Restaurant Cash Drawer Close: Reconcile Expected and Counted Cash

Fix the session before counting

Write down which drawer is being closed, when its session started and ended, who was responsible for it during the session and the currency it holds. Set the cutoff: include the cash movements that actually occurred by that moment. A late record of an earlier movement still belongs to its actual session and needs a documented correction. If several people worked from the same drawer, record that too, because it changes how any difference can be traced.

Count the whole drawer before anything is taken out, including the float that will stay behind for the next session. Removing the float first and counting only the remainder mixes two questions, whether the drawer balances and whether the new float is right, and makes a difference harder to locate. Separate the closing float only after the closing count has been recorded.

Build expected cash from five figures

Expected cash is the opening cash, plus cash sales kept after change, less cash refunds paid from the drawer, plus any other cash paid in, less any other cash paid out, including safe drops. Each figure should come from a record you can point to: the opening count, the sales report, the refund slips, and the paid-in and paid-out entries with their descriptions.

Enter cash sales as the amount the drawer kept, not the amount guests handed over. If a guest pays INR 500 for a bill of INR 380, the drawer retains INR 380 after giving INR 120 in change. Enter sales before refunds, and enter refunds as their own figure. If your sales report already nets refunds off, reconcile it back to the before-refund amount first; otherwise the refunds are subtracted twice and expected cash is understated and the drawer appears over by that amount, other things equal.

A safe drop is a movement out of the drawer, not missing cash. Record each one with its amount, time and the person who made it, and include it in paid out. The same applies to cash taken for a small authorised purchase: it needs a slip and a description, or the expected figure cannot be checked.

For a split payment, include only the cash portion actually retained in this drawer. If tips or other cash held for someone else are physically inside the counted drawer, include them once on a clearly documented basis so the records and count cover the same contents. This reconciliation does not decide who owns that money or how it is reported in the accounts.

Worked example: one evening drawer

In this fictional session, the drawer opened with INR 3,000. Cash sales kept after change came to INR 12,500. One cash refund of INR 600 was paid from the drawer. Nothing else was paid in. Cash paid out totalled INR 2,000: a safe drop of INR 1,500 and an INR 500 purchase with a receipt. The expected closing cash is therefore INR 12,900.

Count by denomination

Count each denomination separately and record the number of notes or coins, not just a running total. The counted amount is each denomination multiplied by its count, added together. Record who counted and when. Where staffing allows, the person responsible for the drawer counts while a second person watches, or each counts separately.

Record the first count exactly as it was made. If someone recounts, write the recount in its own column beside it rather than correcting the original. In the example, the first count comes to INR 12,850.

Keep the drawer on the same basis for both counts. If cash is added, removed or used between the first count and the recount, preserve those events and reconcile the change before comparing the totals. Record zero explicitly for an unused denomination; a blank count is incomplete when that denomination is listed.

Read the difference without jumping to conclusions

The difference is counted cash minus expected cash: 12,850 minus 12,900, or INR -50. A negative result means the drawer holds less than the records say it should; a positive result means it holds more. Both are exceptions to explain. A drawer that is over is not a windfall, and it may point to a sale entered under the wrong payment type or a refund that was never handed back.

In the example, a second person recounted independently and also reached INR 12,850, so the two counts agree. Agreement does not prove that either count is correct or identify the cause; retain both and review the counting basis as well as the records. Check for a paid-out that was made but not recorded, change given incorrectly, a refund keyed as cash but paid by another route, a sale recorded in the wrong session, or a drawer used by more than one person.

A difference alone does not establish theft or identify a responsible person. Investigate the records and counting method, keep the conversation factual, and avoid an unexplained balancing entry that makes the gap disappear. Record any resolution under the appropriate authority.

Record the resolution and the authority

For each difference, record what was checked, what was found, the supporting evidence and who decided the outcome, with the authority they acted under. If a missing paid-out slip turns up, link it as new evidence and show how it changes the expected figure; do not edit the original count. If nothing explains the gap, record it as unresolved and keep it visible rather than closing it quietly.

Look at closes over time as well as one at a time. Repeated differences on one drawer, one shift or one type of transaction are questions for a process review, such as how refunds are recorded or when safe drops are logged, rather than conclusions about individuals.

Where the principle comes from

Square's help article on cash drawer sessions describes tracking starting cash, cash sales, cash refunds and cash paid in or out to arrive at an expected amount, and distinguishes closing a drawer by recording the actual amount counted. Only that general structure is used here. The article's app steps, permissions and settings are not applied, and nothing in this guide describes a feature of any particular system.