How to close the register and cash up
Opening and closing the register is what turns "money in a drawer" into a number you can check. You open with the float you are starting with, sell all shift, then count what is physically there — and the difference between what the system expected and what you counted is the whole point of doing it.
Step by step
- Open the register at the start of the shiftOn the till, press Open Register and enter the cash already in the drawer. Every payment method you accept is listed, but for most shops only cash has a float.
- Sell as normalEvery sale is attributed to the open register and the cashier who took it.
- Close it at the end of the shiftPress Close Register.
- Count the drawerCount what is physically there and type that number — not what you expect to find.
- Read the differenceThe mismatch between expected and counted is shown per payment method. Investigate it today, while somebody still remembers the shift.
Close every shift, not every week
A variance found the same day is usually a specific mistake somebody remembers — change given wrong, a sale rung up twice. The same variance found a week later is a mystery nobody can solve, because the shift it came from is gone.
Each payment method is counted separately
Cash, card, bank transfer and each mobile wallet have their own expected and counted figures, so a card terminal that disagrees with the till does not hide inside a single combined number.
What a variance usually means
- A small cash difference is normally change given incorrectly
- A large one is worth asking the cashier about the same day
- A card or wallet difference is usually a payment taken on the wrong method at the till
- A difference that repeats on the same shift is worth watching rather than writing off
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to open the register before selling?
You should. Without an open register there is no expected figure to count against at the end of the shift, so cashing up tells you nothing.
What if the drawer does not match?
Record the counted figure honestly. The variance is recorded against the shift and the cashier, which is what makes it possible to find a pattern.
Can different cashiers share one register?
Sales are attributed to the user who took them, but the drawer is counted as one. For separate accountability, close the register between shifts.
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