Why is my cash drawer short? A checklist

A drawer that is short at close has a small number of possible causes, and each one leaves a record. Work through this list in order; most shortages are explained by the first three steps.

1. Recount, and recompute. Count again with a second person. Recalculate expected cash: opening float plus cash sales minus cash refunds minus paid-outs. Many shortages are a float entered wrong or a paid-out never recorded.
2. Check the float. Was the opening count done, and by whom? A float that was $200 on paper and $180 in the drawer starts the shift short.
3. List paid-outs. Supplier deliveries, ice, a courier: anything paid from the drawer needs a paid-out entry. Ask the shift.
4. Pull the refunds. Every cash refund for the shift, with the employee, the time and the original sale time. A refund issued within minutes of its sale, or with no return attached, is the first thing to match against a receipt.
5. Pull the voids. Sales voided after payment leave cash in the drawer but remove the sale from expected cash. Each one should have an explanation.
6. Pull the discounts. Discounts applied after payment, or discounts far above what the day's promotions allow, reduce expected cash. Match them to the promotions that were actually running.
7. Count no-sale opens. By employee. Compare with how much change the shift plausibly needed; a card-heavy shift needs few.
8. Compare shifts. If a shortage repeats, line up the last 30 days by shift and by employee. A variance that follows a particular shift pattern narrows the review far faster than a single day ever will.
9. Talk before concluding. Every item above has ordinary explanations. Ask, listen, and keep notes of what was checked and why it was resolved.

Preventing the next one

• Count at every shift change, not only at close.
• Require a manager to approve refunds and post-payment voids above a set amount.
• Keep a written refund policy that requires a receipt or an item return.
• Set thresholds for refunds, discounts and no-sale opens, and review anything outside them weekly.