Nobody wants to think about theft or dishonesty in their shop. You hired these people. You trust them. And the vast majority of the time, that trust is earned. But retail shrinkage is real — the national average hovers around 1.5% of sales, and most of it comes from inside the building. TORO’s High Risk reports exist so that the 99% of honest activity stays clearly documented, and the 1% that isn’t doesn’t go unnoticed for months.
These reports don’t accuse anyone. They flag patterns. What you do with the information is a management decision, not a system decision.
What High Risk Reports Actually Are #
Every day, TORO records thousands of data points — transactions, voids, discounts, drawer opens, price changes, clock edits, inventory adjustments. The High Risk reports scan all of that activity and surface anything that falls outside normal patterns.
Think of them like the warning lights on your car dashboard. A check engine light doesn’t mean the engine is dead. It means something deserves a look. Same principle here.
The Reports and What They Catch #
High Risk Voids #
Transactions voided after completion. Voids happen — a customer changes their mind, the wrong item gets scanned, someone forgets a discount and starts over. That’s all normal. What’s not normal is a pattern: the same employee voiding transactions every shift, voids happening right before or after closing, or voided amounts that seem disproportionately high.
High Risk Discounts #
Unusually large or frequent discounts. Every employee has a discount limit based on their access level, but even within those limits, patterns emerge. Is one person discounting three times as often as everyone else? Are the discount reasons vague or repetitive? Are discounts happening on items that don’t typically get discounted?
High Risk Refunds Without Receipt #
Refunds processed without the original transaction receipt. Occasional no-receipt refunds are part of doing business — someone lost their receipt, you know the customer, you can see the purchase in their account history. But “sweet-hearting” — processing fake returns for cash — is one of the oldest retail scams there is. A pattern of no-receipt refunds by one person is worth looking into.
High Risk No-Sale Opens #
The drawer opened without a transaction attached. There are legitimate reasons: making change for a parking meter, breaking a large bill for someone who isn’t buying anything. But the drawer shouldn’t be opening ten times a shift with no sales to show for it. This report shows you frequency by employee, by time of day, by register.
High Risk Price Overrides #
Items sold below their listed retail price outside of a standard discount. Why was the price changed? Was there a damaged product, a price-match situation, or a negotiated deal? Or was it something less explainable? This report shows every override with the original price, the override price, and who did it.
High Risk Comps #
Employee comps approaching or exceeding their daily allowance, or comp patterns that seem unusual. Everyone on staff gets their shift smoke or whatever your comp policy looks like. This report just makes sure the policy is being followed and that comp reasons are being documented.
High Risk QOH Adjustments #
Manual changes to quantity-on-hand outside of normal receiving or sales. Inventory adjustments are a routine part of running a shop — you do a count, the number doesn’t match, you adjust it. That’s fine. But frequent adjustments to the same items, or adjustments that always go in one direction (down), can indicate product walking out the back door.
High Risk Time Clock Edits #
Manager overrides on employee clock-in or clock-out times. Occasionally, someone forgets to clock in or the system glitches and a manual fix is needed. That’s normal. A pattern of added hours, especially if it’s always the same manager editing the same employee’s time, deserves a closer look.
High Risk Drawer Closing #
Cash differences at drawer closing — how much was expected versus how much was actually counted. Small variances happen daily and mean nothing on their own. Consistent shortages, especially by the same person at the same register, mean something. This report tracks the pattern over time so you can see whether someone is trending in the wrong direction.
High Risk Employee Purchases #
Employees buying at their own register. This isn’t inherently suspicious — where else would they buy? But it’s worth monitoring for unusually high employee discounts, unusual purchase patterns, or a volume of transactions that doesn’t line up with normal employee buying.
How to Use These Reports Well #
Review weekly or every two weeks. You don’t need to check these daily. The value is in the pattern, not the individual data point. Set aside 10-15 minutes once a week to scan through them.
Look for patterns, not incidents. One void on a Tuesday afternoon is nothing. Twelve voids across three Tuesdays by the same person during the same shift is something. The reports are designed to surface exactly this kind of pattern.
Compare employees to each other. If four employees average 2 voids per week and one averages 12, that’s an outlier. It might have a perfectly good explanation — maybe they work the busiest shift and handle the most complicated transactions. But it’s worth understanding.
Document before you have conversations. If you do see something concerning, print the report and note the dates and details before talking to anyone. Having specific data points makes the conversation productive instead of confrontational.
Remember: these are management tools, not accusation tools. Most of the time, a “high risk” flag has a perfectly reasonable explanation. The point is that you looked, you asked, and you know. The alternative — not looking at all — is how small problems become big ones.
