Cash drawers are an important piece of hardware for any F&B business in Malaysia. It’s where you can safely stash your cash away as you go about with your business on a daily basis. A good one will help keep your operations smooth and help you serve your customers quickly.
They play such an important role in your business that it’s worth knowing the type of cash drawers in the market. This way, you can pick the one that suits your needs best and that’s within your budget.
Things to consider when choosing a cash drawer
When considering a cash drawer, you’ll need to consider a few things:
- Cables – do you want to have a lot of cables hanging around or do you like the minimalism of cable-free?
- Compatibility with your POS system – is the cash drawer going to be compatible with your POS system?
- Digital or physical trigger to open – do you want to open your drawer using a push, or with your app?
- Digital or physical lock – do you want to keep your drawer locked with a physical key or a digital lock?
Manual cash drawer
The manual cash drawer is the most conventional type of cash drawers around. These early generation cash drawers are what you’ll see in most conventional shops.
With just a push to open, manual cash drawers don’t need to be connected to any power outlet to work. To restrict access to the money inside, there’s a simple key-lock system in place you can use.
Since the cash drawer is all manual, you won’t be able to connect it with your POS system though. Every time your customer makes a payment, you’ll need to physically push the drawer to open it.
With basic features and function, manual cash drawers are also the cheapest option in this list and will be able to work with any POS system you use.
As such, the manual cash drawer is a simple and straightforward solution for a business owner with basic needs and a small budget.
RJ11 Connected Cash Drawer
RJ11 connected cash drawers are a step up from manual cash drawers. They still have the push-to-open mechanism in place and you can still use the key-lock system to restrict access to your money, but now, you’ll also have an extra RJ11 connection.
The RJ11 port is the same port you use for your telephone landline. In this case, this port provides a communication link between your cash drawer and an RJ11 compatible POS system.
With this communication link, you can not only push-to-open physically, but you can also kick your drawer open using a button on your POS system.
The RJ11 does add an additional cable line to your cash drawer though. So it will look slightly messier than a totally manual cash drawer if you don’t hide the cables properly.
If you prefer having more than one option to open your cash drawer but don’t want to spend too much money on a more complex cash drawer, go for an RJ11 connected cash drawer. As a bonus, they don’t cost that much more than a totally manual one!
Bluetooth cash drawer
Bluetooth connected cash drawers have become pretty popular these days thanks to business owners jumping on the wireless trend.
With these types of cash drawers, you won’t need any cables between the cash drawer and your POS system. The only cable you’ll have is the one going from the cash drawer to the power outlet.
Bluetooth cash drawers can be connected to your POS system and triggered to open automatically when a customer payment is registered. Access to the cash drawer can also be restricted through the POS system as well.
The biggest problem with Bluetooth cash drawers is that you’ll need a Bluetooth enabled POS system to work. Since not all POS systems are Bluetooth enabled, you’ll want to check first before buying this type of cash drawer.
That being said, for business owners who prefer keeping their POS system setup cable-free and their POS process automated, Bluetooth cash drawers are a pretty good choice.
USB connected cash drawer
Finally, we have the USB connected cash drawers. While rarely used these days, they are worth mentioning so at least you are aware of such cash drawers in the market.
As the name suggests, USB connected cash drawers are connected to your POS system using USB communication protocols. Although this setup may not sound complicated, it’s a pretty underdeveloped communication link for most POS systems – most POS system is simply not compatible with USB cash drawers.
So if you do come across USB connected cash drawers, consider if your POS system can work with it before making a purchase.
Conclusion
Cash drawers are an essential part of any POS system. For a simple and straightforward setup, go for a manual cash drawer. If you want a little more flexibility with opening your drawer, go for an RJ11 connected cash drawer.
On the other hand, go for Bluetooth cash drawer for a more cable-free and automated setup. Finally, stay away from USB cash drawers unless you are sure your POS system is well built for it.
Regardless of the type of cash drawer you go for though, make sure it’s compatible with your POS system and works exactly how you want it to.
Looking for a POS System to go with your cash drawer? Try Slurp!
Slurp! POS System was designed to support every part of your F&B business. From payments to inventory management to kitchen orders, there’s no limit to what Slurp! can help automate for your business!
Best of all, Slurp! works perfectly with most RJ11 connected cash drawers, providing you the option of a manual push-to-open or an app triggered kick-to-open!
