Article Keeping your Money and you Safe

One thing that everyone can agree on—it sure is nice to bring home money collected from your Refreshment Centers! When first starting their business, many distributors simply dump the coins in a sack of some kind. The typical canvas coin bag can usually be found at an office supply store, such as Office Depot or Staples. Some banks offer free canvas coin bags to their business customers. These bags are an efficient way to transport coins as your business grows.

When you first started out, you probably used a simple coin-sorting gadget, perhaps a few trays that you shook to separate the coins. Then came the process of fitting them in paper wrappers and sealing them. Some distributors count their coins, while others trust the banks’ scales to weigh the coin tubes.

That system works well for many distributors, but many others want to grow their business. They reorder machines, add locations, and suddenly that old trusty canvas bag simply won’t do. Shaking the trays is getting pretty tiring, too. It’s time to upgrade the coin handling operations.

There are a variety of coin bags (‘money bags’), in canvas or leather, with or without locks, handles, etc. Coin sorters and counters come in all sizes and prices. There are even marvelous gadgets that will allow you to sort, count, and wrap—without touching a single coin!

Here are three companies that offer a wide range of items for the transportation, sorting, and counting operations. They all have web sites with the name of their company; just type their name without the spaces and add the dot com at the end:

•  Alabama Bags

•  General Bank Supply

•  Keysan

•  Lynde-Ordway

Of these, General Bank Supply seems to have the largest range of merchandise for both coins and cash, while Lynde-Ordway specializes in heavy-duty coin sorters. You can find several other companies by doing internet searches, and then compare prices.

The most important thing to us is your safety. Distributors report virtually no problems with safety when they service their routes, but let’s review some ways to maintain your security.

Keep your cash discreetly out of sight. When your business is small, you don’t have to have the canvas coin bags; why not use a shaving kit or makeup bag? They’re sturdy, nondescript, and you may already have one at home you can use!

Don’t openly display your money bags when outside a location; many distributors carry drinks (or chocolate when it gets hot) in a cooler, and just toss the coin bag in before leaving the location.

Routines are efficient, but vary your service routine periodically. Why not switch a morning location’s service time with an afternoon location? If a location wants you there at a specific time, try to accommodate their request, but remember—it’s your business, and you can be quite flexible with your schedule.

Remember, you always have control; if you don’t feel safe at a potential location, by all means, don’t install equipment there—only go to places where you feel secure, and park and walk in well-lit public areas. And finally, resist the temptation to brag to strangers how successful your all-cash business is!