Why close the drawer every day
If you count cash once a month, a Rs 20,000 difference could have come from any day and any person. If you count every day, a difference is yesterday's problem, with yesterday's bills and yesterday's cashier still fresh. Daily counting is also fair to honest staff, because errors are found before they turn into suspicion.
The idea: expected cash against counted cash
At closing you compare two numbers.
Expected cash = opening cash + cash sales + cash received from customers on credit − cash refunds − cash paid out
Counted cash is what is really in the drawer. The difference is the shortage or the extra.
A worked example
A medical store with one cashier.
| Item | Rs |
|---|---|
| Opening cash in the morning | 5,000 |
| Cash sales (from the day's bills) | 62,000 |
| Credit customers who paid in cash | 4,000 |
| Cash refunds to customers | −1,500 |
| Paid from the drawer to a supplier | −8,000 |
| Expected cash | 61,500 |
| Counted in the drawer | 61,200 |
| Difference | −300 |
Check the sum: 5,000 + 62,000 = 67,000. Add 4,000 to get 71,000. Subtract 1,500 to get 69,500. Subtract 8,000 to get 61,500. Counted 61,200, so the drawer is Rs 300 short.
The steps
::steps Finish and post every bill | Count the cash and write the total | Work out the expected cash | Compare and write the difference | Check digital payments | Leave the opening cash for tomorrow
- Post every bill first. A bill still waiting to be posted is a difference that is not real.
- Count cash twice, ideally with a second person for large totals.
- Write the difference and a reason if you know one, such as "change given wrongly" or "paid a delivery boy".
- Take out the day's takings and leave the same opening cash every morning, so the next day starts from a known figure.
Digital payments need their own check
JazzCash, EasyPaisa, card and bank transfers never enter the drawer, so counting cash will not find a problem with them. Compare what your bills say with the statement.
| Method | Bills say (Rs) | Statement says (Rs) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| JazzCash | 12,500 | 12,500 | 0 |
| EasyPaisa | 6,000 | 5,500 | −500 |
Here Rs 500 was billed as EasyPaisa but never arrived. It may be a wrong method chosen at the counter, a payment sent to a personal number, or a failed transfer. Ask the same day, while the customer is easy to find.
::note The person who took the payment should not be the one who ticks it off against the statement. Have the owner or a second person do it.
How to read a difference
- Small and random (a few rupees, up and down): wrong change. Not worth a quarrel.
- Always short by a similar amount: look at one cashier, one shift, or one kind of sale.
- Large once: look at that day's refunds, discounts and paid-outs.
- Extra cash: it is also an error. Someone may have been given too little change.
Write every difference in a notebook with the date. After a month you will see the pattern.
Keep paid-outs on paper
Cash taken from the drawer for tea, a delivery or a supplier must be written down at once. Unrecorded paid-outs are the most common cause of "mystery" shortages. Our credit reminder tool can help with the money customers owe you, which also affects the drawer.
How Alpha helps
Alpha's cash reconciliation compares the expected cash against the counted cash at the end of the day, for each cashier. Its digital payment checks tick off every JazzCash, card or bank payment against the statement, and never by the person who took it. Alpha accepts cash with change, card, JazzCash, EasyPaisa, bank transfer, credit, partial payment and split payments, and roles and permissions control who can see and do what. See Alpha for retail shops, Alpha for pharmacies and pricing.
Check cash against the software
Alpha compares expected cash with counted cash for each cashier. Try it free for 7 days.