Retail loss prevention audit template
Loss Prevention Audit Checklist
Audit physical security, employee access, cash and POS controls, inventory shrink, high-value stock, CCTV, alarms, incidents, and corrective action across every retail location.
Are refunds, voids, cancellations, and price overrides authorized and supported by evidence?
Store Manager · Due in 24 hours · Transaction evidence required
Select an answer to preview the workflow.
About this checklist
What a loss prevention audit should help you verify
Test whether the controls protecting inventory, cash, employees, customers, premises, transactions, and evidence are working consistently at store level.
When
Scheduled and risk-triggered audits
Use it for routine audits, high-risk periods, shrink investigations, incidents, new managers, seasonal peaks, and follow-up reviews.
Who
Loss prevention and store teams
Loss prevention, regional operations, store managers, security, finance, and inventory teams can review the relevant controls.
Outcome
Visible risk and accountable action
Create a verified record of control effectiveness, evidence, exposure, ownership, containment, escalation, and closure.
Complete audit checklist
Checks across the full loss prevention control environment
Ten sections, sixty checks. Expand any section, then adapt thresholds, transaction samples, evidence rules, criticality, action deadlines, and escalation paths to your operating model.
Section 1Audit setup and loss risk context
- Confirm the correct store, audit type, date, and approved audit window.
- Record current footfall, promotional activity, staffing level, and any unusual trading condition.
- Confirm the store manager, loss prevention contact, and security personnel on duty.
- Review previous audit findings, open actions, and recent loss incidents before starting the inspection.
- Assign the store a current loss risk level based on location, season, product mix, and recent events.
- Capture arrival geo-location, timestamp, and an approved exterior reference photo.
Section 3Opening, closing, key, and access controls
- Verify store opening and closing procedures are completed by authorized employees.
- Confirm dual-person verification is used for cash, alarm, key, or high-risk access steps where required.
- Review master key, access card, and restricted key issue and return records.
- Compare alarm activation and deactivation records with authorized users and expected times.
- Check stockrooms, offices, cash rooms, server rooms, and restricted doors remain locked when not in active use.
- Confirm the final security sweep and end-of-day sign-off are completed before the last employee leaves.
Section 5POS, cash, refund, discount, and transaction controls
- Verify the opening till float is counted, recorded, and acknowledged by authorized employees.
- Compare physical cash to the POS or safe balance and record any variance.
- Sample refunds, voids, cancellations, and price overrides for approval and supporting evidence.
- Check manual discounts, coupons, promotions, and price changes follow approved rules.
- Review no-sale drawer openings, paid-outs, cash drops, and cash movements.
- Verify gift cards, store credits, loyalty points, and other cash-equivalent transactions are controlled.
Section 7Sales floor, high-value stock, fitting rooms, and theft deterrence
- Verify high-value products are displayed and secured according to the approved control plan.
- Check EAS, RFID, or other security tags are applied correctly and remain active until purchase.
- Assess blind spots, concealed zones, shelf layouts, and fixture placement that could increase theft risk.
- Verify fitting room entry, item counts, occupancy monitoring, and recovery checks follow policy.
- Confirm customer service coverage is sufficient in high-risk zones and during peak periods.
- Log empty packaging, tampered products, concealed merchandise, or other suspected theft indicators.
Section 9Incident handling, evidence, safety, and compliance
- Verify incidents are reported promptly with factual details, timestamps, and involved roles.
- Check video, photos, receipts, statements, and other evidence are retained and access-controlled.
- Confirm suspected theft response follows the approved safe, non-confrontational procedure.
- Verify escalation to security, police, insurer, legal, or regional management follows defined criteria.
- Review known-offender, exclusion, or trespass information for currency and lawful use.
- Check privacy notices, CCTV signage, data access, and information handling follow policy.
- Confirm incident-related corrective actions have owners, priorities, due dates, and closure evidence.
Section 2Exterior, entrances, exits, and physical security
- Check exterior lighting, visibility, signage, and perimeter conditions around the store.
- Verify customer entrances and emergency exits are secure, unobstructed, and monitored.
- Inspect doors, locks, shutters, gates, windows, and glazing for damage or tampering.
- Confirm delivery, service, and staff entrances are controlled and are not left propped open.
- Review parking, loading, waste, and other external high-risk areas for concealment or unauthorized access.
- Confirm alarm keypads, access devices, and security codes are protected from public view.
Section 4Employee access, conduct, and internal theft controls
- Verify employee entrances and restricted work areas are controlled by authorized access.
- Check bags, personal belongings, lockers, and mobile devices are managed according to company policy.
- Review employee purchases, discounts, holds, returns, and exchanges for authorization and documentation.
- Confirm employees use individual POS logins and do not share till credentials.
- Check controls preventing unauthorized consumption, use, gifting, or removal of stock and supplies.
- Record suspicious conduct, policy exceptions, or conflicts of interest requiring review.
Section 6Receiving, stockroom, transfers, and inventory shrink controls
- Match incoming deliveries to purchase orders or advance shipment records before acceptance.
