Cash Counting and Sheet Closing

Cash Counting and Sheet Closing

Purpose

The Cash Counting window allows you to reconcile your cash and balance your drawer(s). You have the option of tracking and closing multiple cash drawers and multiple shifts for each drawer. Several of the Transactions reports can be run for all or selected drawers and/or shifts, giving you a great deal of flexibility and control.
 
You must set up a drawer for each computer that will be recording transactions under Setup>General>Cash Drawer. These may be virtual drawers not connected to any port at all if you didn't purchase drawers to connect to each computer. NOTE: You must configure a cash drawer for EACH computer regularly entering transactions.
 

Date, Cash Drawers and Shifts

Today’s date will be selected when you open cash counting, but you may change it to reconcile a previous day.

Do not close ‘today’ if a previous day has not yet been closed.
 
Select the drawer and/or shift you wish to reconcile. The Close Shift and Close Drawer buttons will only be enabled when your drawer is in balance. If you are only closing once a day, press Close Drawer when you balance.
 
If you are closing shifts on a drawer, you will press Close Shift after you balance. Repeat this procedure for each shift and press Close Drawer after you have closed the final shift.
 
Once a drawer and/or shift have been closed, you will be unable to add, change or delete transactions for that drawer and/or shift.
 
When a drawer and/or shift have been closed, the buttons change to Open Shift and Open Drawer as long as the closed drawer and/or shift are selected in the popup menus.
 
If you wish to open a shift and/or drawer to add, change or delete transactions, your password will need to have the access to use the Open Shift and Open Drawer buttons, unless you are currently logged in under the OWNER password.

Cash Reconciliation

If you are opening for the day, you will enter the Beginning Cash amount, close and save the Cash Counting.
 
If you are closing at the end of the day, and the Beginning Cash amount has not yet been set, you will select the date, drawer and shift, and then enter your beginning cash, then continue with the following guidelines.
 
The Beginning Cash amount will be added to Cash Tendered, which comes from ticket transactions, Cash Paid In and Cash Paid Out transactions, then displayed as the Transaction Subtotal. This is the amount of cash that should be in the drawer.
 
You are in balance when Cash Short and Cash Over are both zero.
 

Cash In Drawer

Enter the quantity of each denomination of bill in the drawer.
 
Enter the quantity of each type of coin in the drawer.
 
Enter the total value of coins in rolls in the drawer.
 
If you are out of balance after counting the cash, you must add any missed transactions, change any inaccurate transactions or delete any duplicate transactions for the current drawer and/or shift.
 
If you remain out of balance after adjusting your transactions, you will need to create a Cash Out transaction to cover the amount short or a Cash In transaction to cover the amount over.
 
You must be in total balance before you will be allowed to click Close Drawer. If you do not close the drawer at the end of each day, you could possibly continue to be more and more out of balance as each day passes since Close Drawer was clicked.

STX Closing Checklist

Step 1

Print the Total Sheet report. (File>Print>Transactions>Total Sheet). Click Print to either Preview on the Screen, or Print to the Printer. Verify that each item listed in the following sections of the Total Sheet is correct.
 
1. By Employee Section: Employee Service and Retail Totals in the Sales and Performance Columns.                  
 
      Compare to Employee Appointment Sheets or Travelers if necessary. If mistakes are found, go to the Transaction List and open or create a Client Visit to fix them.
 
2. By Payment Type Section: Credit Card and Check Totals & Units, compared to credit card and check types received.
 
      If Check or Credit Card Totals are incorrect, print the Payment List report.  (File>Print>Transactions>Payment List). Click Print to Preview on the Screen or Print to the Printer.

      Compare the report to actual checks and/or credit card receipts to find mistakes. If mistakes are found go to the Transaction List and open or create a Client Visit to fix it.
 
3. Summary Section:  Payment Type Total (from the By Payment Type Section) and Grand Total should match. If Payment Type Total and the Grand Total match, you are finished with this step.
 
  If Payment Type Total and the Grand Total do not match:
  1. Check the Unpaid Balances amount at bottom of report If there is an Unpaid Balance, then, go back to the Transaction List and open the first Client Visit.
  2. Go to the Include Tickets tab to see which Ticket Number has not yet been paid. You must find the payment for the Ticket Number by going to the Ticket Number on the Transaction List and opening it.
  3. If there is no payment, you must either use the client's House Charge to pay for the visit or Delete the visit, depending on your company's policy.
 

