Why cash up every day
Cash-up compares what should be in the drawer with what is. Done daily, a difference is easy to explain: a wrong change, an unrecorded paid-out, a refund given in cash. Left for a week, the same difference becomes a mystery.
Start with a float
The float is the change you put in the drawer before the first sale, for example AED 500 in smaller notes and coins. Record it when you open the till. At close you keep the same float back for tomorrow and bank the rest.
Work out what should be there
Expected cash is simple arithmetic, as long as every cash movement was recorded:
| Example (AED) | |
|---|---|
| Opening float | 500.00 |
| + Cash sales | 2,210.00 |
| + Cash paid in (for example, a customer settling their account) | 300.00 |
| − Cash paid out (for example, a delivery tip or small purchase) | 45.00 |
| − Cash refunds | 60.00 |
| = Expected cash | 2,905.00 |
Count by denomination
Count notes and coins separately, one denomination at a time, and write down the count for each. UAE notes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 dirhams; the coins you'll mostly handle are 1 dirham, 50 fils and 25 fils.
Over, short and what to do
- Exactly right: close the day.
- A small difference: record it as over or short with a note. Don't hide it by adjusting the float.
- A large difference: recount, then check for unrecorded paid-outs, refunds given in cash, or a card sale recorded as cash (or the other way round).
Check the card totals too
Print the day's total from the card terminal and compare it with card sales recorded at the till. They should match to the fils. The bank pays the money a day or two later, minus fees, so reconcile the settlement when it arrives rather than expecting today's full amount in the bank today.
A ten-minute routine
- Stop sales at the till and finish any held baskets.
- Count the drawer by denomination.
- Enter the count; note the difference and the reason if you know it.
- Compare the card terminal's total with recorded card sales.
- Take out the takings, leave tomorrow's float, and prepare the bank deposit.
- Close the till so the day posts to the books.