In short
- 01Expected cash = opening float + cash sales − cash refunds − cash paid out + cash added. Anything else in the drawer is an over or a short.
- 02Close one drawer per person per shift. A shared drawer makes every variance nobody's.
- 03Count by denomination, before seeing the expected figure, and record every variance with a reason.
- 04Look at variances as a trend by store and cashier; one short day is noise, a pattern is a conversation.
- 05Track cash as it leaves the store: deposits to the bank and transfers between locations, confirmed by whoever receives them.
On this page
- In short
- What is cash drawer reconciliation?
- How do you calculate expected cash?
- What causes cash overs and shorts?
- What is a good end-of-day routine for several stores?
- How do you spot a pattern across stores?
- How should cash move between tills, the safe and the bank?
- How should overs and shorts be recorded in the books?
- How does Momentum handle cash across stores?
- Questions people ask
To reconcile a cash drawer, work out the cash that should be in it (the opening float, plus cash sales, minus cash refunds and any cash paid out), count what is actually there, and record the difference as over or short with a reason. Across several stores, the extra work is consistency: every till closes the same way, variances are compared by store and cashier over time, and cash leaving a store is tracked until someone confirms they received it.
What is cash drawer reconciliation?
Cash drawer reconciliation (also called cashing up or balancing the till) compares the cash counted in a drawer at the end of a shift with the cash the system expects. The difference is the variance: an over if there is more cash than expected, a short if there is less.
Card payments settle through your processor and are reconciled against its reports. The drawer reconciliation is about cash, which is why split payments need to be recorded tender by tender: a card payment keyed as cash creates a short that never existed.
How do you calculate expected cash?
A close at one till, one shift:
What causes cash overs and shorts?
- Wrong change, usually small and in both directions.
- Tender recorded wrongly: a card or mobile payment keyed as cash, or one half of a split payment missed.
- Refunds or paid-outs with no record: cash taken out for a refund or for supplies without being entered.
- Float errors: yesterday's float not counted, or a float topped up from the safe without a record.
- Shared drawers: several cashiers on one drawer, so a variance can't be traced.
- Theft, which usually shows up as a pattern rather than one big short.
What is a good end-of-day routine for several stores?
- 1Open each drawer with a counted float, recorded against the person and the till.
- 2One person, one drawer, one shift. If a cashier changes mid-shift, close and reopen.
- 3Record every paid-out and cash drop as it happens, with a reason.
- 4Count by denomination before seeing the expected figure. A blind count stops people counting toward the answer.
- 5Record the variance with a reason, even if the reason is "unknown".
- 6Move the cash properly: to the safe, to the bank as a deposit, or to another location as a transfer that the receiver confirms.
- 7Review weekly by store and cashier, not just shift by shift.
How do you spot a pattern across stores?
Small variances are normal. Patterns are what matter. A weekly roll-up makes them obvious:
- Shifts closed
- 14
- Total over/short
- −$18.50
- Largest single
- −$12.00
- Read
- Normal noise
- Shifts closed
- 14
- Total over/short
- −$96.00
- Largest single
- −$40.00
- Read
- Investigate: five of six shorts on the same cashier
- Shifts closed
- 10
- Total over/short
- +$4.00
- Largest single
- +$6.00
- Read
- Normal noise
| Location | Shifts closed | Total over/short | Largest single | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Street | 14 | −$18.50 | −$12.00 | Normal noise |
| Airport | 14 | −$96.00 | −$40.00 | Investigate: five of six shorts on the same cashier |
| Warehouse counter | 10 | +$4.00 | +$6.00 | Normal noise |
How should cash move between tills, the safe and the bank?
Most cash errors in a chain happen after the till closes, when money moves and nobody writes it down. Treat every movement as a record with two ends: where the cash left and where it arrived.
- Keep the float fixed. The same amount every day, in the same notes and coins, so an error in the float is obvious.
- Make safe drops during busy shifts. When a drawer holds more than you want at the counter, move the excess to the safe and record the drop against the till session, so the close still balances.
- Deposit on a schedule. Record each bank deposit with the amount and date, so the bank statement can be matched line by line.
- Move cash between stores as a transfer, not a favour. When one store sends change or takings to another, the sender records it and the receiver confirms it. Until the receiver confirms, the cash is in transit, not "somewhere".
- Count with a witness when cash changes hands between people, especially for deposits and safe counts.
Done this way, cash at every location can be traced from the till to the bank. When a figure doesn't match, you know which movement to look at instead of recounting a week of drawers.
How should overs and shorts be recorded in the books?
The cash actually counted is what goes into your cash account; the difference goes to a cash over/short account (an expense when short, income when over). Keeping it in its own account means variances stay visible in your profit and loss rather than disappearing into sales. Each location should have its own cash and bank accounts, so a short at one store can't be hidden by an over at another.
How does Momentum handle cash across stores?
In Momentum by Ltiora each till session opens with a counted float and closes with a counted amount; Momentum works out the expected cash and records the variance. Split payments are recorded tender by tender, and refunds and cash movements are recorded as they happen. The Cash Drawer Variance report compares closes by location and by cashier.
Behind the till, each location has its own settlement accounts for cash and bank. Cash deposits and withdrawals are recorded in the double-entry books, and a fund transfer between locations only completes when the receiving location confirms it arrived. Everything is written to a hash-chained audit trail, and the POS keeps selling offline, syncing the session when the connection returns.
Questions people ask
How much float should a till start with?
Enough to make change for the first hour or two of trading without going to the safe. For many stores that is a fixed amount, for example $100 to $300 in small notes and coins, that is the same every day so it is easy to check.
Should cashiers see the expected cash before counting?
No. A blind count, where the expected figure is shown only after the count is entered, gives an honest count. Showing the figure first invites people to count toward it.
What should we do with a cash overage?
Record it, never pocket it or carry it into the next shift. An overage usually means a customer was short-changed or a transaction was recorded wrongly, so it deserves the same review as a short.
How often should cash be taken to the bank?
Often enough that the cash held in a store stays within your insurance limit and your comfort level. Many stores deposit daily; quieter ones weekly. Either way, record each deposit so the bank statement can be matched to it.
Cash reconciliation is simple arithmetic. It only goes wrong when it's done inconsistently. Close the same way at every till, count before you see the answer, record every variance with a reason, and review by store and cashier each week. Track cash until someone confirms they received it.
Close a till, then close a week
In a demo we'll open and close a till session in Momentum, record a variance, deposit the takings and move cash to another location, then show the week's variances by store and by cashier.
