How to Balance Cash Drawers Quickly and Accurately

To run a successful business, cash on hand is essential. Many people claim that cash is disappearing, and although this may be true someday, there is still a long way to go. Many people still mainly use cash for business operations, and customers want to be able to pay for purchases in cash wherever they go.

This makes balancing your cash drawer a necessary business task. Although not the most enjoyable aspect of running a business, the correct balance of your cash drawer is essential. This task can be time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be. You can learn to speed up the process by staying organized, balancing regularly, and leveraging the data in the available software.

If balanced correctly and regularly, you will always have enough money in your cash drawer to allow your employees to complete their shifts without disrupting operations or negatively impacting services.

In order to maintain profitability, each cash drawer should be balanced at the end of each shift. If this is too frequent and you don't have enough bandwidth to do so, at least make sure to balance your cash drawer at the end of the day.

Balancing cash drawers quickly and accurately is an art, but it can be learned. Here are some tips:

Cash on hand and how much cash a company should have are critical to operating a company's profitability. The amount of cash available in the cash drawer is an important part of it. Retailers need to have enough cash in their drawers to allow employees to complete a complete shift.

Assign one person per cash drawer

You can place a cash drawer on the entire floor, but this is not recommended. The more people operate the cash drawer at a time, the harder it is to determine who is responsible when the count is insufficient.

When you let an employee operate each drawer, you can increase your sense of responsibility. Yes, you may be inclined to trust your employees, and you are right. Most employees can be trusted. But you still have a business to operate, and employee theft does happen. It makes sense to hold employees accountable when handling cash. You will ensure accurate counts at the end of each shift, and you will encounter fewer problems later.

Count cash at the beginning of the day

Many people think that cash will only be counted when the cash drawer is balanced at the end of the day.

Incorrect.

The important thing is to start each day and know what is already in the cash register. At the beginning of each day, you need to have a sufficient cash base in your cash register to ensure that you have enough funds to cover your operating expenses. This is another balancing act. Too little, and your employees may eventually run out of cash during shifts and cause detention. Too much, and you increase the possibility of employee theft.

Please note: It is best to make sure that you also have a cash drawer of the right size.

Deposit cash throughout shifts

During busy shifts, it's normal for the cash register to be a little messy, $20 is too much and singles are not enough, and vice versa. Organizing cash drawers regularly throughout the day helps to ensure that your cash register is intact during the final count.

Deposit cash during periods of slow business so that you have enough cash on hand when business resumes and calculate the current situation. Be sure to eliminate the difference from the morning count, so as not to end up counting twice. It is also helpful if two people are present during the process. This helps ensure greater accuracy and greater accountability.

Pull the POS report for each drawer afterwards

Whether you balance your cash drawer at the end of each day or at the end of each shift, you need accurate data on hand to compare your counts. Whenever you close the cash drawer, pull out the point of sale report. Pop the drawer and return to a discrete location in the store to count. You need to check the count thoroughly, so make sure to give yourself enough time.

Count the cash from each drawer in a discrete location

First, perform physical counting. Count the sum of all coins, banknotes, and PDQ receipts, and compare these numbers with the totals in the report. It is not uncommon for small cash shortages or small differences to occur. Usually, by the second count, these will disappear. If the employee did not make a mistake when giving change to the customer, then everything should add up.

Identify and solve discrepancies

However, if you find a serious shortage, you need to check the data in the POS again. Most discrepancies are caused by simple human error and are not malicious. Look for shortages and surpluses. Excess means that there may be a shortage of customers, which is a problem you need to research in case you need to provide some additional training for some employees. Other discrepancies may mean that the cash is lost, stolen, or miscalculated.

To resolve this issue, please recount all cash, checks, coupons, and credit card receipts. If you can't, please check the cash register and the gray drawer around it for lost receipts. Check your POS transaction to see if you can find anything that might be lost, such as a receipt. It is also a good idea to make sure that someone can record cash differences on the small business income statement.

Record cash drawer transactions

However, if you find a serious shortage, you need to check the data in the POS again. Most discrepancies are caused by simple human error and are not malicious. Look for shortages and surpluses. Excess means that there may be a shortage of customers, which is a problem you need to research in case you need to provide some additional training for some employees. Other discrepancies may mean that the cash is lost, stolen, or miscalculated.

To resolve this issue, please recount all cash, checks, coupons, and credit card receipts. If you can't, please double check the cash register and cash drawer for missing receipts. Check your POS transaction to see if you can find anything that might be lost, such as a receipt. It is also a good idea to make sure that someone can record cash differences on the small business income statement.