Step 2

Go to Cash Counting: Transactions>Transaction List.

Verify which drawer is assigned to this computer if using multiple computers. Enter the Beginning Cash (if needed) and count and enter the Cash in the Drawer.
 
If Cash Over and Cash Short are Zero click the Close Drawer button. Close window. You are finished with this step.
 
If Cash Over or Cash Short are not Zero, write down the Cash Overage or Shortage amount. If it is a significant amount and you want to find it go back to Step 2.
 
Print the Total Sheet with the following additions.

Look at the Included Tickets amount on the Total Sheet. To double-check them, go back to the Client Visits that were Included with other Client Visits (Each Included Ticket will have the number of the paying Transaction Number listed in it's Paid By column).

If the Payment List verifies correctly a second time and you still can't find the Cash Overage or Shortage, try Sorting the Transaction List by the Service Amount or Retail Amount to look for an amount matching that of the overage or shortage.
 
Try printing the Transaction Detail report, (File>Print>Transactions>Transaction Detail) to find the over/short amount. If you are going to just accept the amount of the cash overage or shortage, do the following:
 
If the Cash is Over (positive), close the Cash Counting sheet, click the Cash In/Out button on the Transaction List, and enter the amount in the Cash Paid In field. Enter your name in the Received From field, and select Cash Overage from the accounts popup menu. Close and save the Cash In/Out window. Go back to the Cash Counting sheet to verify the Cash Over or Short is Zero. Click the Close Drawer button.
 
If the Cash is Short (negative), close the Cash Counting sheet, click the Cash In/Out button the Transaction List and enter the amount in the Cash Paid Out field.
 
Enter your name in the Received From field, and select Cash Shortage from the accounts popup menu. Close the Cash In/Out window.
 
Go back to the Cash Counting sheet to verify the Cash Over or Short is Zero. Click the Close Drawer button. 

Deposit In & Deposit Out

Close & Start the cash drawer with a specific amount each day

At the end of each day, you can balance the cash counting sheet so it consistently closes with a specific dollar amount. The next day's cash counting sheet will show the Prior Closing Cash as what the previous day's closing amount was. This forces the Beginning Cash to be the same amount. This is done so the drawer is always closed and started with the same specific amount.

Create a new Account by going to Setup: Finance: Accounts and name it Deposit Out. The Type will be Income.
 
Create another new Account and name it Deposit In. The type will be Liability.
 
If the final cash count is less than desired, the Deposit In account will be used when adding cash to the drawer at the end of the day. If the final cash count is more than desired, the Deposit Out account will be used when removing cash from the drawer at the end of the day.
 

Deposit Out

When ready to close the drawer for the day, go to the Cash Counting sheet. The following is an example of removing cash from the drawer when the final cash count is MORE than desired. This is referred to as Deposit Out.

The Cash Short amount will reflect the Transaction Subtotal until you have entered the amount of cash physically in the drawer.
 
Because you want to close the drawer at $400 so the next day's beginning cash will be $400, you need to remove the difference between the current Beginning Cash and the Transaction Subtotal.

Type a description as to why the cash is being removed, and choose the Deposit Out account from the popup menu.
 
In the example above, the difference is $422.78. You may consider the $422.78 as being what you are adding to your daily deposit.
 
To remove the $422.78, count the amount from the physical cash and set it aside. Perform a Cash Paid Out transaction to remove the amount from the Cash Counting sheet.

Save and close the Cash In / Out window. Go back to the Cash Counting sheet.
 
Use the Cash in Drawer worksheet to count the rest of the physical cash.
 
You should be in balance, where the Transaction Subtotal and Cash in Drawer amounts are equal. Cash Short and Cash Over should both be at $0.00.
 
Because the drawer now has a remaining balance of $400, the drawer will close at that amount. Click Close Drawer. 
 
The next day's Cash Counting sheet will show Prior Closing Cash of $400 and the Beginning Cash will reflect the same amount.

Deposit In

When ready to close the drawer for the day, go to the Cash Counting sheet. The following is an example of adding cash to the drawer when the final cash count is LESS than desired. This is referred to as Deposit In.
 