- Record shortages, overages, damage, and tampering with supporting evidence.
- Confirm receiving zones, cages, stockrooms, and high-value storage have restricted access.
- Verify high-value, fast-moving, or theft-prone stock is stored under enhanced controls.
- Review transfers, returns to vendor, write-offs, disposals, and stock adjustments for traceability.
- Compare cycle count results to system stock and investigate material variances.
Section 8CCTV, alarms, EAS, and security system readiness
- Verify cameras are operational, recording, correctly timed, and free from obstruction.
- Confirm CCTV retention, export, and user access controls meet company requirements.
- Test EAS pedestals or theft alarms and verify the expected response procedure.
- Verify intrusion, panic, duress, and other security alarm status or scheduled test records.
- Check radios, phones, panic devices, and emergency communication tools are available and charged.
- Confirm incident forms, evidence storage, emergency contacts, and response instructions are available.
Section 10Overall risk, corrective action, and management sign-off
- Rate overall loss prevention control effectiveness across people, process, inventory, cash, and security systems.
- Record the three highest loss risks identified and their likely business impact.
- Create a corrective action plan with owner, priority, due date, evidence, and escalation path.
- Confirm all immediate critical risks are contained before the audit is closed.
- Complete store manager and regional or loss prevention reviewer approval with timestamp.
Take it with you
Use the complete checklist during your next loss prevention audit
Download the printable version, or continue below to see how the same audit can run with verified evidence, scoring, action ownership, and escalation in Taqtics.
How to use it
Turn store risk checks into a controlled audit process
Set the audit scope, verify evidence, test the controls that matter most, and make every material finding accountable.
Set scope and risk
Choose the store, audit window, high-risk areas, transaction samples, product categories, and previous findings to review.
Verify the evidence
Use geo-location, timestamps, live photos, count results, system logs, and transaction references to support findings.
Test critical controls
Apply clear scoring, thresholds, mandatory comments, evidence rules, and immediate containment for serious exposure.
Close the risk
Assign owners, due times, escalation, and closure proof. Recheck repeat findings and unresolved critical controls.
Live interactive demo
See how the audit works when it is run in Taqtics
Complete a few representative controls, record a variance, attach evidence, trigger an action, and preview the workflow without an oversized full-screen interface.
Risk-based scoring
Use weighted controls, critical failures, thresholds, and repeat-risk logic across every location.
Evidence built into checks
Capture live photos, cash variance, stock counts, transaction samples, logs, timestamps, and comments together.
Accountable corrective action
Critical gaps can create an owner, priority, containment step, deadline, escalation, and closure-proof requirement.
Illustrative website demo. Responses are not stored or submitted.
Why digitize it
A clearer way to manage loss prevention controls across stores
Taqtics connects audit assignments, evidence, risk scoring, corrective action, escalation, and reporting in one workflow.
Verify every audit
Use assigned stores, geo-fencing, timestamps, approved evidence, and audit history to reduce unreliable submissions.
Compare controls consistently
Apply the same questions, weights, thresholds, samples, evidence rules, and calculations across locations.
Close high-risk gaps
Assign containment, investigation, repair, coaching, reconciliation, and security actions with deadlines and proof.
Spot recurring exposure
Review shrink patterns, repeat cash variance, access issues, system failures, overdue actions, and regional risk trends.
Frequently asked questions
Loss prevention audit checklist FAQs
What should a loss prevention audit checklist include?
It should cover audit setup, physical security, opening and closing controls, employee access, POS and cash, receiving, inventory shrink, high-value stock, fitting rooms, CCTV, alarms, incidents, evidence, corrective action, and sign-off.
How often should loss prevention audits be completed?
Frequency should reflect store risk, shrink trends, product value, transaction volume, incidents, seasonality, and previous findings. Many brands combine scheduled audits with targeted follow-up visits.
Which loss prevention checks should be treated as critical?
Critical checks commonly include uncontrolled exits, failed locks or alarms, shared POS access, material cash variance, unapproved refunds, high-value stock exposure, major inventory variance, failed CCTV, unsafe incident response, and open high-risk actions.
What evidence should be collected during a loss prevention audit?
Useful evidence includes geo-location, timestamps, approved live photos, transaction references, count results, access records, alarm and CCTV test results, incident references, comments, and closure proof.
How should failed loss prevention checks be handled?
A failed material control should create an action with an owner, severity, due time, containment requirement, evidence rule, and escalation path. Critical risks should not remain uncontrolled when the audit is closed.
Can this checklist be adapted for different retail formats?
Yes. Adjust the high-risk areas, products, access controls, transaction samples, security systems, incident procedures, and escalation rules for supermarkets, fashion, jewellery, pharmacy, electronics, convenience, and other retail formats.
Ready when you are
Run loss prevention audits with verified evidence and accountable follow-up
Schedule audits by store, capture live proof, score risk consistently, create corrective actions, escalate critical exposure, and compare performance across locations.
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