Anthony Mears

licensee, Ivy House,

Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire

Firstly, is there any evidence to support your feeling that money is going missing, and are there any other suspects?

It is a good idea to compile a shortlist of suspects, and objectively investigate them all.

Unfortunately, the most sophisticated till system won't stop theft because the money generally doesn't reach the till. Under-ringing is not difficult to do, the much harder job is keeping track of the under-ringing, then removing the cash.

If he is under-ringing, he will need some way to keep track of how much he needs to take out. So look for bottle caps, match sticks and so forth around the bar that may indicate mal-practice. Tidy up the counters and put him on the wrong foot. Then look for cash variances, identifying who has been on duty when the till doesn't balance.

Limit the barman to one bar and one till, and put a ready reconciled till drawer into the till prior to the barman coming on duty. Give him a chance to under-ring, then unexpectedly join him for the last hour of his shift, so that he doesn't have a chance to abstract the cash. After he clocks off, do another X reading, count the till again and check how far out the amount is from the till reading - presumably there will be more money than expected, unless he removes the cash early on, then under-rings during the session to cover it.

Preferably, do both of these reconciliations with someone else present as a guarantee that your figures are correct. You can then tackle him on the differences.

If none of these work try a specialist security or stock-take company. It may cost you a few hundred pounds, but at £20 to £40 a shift the cost will soon be redeemed.