The Cash Short amount will reflect the Transaction Subtotal until you have entered the amount of cash physically in the drawer.
 
Because you want to close the drawer at $400 so the next day's beginning cash will be $400, you need to add the difference between the current Beginning Cash and the Transaction Subtotal.
 
In the picture above, the difference is $22.22. Please notice the Cash Tendered is a negative amount. This is because more cash was given out compared to what was received as cash payment(s).
 
To add the $22.22, perform a Cash Paid In transaction to add the amount to Cash Counting sheet.
 
Type a description as to why the cash is being added, and choose the Deposit In account from the popup menu. Save and close the Cash In / Out window. Go back to the Cash Counting sheet.
 
Use the Cash in Drawer worksheet to count the physical cash. You should be in balance, where the Transaction Subtotal and Cash in Drawer amounts are equal. Cash Short and Cash Over should both be at $0.00.
 
Because the drawer now has a remaining balance of $400, the drawer will close at that amount. Click Close Drawer.
 
The next day's Cash Counting sheet will show Prior Closing Cash of $400 and the Beginning Cash will reflect the same amount.

Using Multiple Cash Drawers and/or Multiple Shifts

Virtual Drawer vs. Physical Drawer

You have 2 cash drawers, one ‘real’ that is connected to one of the computers at the front desk. The other is a ‘virtual’ drawer configured for the other computer at the front desk. All physical money goes into the ‘real’ drawer, however STX believes the money collected is going into 2 different drawers.
 
The ‘real’ drawer is named Front Desk and is configured for the computer on the left side of the front desk. The ‘virtual’ drawer is named Right Front Desk and is configured for the computer on the right side of the front desk. In order to balance and/or close the drawers, you must treat them as separate drawers in STX. When you are ready to close either a shift, or balance the drawers at the end of the day, the following steps will be performed.
 

Balance Virtual Drawers First

Go to the computer where the ‘virtual’ drawer is configured. In this case, it would be the Right Front Desk computer. Go to Transactions.

Click the Cash Counting button on the Transaction List.
 
Change the Drawer popup menu to the ‘virtual’ drawer, named Right Front Desk.
 
Click the Cash In / Out button on the Transaction List.

In the Cash Paid Out section, type the Amount the drawer showed as being short. In the Paid To field, type the reason you are performing the Cash Paid Out transaction.

You will see how much that ‘virtual’ drawer is showing for Cash Short. Close the Cash Counting sheet and return to the Transaction List.
  
Select from the Account popup menu the reason the money is being taken from the drawer, such as Cash Overage.
 
You can create a new Account (Setup: Finance: Accounts) to accommodate balancing a virtual drawer. You would name it something like Virtual To Real Balance. You would then select this from the Account popup menu instead of using the Cash Overage option. When you print a Transaction Detail report for just the Cash In / Out transactions, you will see the description and account written out for you. It is easy to track when using an account called Virtual to Real Balance.
 
Save and Close the Cash In / Out window to return to the Transaction List screen.

Click the Cash Counting button on the Transaction List.

Change the Drawer popup menu to the ‘virtual’ drawer, named Right Front Desk.

You will see the drawer is in balance, with $0.00 in Cash Short as well as in Cash Over.
 
If you are just closing a shift, click the Close Shift button at the top right.
 
If you are not closing a shift, but actually closing the drawer, click the Close Drawer button at the top left.

If you clicked the Close Shift button, the Shift popup menu will show Shift 2. Each time you click Close Shift, a new shift will appear for you.
  
Each new shift will start the drawer with the amount the previous shift closed with. It is a continuation of the day.
 
In the case of the ‘virtual’ drawer, the first shift closed with $0.00, therefore the second shift will start with $0.00. The Beginning Cash will always reflect what the drawer started with.

If you are closing the drawer for the day, and you are working on the final shift of the day, click the Close Drawer button. This closes the entire ‘virtual’ drawer for the day.

The Close Drawer button will not become active until the drawer is perfectly in balance. It is simple to balance the ‘virtual’ drawer, since you are simply removing the money from it. Therefore, you will always balance the ‘virtual’ drawer with a $0.00 balance.
 
Save and close the Cash Counting window.
 
