Cash Drawer Reconciliation
- John Elliott (Unlicensed)
TSS with TSS Accounting enabled provides Cash Drawer Reconciliation at any time during your business day, such as at end of employee work shift, end of day, or whenever during the work day there is a need to determine if cash in drawer is correct. Such need could arise, for instance, if a customer complained that he received incorrect change when he paid cash for a purchase.
In the scenario shown here the business has two workstations, each with its own cash drawer. The owner has established that $150 should be available as opening cash in each cash drawer. Joe is about to reconcile the cash in his drawer at the end of his work shift. He counted the cash in his drawer when he opened and found he had the correct amount of $150. If he had found the opening cash was incorrect he would have placed a note in the cash drawer noting the actual amount in the drawer. He also would have alerted his manager, who could look at the previous end of shift or end of day reports to see what was left for opening cash. If Joe's opening cash agrees with the previous closing cash then all is ok. If not, then an investigation should be done to find the cause.
Joe brings up the Cash Drawer Reconciliation form by opening the 'Bookkeeping' menu located under 'Functions' on the TSS Main Menu and clicking on 'Reconcile Cash Drawer'. This form gives Joe a summary of the cash transactions since he opened. It displays this information:
Opening Cash on Hand: This is the amount of cash in the drawer when Joe opened his shift.
Total Funds In: this is a summary of the cash and checks placed into the cash drawer from normal business transactions as well as any cash transferred in to the drawer from another cash drawer or from the back office.
Total Cash Out: This is the total of all cash taken out of the draw for Cash Paid Outs or transfers to other cash drawers or the back office.
Reported Funds in Drawer: This is the amount of cash and checks that should be in the cash drawer at this time.
Counted Funds: This is the actual count of cash and checks in the drawer. When these amounts are entered the remaining amounts will be calculated and displayed.
Over/Short: The difference betweet reported funds and counted funds. Shortages will be shown as negative numbers.
Funds to Remove for Deposit: The amount needed to be transferred to the back office for deposit so that opening cash will be correct on the next shift.
Now Joe has to count his cash and checks and enter the amounts counted in the edit boxes. He could just count and enter the amounts, but he chooses to use the Reconciliation Worksheet. To do that he clicks on the button labelled '-->' next to the edit boxes. That will open an additional form. On this form he will enter the actual count of each denomination of cash in the left panel and the check number and amount of each check in the right panel. The worksheet will do all the calculations. When he has entered everything he will click the 'Done' button to transfer the amounts to the edit boxes on the Reconciliation form.
The Reconciliation form will then show the status of the cash drawer... Over, Short, or OK. If it is Over or Short maybe Joe counted wrong. Maybe he gave the wrong change to a customer. Maybe he forgot to record a Cash Paid Out, or a Cash Transfer. Maybe a check was made out for an incorrect amount. He should double ckeck everything and make the necessary changes to the form if he found any errors or omissions. If he can't resolve the issues he should proceed with the worksheet as is and report the issues to management.
Joe's drawer was ok today. The cash is correct. Joe then removes the suggested amount of funds for deposit from the cash drawer and secures it in the back office. Now he is all set. The closing cash is $150.00, ready for the next shift. Joe will next click the 'Print' button to print out a hard copy of the Reconciliation form and worksheet. He'll sign the printed form to verify that it is correct, and place it with his other end of shift reports. Finally he will click the 'Post' button. TSS will then mark today's records as reconciled and record any overage or shortage in the General Ledger.
Cash Drawer reconciliation is quick and easy in TSS.
Note: If you are using this form just to check the cash drawer balance during your shift do not click the 'Post' button. Click 'Cancel' instead. If you do click 'Post' you will tell TSS that you are ending your shift.