many as you need to your business account. You can either add new users in the app or in your SumUp dashboard. Set permissions in a few clicks and they'll be ready to go.
For a step-by-step guide to adding staff accounts, check out this simple explanation.
Use case examples
Still not sure how staff accounts can help your business? Check these out:
Staff accounts in a café
Staff accounts are extremely handy in any kind of café or quick service restaurant. You can check which of your baristas are doing a good job at upselling and adding value to transactions, and which are struggling. You'll also be able to see how many transactions your staff are completing. During busy times of day, is one staff member lagging behind?
Staff accounts in a beauty salon
Mistakes with the booking system are a common problem in a beauty salon. Staff accounts let you see who takes each booking and adds it to the calendar. If a staff member is making a lot of mistakes with bookings, you'll see it quickly and can help them to improve. Another benefit of staff accounts is the ability to work out where tips should go, based on who handles each transaction.
Staff accounts on a market stall
Market stalls can be some of the busiest retail operations. Use staff accounts to monitor different shifts. You'll be able to look at each shift in detail; not only can you check when the most transactions happen, but also when the most valuable transactions take place. You'll see which staff members are dealing with the most customers and the most money, and you can plan your daily business structure accordingly.
Find out more about staff accounts
Staff accounts are essential for data compliance and security. They let you monitor staff performance and run a more effective, successful business. Log into your SumUp dashboard to set them up.