If you have more than 1 “virtual” drawer, you will follow the same steps for each drawer before moving forward through this document.

Balance Real Drawers Last

Go to the computer where the ‘real’ drawer is configured. In this case, it would be the Front Desk computer, which is positioned on the left side of the front desk. Go to Transactions.

Click the Cash In / Out button on the Transaction List.

In the Cash Paid In section, type the Amount you removed from the ‘virtual’ drawer.

In the Received From field, type the reason you are performing the Cash Paid In transaction.
 
Select from the Account popup menu the reason the money is being added to the drawer, such as Cash Shortage.
 
You can create a new Account (Setup: Finance: Accounts) to accommodate balancing a virtual drawer. You would name it something like Virtual To Real Balance. You would then select this from the Account popup menu instead of using the Cash Shortage option.
When you print a Transaction Detail report for just the Cash In / Out transactions, you will see the description and account written out for you. It is easy to track when using an account called Virtual to Real Balance.
 
Save and Close the Cash In / Out window to return to the Transaction List screen.

Click the Cash Counting button on the Transaction List.
 
Make sure the Drawer popup menu is showing the ‘real’ Front Desk drawer.
 
You will see the Cash Paid In amount, which is the same amount we took from the ‘virtual’ drawer.
 
Now all money is gathered into one drawer for you to balance. This money should match the physical money you have collected and put into the real cash drawer.
 
Fill out the Cash in Drawer worksheet on the right side of the screen.
 
As you are entering how many of each denomination you have, you will notice the Cash Short will start going towards $0.00.

When you are finished counting the money, the Cash Short and Cash Over should both reflect $0.00.

If you are either short or over, you will need to reconcile the difference to get the drawer in balance. If you cannot find where any payment mistakes were made, you will need to do one of the following to get the drawer in balance.
 
  1. Cash Short you will do a Cash Paid Out transaction for the amount short.
  2. Cash Over you will do a Cash Paid In transaction for the amount over.
 
Once the drawer is in balance, and you want to close a Shift, click Close Shift.

The Shift popup menu will show Shift 2. Each time you click Close Shift, a new shift will appear for you.

Each new shift will start the drawer with the amount the previous shift closed with. It is a continuation of the day.

In the case of the ‘real’ drawer, the first shift closed with $284.59, therefore the second shift will start with $284.59.

The Beginning Cash will always reflect what the drawer started with.
 
You can edit the Beginning Cash field to reflect any amount you want the ‘real’ drawer’s second shift to start with.

Once the drawer is in balance, and you are finished for the day, on the last shift, click Close Drawer.
  
Save and close the Cash Counting window.
 

Reporting: Cash Counting Overview

  1. Go to Reporting to the Transactions reports.
  2. Enter the Start Date and End Date for the period you wish to print.
  3. Select a Cash Drawer from the popup menu, or leave it set to Any to print for all cash drawers.
  4. Enter a Shift #, or leave it blank to print for all shifts.
  5. Click Print when all desired parameters have been set. 

Date : Each date of the report will be listed.
 
Drawer: Each cash drawer will appear for each individual date of the report.
 
Shift: Each shift will appear for each for each cash drawer for each individual date of the report.
 
Prior Close: Amount each cash drawer closed (ended) with for the day prior to each individual date of the report. Each cash drawer must be closed for the prior day before the Prior Close amount will appear.
 
Beginning: Amount each cash drawer opened (started) with for each individual date of the report.
 
Tendered: Amount each cash drawer received/dispersed via Cash payments for each individual date of the report. Please notice the amount Tendered is a negative amount. This is because more cash was given out compared to what was received. This amount does not include the beginning cash amount.
 
Paid In: Amount each cash drawer received via the Paid In / Out transaction(s) for each individual date of the report.
 
Paid Out: Amount each cash drawer dispersed via the Paid In / Out transaction(s) for each individual date of the report.
 
Transactions: Amount each cash drawer shows for the Transaction Subtotal on the Cash Counting sheet, which calculates all cash activity for each individual date of the report.
 
In Drawer: Amount each cash drawer shows for the Cash In Drawer total on the Cash Counting sheet, which comes from entering the quantity of each monetary denomination, for each individual date of the report.
 
Difference: Amount difference between Transactions and In Drawer for each cash drawer for each individual date of the report.

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