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Pumping Up Cash Convenience - Brink's US
Pumping Up Cash Convenience
April, 2026
H.N. Funkhouser
Introduction
H.N. Funkhouser & Co. is a trusted distributor of quality petroleum products in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, serving residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural markets for over 90 years. The company's value-added sales approach has contributed to its growth and success, fostering long-term relationships with customers based on mutual trust and understanding of the marketplace.
Most of the company’s 20 Handy Mart convenience stores offer a varying selection of Shell and ExxonMobil motor fuel. Inside there are traditional grocery and deli items. Some locations also include Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, and Subway stores. When looking to save money on corporate bank fees, it turned to Brink’s.
The Challenge
For H.N. Funkhouser, improving bank efficiency came down to flexibility. Its previous cash handling vendor had an exclusive relationship with a financial institution, but the company wanted to see if other banks could provide a better deal. Switching banks also meant ensuring that a new cash management vendor could work with the bank or banks it chose.
“We were stuck with our bank because that’s who we had to use for service pickups. We wanted to look for another provider who could service us and give us more options,” said Eric Golightly, an H.N Funkhouser accountant for over 30 years.
Another challenge was the complexity of the company’s banking structure. It has a separate back-office system for each food franchise, but it wasn’t able to separate its cash reporting until receipts came in, which made end-of-the-month reconciliations difficult. “We were a little vulnerable there because I didn't have access to the information that I needed,” said Golightly.
The bank search took months, but the choice for cash management was an easy one.
The Solution
From flexible bank options to customizable reporting, Brink’s was the best choice for H.N. Funkhouser.
Brink’s has the ability to work with any bank in any location because deposits are credited electronically via ACH payments. And customizable reporting capabilities ensure that smart safe activity for every location, every franchise, and every user can be reviewed as often as needed.
The company selected Brink’s CompuSafe devices for their Handy Mart locations. Cash handling is automated from the moment a customer pays until the cash is deposited in the bank. And since cash in the safe cannot be accessed, losses from robbery are greatly reduced.
The Brink's CompuSafe transforms cash handling from a slow, manual process into an automated and secure solution that overcomes the challenges businesses face when dealing with cash such as reducing costs, decreasing internal fraud, and improving customer service.
The Results
Implementation
After scheduling installation for each location, Brink’s coordinated with the company’s zone supervisors, technical, and maintenance departments to make the transition.
“I have to say it went smoothly. There wasn’t much of a learning curve. Our people were familiar with dropping money and that process was like what we were doing previously.”
Brink’s 24SEVEN customer portal brought new reporting capabilities H.N. Funkhouser had never had before, including:
Track & Trace
The company can now follow its funds in almost real time for each smart safe anywhere, anytime and know exactly where their money is.
Time-Saving Efficiency
Variances are audited quickly, reducing paperwork and maximizing employee working hours.
Digital Convenience
Essential transactions are completed online. Users complete a deposits conveniently through the platform. A notes feature in the customer portal enables users to indicate what funds are for, what franchise made the deposit, or any other detail useful for reconciliation.
The Results
Being able to make their own financial decisions lead to a significant reduction in bank fees. That choice enabled H.N. Funkhouser to save approximately $50,000 per year. An unexpected benefit from using Brink’s was the capacity of the smart safes. Previously, cash from lottery and gaming earnings were inconsistently taken to bank. Now that there’s more room, each store drops these funds directly into their Brink’s CompuSafe on the same days and eliminate the risks of carrying cash.
“Some stores travel 7 or 8 miles to the bank. With the ability to drop lottery funds and make change, it minimizes bank travel time. I am able to verify totals without receiving the physical backup which is a huge advantage.”
Conclusion
Time and money savings are always welcome to help make businesses run efficiently and productively. But sometimes it’s the more subtle things a vendor can bring that can make a difference. For H.N. Funkhouser, that meant Brink’s personalized attention and improved safety for its employees.
Golightly appreciated the Brink’s customer care team’s approachability. “We live in a society now where we do Zoom calls and so forth and do a lot of telephone touch and emailing, but meeting some of the people behind the scenes face-to-face is helpful. Brink’s has been very responsive.”
Eliminating physical banks trips is more than just efficiency, it’s also about employee protection and retention. As Golightly said, “You're taking a chance every time your manager goes out to the bank. And if something, God forbid, should happen, it’s not only the cash, but you could traumatize that person. Then they might say ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’”
Cost savings. Efficiency. Safety. That’s what Brink’s brought to H.N. Funkhouser. Contact us to see what we can bring to your company.
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It only took one close call for this company to rethink their approach. They turned to a partner with the technology and experience to make cash handling safer, faster, and far more consistent across their growing network of restaurants.