A rise in burglaries targeting cash-heavy businesses, such as cannabis shops and coffee stands, has left many business owners looking for better security solutions. Cash wizards, a classic ‘money safe,’ offer an added level of protection, making it harder for thieves to simply walk away with large sums of cash.
What is a Money Safe?
A money safe is a safe used in a home or business to store cash. A high-security lock box makes it harder for unwanted individuals to access the contents. In addition to cash, these contents might include:
- Checks
- Important Documents (like signed contracts)
- Precious Metals
- Jewels/Jewelry
How Do Cashwizard Smart Safes Work?
Like a smartwatch or smartphone, a smart safe can be connected to other devices, transmitting essential data. For example, a smart safe could connect to:
- Point-of-Sale Software
- An Online Tracking System
- A Back-Office System
- A Smartphone App
This type of digital connection allows business owners to monitor the safe’s contents in real time. It also provides both a hard copy and digital ‘paper trail’ of every transaction in which the safe is involved.
How does the safe know how much money is deposited and when? It’s not magic, we promise. A smart safe that’s utilized for cash management is equipped with a single or bunch note reader. These high-tech readers scan each dollar bill that’s inserted, counting the number and value of each bill deposited.
American Security’s Cashwizard Smart Safes come in eight different sizes that offer a range of different features. The smallest AMSEC Cashwizard is a BR2012. It comes equipped with:
- A single or bunch note reader
- Holds up to 1,200 notes
- Spill-resistant keypad
- Dead latch locking mechanism
- Anti-pry doors
- Optional web-based software management
The largest AMSEC Cashwizard Smart Safe can hold up 4,400 notes and features three doors, two single or bunch note readers, and a depository drop.
Who Would Benefit from a Cashwizard Money Safe?
While Cashwizard Money Safes can be used in any business or personal setting, they benefit cash-heavy businesses the most. These include establishments such as:
- Coffee Bars
- Coffee Stands
- Fast Food Restaurants
- Dispensaries (aka Pot Shops)
- Convenience Stores
- Casual Dining Establishments
- Retail Mall Shops
Where to Install a Money Safe?
As a rule of thumb, ‘Out of Sight — Out of Mind,’ is the best practice when it comes to Money Safes. Any money safe, whether it’s a Cashwizard smart safe or a more old-school depository safe, should be installed in a discrete location.
That being said, it is important to recognize the best place to install a money safe also depends on the following factors:
- How Often the Safe is Being Used
- The Size of the Safe
- The Business’ Configuration (how the store is laid out)
- Where the Safe Can Be Bolted Down
Businesses that need to make frequent deposits throughout the day often benefit from installing their money safe beneath a front counter. Regardless of where the safe is installed, it is essential that it is bolted to a secure structure (such as the ground or wall).
Always Bolt Down Your Money Safe
We can’t stress this enough. The heaviest AMSEC Cashwizard Smart Safe is 440 pounds. While that’s not a weight at which to scoff, it’s certainly manageable for most in-shape ladies and gents with a dolly. And that’s the heaviest of the smart safes. The further you go down, the lighter they get and the easier it would be to simply pick it up and walk away.
What are the Best Alternatives to a Cashwizard?
Cashwizard Smart Safes aren’t the only solution for businesses interested in securing their valuables. Commercial safes come in a wide range of sizes and security levels. The following are the most common cash safe solutions for businesses of all sizes:
Depository Safes
Depository safes (aka cash boxes, money lock boxes, and drop safes) are safes equipped with a rotary till and locked door. These safes allow items to be deposited, but not removed, through the rotary drop. This ensures only authorized individuals with the key or combination can open the safe.
Depository Safes are Best For:
These safes are a good, lower-tech solution for many of the same businesses that would benefit for a Cashwizard smart safe. These include:
- Convenience Stores
- Car Dealerships
- Hotels and Motels
- Bars & Restaurants
- Fast Food Joints
- Retail Stores
- Apartment Managers
- Churches & Nonprofits
- Banks & Credit Unions
- Check Cashing & Payday Loan Businesses
Learn more about depository safes.
TL-Rated Commercial Safe
TL and TLTR Safes offer the highest level of security and protection for jewelry stores, businesses handling large sums of cash, companies with high-value assets, and individuals with a large collection of valuables.
The TL or TLTR rating is awarded by Underwriters Laboratory (UL). A third-party testing agency, UL provides unbiased, dependable safety ratings. In the case of safes, TL stands for ‘Tool Latency,’ and TR stands for ‘Torch Resistance.’
The highest-rated commercial safe has a TRTL-60x6 rating. This indicates that the safe could withstand a tool and torch attack for 60 minutes on all six sides of the safe. Entry-level commercial safes have a TL-15 rating, indicating that the door of the safe can withstand a tool attack for 15 minutes.
Testing time is counted only while the safe is actively being worked on. If the technician stops to rest, swap out a drill bit or grab a new tool, the time stops. While the time rating, such as 15 minutes, may not sound like long, the test for a TL-15 safe often takes hours because of the stopping clock.
TL-Rated Safes are Best For:
- Jewelry Stores
- Pharmacies
- Dispensaries
- Pawn Shops
- Restaurants
- Anyone Needing the Highest Level of Security & Fire Protection
View our comprehensive list of UL Listed commercial Safes.
American Security BFX Gun Safe
As you search for a money safe, gun safes may not be top of mind. But American Security’s line of BFX gun safes are the only American Manufactured safes of their kind. These high-security gun safes can be used to store a lot more than guns.
Constructed from 11 gauge steel, they feature a ⅜-inch plate door, equipped with as many as 14 locking bolts. The interiors offer heavy-duty storage shelves. Furthermore, these safes offer a two-hour fire rating.
TL-Rated Safes are Best For:
- Jewelry Stores
- Pharmacies
- Dispensaries
- Pawn Shops
- Anyone Needing the Highest Level of Security & Fire Protection