Starting your own small business is no easy feat, yet according to statistics around 380,000 small businesses open each year in the UK.

    When you’ve put money, time, blood, sweat and tears into making your dreams a reality, the last thing you want is for a break-in to occur to uproot all of the hard work that has gone into making your business a success. That’s why making sure your premises is secure at all times is essential.

    If you want to know a little more about how to protect your premises, here are some top tips on overnight security measures that you can put in place for your small business.

    No Cash On Site

    Wherever possible make sure that you have no cash on site overnights, but more importantly advertise this so that it is known to potential threats that you do not hold cash within your buildings. You could endorse this by putting signage up around the outside of your premises saying ‘card only’ to discourage anyone who may be planning to break in. Word of mouth is also a great tool if used subtly enough. Cashiers at tills can casually discuss the fact that no funds are left on sight, in front of customers. This can help to circulate this to any potential thieves.

    Secure Valuables

    It’s a wise idea to secure all of your valuables in a safe that is inaccessible to anyone who doesn’t have the combination. This can include anything from personal items to expensive equipment or important documentation that needs to be kept stored away in a secure location. If you don’t have a safe or don’t have the means to invest in one at this time, any secure unit with a lock will do the trick!

    Close Off Entrances

    A sure way to fend off any unwanted intruders is by blocking their entrance points. Most criminals use vehicles for their break-ins to store stolen possessions and to make a quick getaway afterwards. Therefore using gates and barriers are a great solution for this. If you have gates in use, be sure to invest in some robust padlocks for an extra layer of security.

    Install CCTV

    Our final, yet possibly most vital pieces of advice, is to install CCTV both inside and outside of your premises. Not only will this give you piece of mind, but if anything were to ever go wrong, CCTV can prove extremely useful for police to use in their investigations. You can also pop up signs such as “Smile! You’re on CCTV” to warn off intruders, stopping them in their tracks.