The formula
Expected cash in the drawer = opening float + cash sales - cash refunds - cash pay-outs - cash drops to the safe. Counted cash should equal that. If it is higher, the drawer is over; if lower, it is short. Most POS systems do the expected-cash arithmetic for you, so your job is an accurate count and making sure every pay-out and refund was recorded.
Card payments do not go in the drawer, but check them the same night: the POS card total should equal the terminal's batch total.
Count the same way every time
Count away from the counter, without interruptions, by denomination: bills largest to smallest, then coins. Use a count sheet so the numbers are written down, not held in your head. Count twice, or have a second person count, when the amounts are large. Take out the float in a fixed mix of small bills and coins and bag it for the opener.
Do not 'fix' a variance by moving money between the float and the takings. Record the difference as it is; a variance you can see is a variance you can solve.
Finding the cause of a variance
Small variances are normal; a pattern is not. The common causes are an unrecorded pay-out, a cash sale rung as card (or the reverse), a refund given in cash but recorded to card, wrong change on a large note, and a float that was short to begin with. Check pay-outs first, then the payment method on the day's larger sales, then any refunds.
Set a tolerance, for example a couple of dollars, and a rule for what happens above it: the manager notes it, the shift lead initials it, and repeated shortages on one person's shifts are reviewed.
Close the shift and the batch
Once cash balances, close the register shift in the POS with the counted amount and a short note, then close the card batch on the terminal. Print or save the end-of-day report and keep it with the count sheet. If you keep a deposit log, record the takings that go to the bank.
Doing it in SeroPOS
In the SeroPOS app, register shifts and the end-of-day report are in the side drawer. The back office keeps the history.
- Open the shift: side drawer, then Open/Close Register, enter the float as the Amount and press OPEN.
- During the day, record pay-outs with Cash Pay Out (Amount and Note) from Quick Actions or the floating dial; it prints a slip.
- At close: side drawer, then DSR (Daily Sale Report). Check Payments Collected by method, Payouts, Returns and Net Collection, and press PRINT for the Z report.
- Side drawer, then Open/Close Register: enter the counted total and a closing note, then CLOSE.
- Close the card batch from the terminal menu, for example Close Batch & Print Day-End Report for Global Payments, and compare it with the card lines on the DSR.
- Back office, Reports, then Register Report: each shift's user, open and close time, cash, card slips and cheques, and status.