How long does it take to build retail loss prevention software?

A working prototype runs on your real data in about 14 days. The production timeline depends on how many data sources and stores are involved, and we commit to a dated plan after the audit. For reference, our comparable return-fraud system went from kickoff to live in about four weeks.

How much does custom loss prevention software cost for a small retailer?

Projects start at $15,000+ for a focused shrink prototype. A production LP analytics platform starts at $38,000+, and an omnichannel build at $75,000+. Unlike per-store SaaS licenses, you pay for retail loss prevention software you own, and we size scope against the shrink you can realistically recover.

Will we own the code and models after the project ends?

Yes. You own the repository, trained models, data pipelines and documentation outright. No proprietary platform or per-store license holds your retail loss prevention system hostage, so your own team or another vendor can extend it after launch without starting over.

How do you protect employee and customer data during the project?

Everything runs inside your private cloud perimeter under SOC2/GDPR-aligned practices and a signed DPA. Your data never trains public models. Risk scores use behavioral and transaction signals only, never protected attributes, and every flag is logged, explainable and confirmed by a person before any action.

Will it work with our existing POS, ERP and camera systems?

Yes. We build around your current stack instead of replacing it. Typical sources include POS transaction logs, ERP and inventory adjustments, e-commerce and returns platforms, and event feeds from video management systems that expose an API. We applied the same pattern in a license plate recognition system built on an existing camera network.

What happens after launch, and how do we measure results?

We measure shrink, confirmed-fraud rate, false positives and investigator hours against your pre-launch baseline, using your own cost inputs. After handover, you can run the system in-house, keep us on for iteration, or expand to new loss types. There is no mandatory retainer.

Retail Loss Prevention Software Built Around Your Data

Refunds without receipts, voids at one register, inventory that never matches the count: the signals of shrink are already in your POS data. Building Agentic turns them into retail loss prevention software your LP team uses daily, with a working prototype on your data guaranteed in 14 days.

From Raw POS Data to Fewer Losses

Four stages, each ending with something your loss prevention team can use and measure, not a report that sits in a shared drive.

― WHY CUSTOM

Your Shrink Has Its Own Patterns

A chain-wide LP suite flags what is typical for everyone. Your losses cluster in specific stores, shifts and SKUs. We encode the rules your LP team already trusts as auditable code, add models only where patterns are too subtle for rules, and keep review screens on low-code.

― TRACK RECORD

Fraud Detection We've Already Shipped

We haven't published an in-store loss prevention case yet. The closest work: return-fraud risk scoring for a DTC retailer that cut fraudulent returns 38% and protected $180K in margin (representative engagement, anonymized under NDA), plus a computer-vision returns verifier piloting at a beauty retailer. Explore our case studies.

Explore our case studies

Employee Data Protected

Transaction and employee records stay inside your private cloud. Nothing trains a public model, and access to investigation data is role-based and logged from the very first prototype.

No Per-Store License

You own the code, rules and models. Opening a new location never adds a subscription line, and your IT team can extend the system without asking us for permission.

Explainable Flags

Every alert shows the transactions, rules and signals behind it, so an investigator can defend the decision to a store manager or in an employment review.

Scales Store by Store

Start with one store cluster or one fraud type. The same architecture extends to new locations, channels and data sources without a rebuild as your retail loss prevention program matures.

Retail Loss Prevention Software Cost & Packages

Shrink Prototype

$15,000+

A focused prototype that tackles one loss driver, such as refund abuse, void patterns or inventory gaps, on your real data in about two weeks. Best for independent retailers and small chains testing whether custom AI beats their current reports.

What's included?

Shrink Audit: ranked map of loss drivers across stores, SKUs and transaction types

Prototype Model: exception detection running on your real POS or returns data

Data Connectors: read-only pipeline from one POS or e-commerce platform

Findings Report: measured impact, false positives and the fastest path to production

Get a Free Shrink Audit

LP Analytics Platform

$38,000+

A production loss prevention system with risk scoring, investigator case queues and shrink dashboards across your store network. This is the tier most mid-market retailers choose once the prototype proves where margin is leaking.

What's included?

