The scenes you cannot miss
Before the number of cameras, decide the scenes you will actually need to return to:
- The till and the point of sale: the most important point — this is where most disputes and discrepancies occur.
- Entrance and exit: to document arrivals and departures with a clear face.
- Preparation area and kitchen: for safety, quality and following the flow of work.
- The store and refrigerators: for stock and loss.
The kitchen is a harsh environment
Kitchen heat, steam and grease destroy an ordinary camera quickly: the lens clouds, grease builds up, and the temperature rises above the operating limit. A kitchen needs a camera with a suitable housing and heat tolerance, a position away from direct steam, and lens cleaning scheduled within maintenance. A cheap camera above the stove means replacement every few months.
The till and the point of sale: the link that reveals discrepancies
A camera above the till is useful, but linking it to the point-of-sale system is far stronger: it shows on the recording what was printed on the receipt at the moment of the transaction. That reveals suspicious voids and differences between sales and the drawer, and settles many disputes without guesswork.
Privacy: where a camera does not go
Compliance does not mean recording everything. No cameras in toilets or staff changing areas. Staff rest areas are handled with care and with clear notice. Excess recording can put you in breach of the privacy of staff and guests — and the dividing line is known: public areas and transaction points, not private places.
Retention and clarity
A restaurant is a busy place, and incidents may be discovered late (a stock difference, a guest complaint, a dispute). So a retention period of no less than 30 days is reasonable, and it may need to be longer. And make sure the till and entrance scenes are at a resolution that identifies a face and a receipt, not a general view that cannot be read.
Handover and maintenance
After installation you must know how to return to a recording by date and time, and how to export a clip when needed. The kitchen environment in particular makes periodic maintenance — lens cleaning, recording checks — part of keeping the system useful rather than a luxury.
