How to balance a cash drawer at the end of the day
Short answer: add your starting cash to your cash sales, then take away any cash you paid out. That is what should be in the drawer. Count what is really there and compare the two.
Balancing a drawer sounds like an accounting job, but it is really just one small sum and a careful count. Once you have done it a few times, it takes about five minutes.
What you need
- Your end-of-day report from the till or POS
- The amount you started the day with (your float)
- Receipts for any cash taken out during the day
The steps
- Stop sales on that drawer. If it keeps being used while you count, the numbers will never match.
- Print the report and find your cash sales. Ignore card sales here, because they never touched the drawer.
- Work out what should be there. Starting cash + cash sales − cash paid out.
- Count the drawer. Sort it by bill and coin first, then count each pile.
- Compare the two numbers and write down the difference.
- Take out the deposit and leave the float ready for tomorrow.
A free money counter helps with step 4. Type in how many of each bill and coin you have, and it does the adding for you.
A worked example
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starting cash | $150.00 |
| Cash sales on the report | + $842.35 |
| Cash paid out (milk from the store) | − $20.00 |
| Should be in the drawer | $972.35 |
| Actually counted | $968.35 |
| Difference | $4.00 short |
The deposit here is $968.35 minus the $150 float, so $818.35 goes to the bank.
If the drawer is over or short
Count it again before you do anything else. A lot of differences are just a miscount. If it is still off, check these:
- A bill stuck to another one, or hiding under the tray
- A paid-out with no receipt
- A card sale rung up as cash, or the other way round
- Wrong change given at a busy moment
- A float that was wrong from the start of the day
Being over is not good news either. It usually means a customer got too little change, or a sale was rung up wrong.
There is no universal "acceptable" amount, so set your own limit. A few dollars now and then is normal. The same cashier being short every week is worth a conversation. Either way, write it down with the date and name, and don't top up the drawer from your own pocket. That only hides the problem.