Everything in Shrink Prototype: hardened for daily use and deployed in your private cloud

Risk Scoring: explainable scores for refunds, voids, discounts and employee transactions

Case Management: low-code investigator queue with evidence attached to every flag

Integration: secure connection to your POS, ERP or inventory management system

Get a Free Shrink Audit

Omnichannel LP Build

$75,000+

A full-scope loss prevention platform spanning stores, e-commerce returns, receiving and vendor billing, with agentic workflows that triage cases automatically. Built for multi-location retailers replacing a patchwork of point tools.

What's included?

Everything in LP Analytics Platform: extended across all channels, stores and loss types

Multi-System Integration: POS, ERP, WMS, e-commerce and video management system event feeds

Agentic Triage: AI agents that assemble evidence and draft case summaries for investigators

Compliance & Training: SOC2/GDPR-aligned deployment plus hands-on onboarding for your LP team

Get a Free Shrink Audit

Why Choose Building Agentic?

Enterprise LP suites assume hundreds of stores and a dedicated analytics team. A regional retailer needs something smaller, sharper and owned outright.

Rules First, AI Second

Policy and void rules run as transparent code, and machine learning is added only where patterns are too subtle for rules.

Built for Investigators

Case queues show evidence, history and reasons, so your LP team spends time on real cases instead of false alarms.

Proof in Two Weeks

A working detector runs on your own transactions within 14 days, before you commit budget to a full build.

One Owner, No Seats

You own everything we build, so adding stores, registers or investigators never raises a license fee.

How It Works

The work runs in four funded stages, and you can stop after any of them and keep everything built so far, from the audit findings and data model to the prototype code itself.

Step 1

Audit Your Shrink

We review your POS, inventory and returns data and pinpoint the two or three loss drivers most worth automating first, ranked by margin impact.

Step 2

Prototype on Data

A working detection model goes live on your real transactions within about 14 days, with results you can measure against today.

Step 3

Harden & Integrate

We connect POS, ERP and case management, add guardrails and deploy everything inside your private cloud with full audit trails.

Step 4

Measure & Scale

We compare shrink, false positives and investigator hours to your baseline, then extend the system to new stores and loss types.

Industries We Build Loss Prevention Systems For

Loss happens wherever goods, refunds and invoices change hands. We apply the same detection engine across the retail value chain, from the checkout lane and returns desk to the receiving dock and the AP queue.

E-commerce and omnichannel retailers fighting return fraud, wardrobing and refund abuse.

See our E-Commerce & Retail AI work

Multi-location retailers losing margin to vendor billing errors, duplicate invoices and bank-detail fraud.

See our Invoice & AP Automation work

Retail supply chains tracing shrink back to receiving discrepancies and supplier performance.

See our Procurement & Supply Chain AI work

The People Behind Your Loss Prevention System

Every engagement is led by a founder. These are the people you will work with, and the experience they bring to retail loss prevention.

Vladislav Volovik

Data & Analytics Lead

Built e-commerce analytics at Sephora (LVMH Group) after five years of SAP Analytics BI at Allianz Technology. On your project he designs the data model linking POS, inventory and returns, the layer that decides whether a shrink pattern is visible at all.

Alexander Soldatov

Product Lead

Ten years leading products at Yandex, AliExpress and Tinkoff, including operations he scaled from zero to a 23-person team. He decides which loss driver to attack first and what gets cut from scope, so the prototype targets the biggest leak.

Sergey Rodin

Managing Partner

Founder of Lava Media in San Diego, where he ran 900+ campaigns for brands including Reebok, Rimmel and 3M. He owns your engagement end to end: scope, commercials, timelines and the weekly conversation with your LP team.

Our engineers average 5–7 years of senior experience, and the founding team has run fraud prevention systems serving millions of users.

How We Find Shrink in POS Data

Answers from our team to the questions retailers ask before trusting software with loss prevention: which signals matter, how much data is enough and where rules beat AI.

Find Out Where Your Shrink Really Starts

Most retailers know their shrink rate but not its source. Send us a few months of POS and inventory data, and a solutions architect, not a salesperson, will show you where the losses cluster.