Shifts & cash drawer

A shift is one cashier's session at the till, from when they count the drawer at the start to when they count it again at the end. It's the simple discipline that keeps your cash honest: open with a count, sell, close with a count, and see if the drawer matches.

Who uses itCashiers opening and closing the till; managers reviewing the day.

Where to find itOpens from the POS screen; history under Shifts → Shift History.

Good to knowIf shifts are required, you must open one before you can sell.

Overview

Every cash drawer goes through the same rhythm. At the start of the day (or your turn), you open a shift and count the cash already in the till — the opening float. You then sell all session. At the end, you close the shift by counting the drawer again. The system compares what should be there against what you actually counted, and flags any difference.

This is standard retail practice, and it answers the most important end-of-day question: does the cash add up?

The open-shift screen showing the terminal and a counted opening cash field — Opening a shift — count the cash already in the drawer and enter it as your starting float.

Why shifts matter

Accountability for cash. Each shift is tied to one cashier, so if the drawer is short, you know whose session it happened in.
A clean end-of-day total. The closing report shows sales, payment types and taxes for that session in one place.
Early warning. A mid-shift snapshot lets a cashier check the drawer before problems pile up.
An honest paper trail. Every open, close and mismatch is recorded — useful for owners running more than one branch.

Opening a shift

If your store requires shifts, the POS screen won't let you sell until one is open — it shows the open-shift form first.

Count the drawer
Physically count the cash already in the till before you start. This is your opening float — the change you'll need to give early customers.
Enter the opening cash
Type the counted amount into the opening-cash field. A denomination helper can add it up for you: enter how many of each note and coin you have, and it totals them.
Start the shift
Click Start shift. You're taken to the POS screen, ready to sell. Every sale you make is now tied to this shift.

Carry yesterday's float forward

If you leave a steady amount of change in the drawer overnight, a shortcut fills the opening cash from the previous shift's closing count — so you don't recount from scratch.

Closing a shift

At the end of your session, you close the shift by counting the drawer one last time.

Start the close
Choose Close shift. A summary appears showing the sales and payments taken so far this session.
Count and enter the closing cash
Count all the cash in the drawer and enter it. The denomination helper is here too. As you type, the screen shows the variance live (explained below).
Explain any mismatch
If the count is off by more than your store's allowed tolerance, you'll be asked to pick a mismatch reason and add a note.
Close & print the Z report
Confirm to close. The shift is finalized and its Z report — the end-of-shift summary — is produced for you to print or file.

The close-shift screen with the counted closing cash, expected cash, and a live variance figure — Closing a shift — enter your counted cash and the variance updates live.

X report vs Z report

Both reports show the same kind of summary — sales, payment types, taxes and the cash position — but they're used at different moments:

Report	When	What it does
X report Interim	Any time during an open shift	A read-only snapshot of how the shift is going so far. It does not close the shift, and you can run it as many times as you like — handy for a mid-day check or a handover between cashiers.
Z report Final	Produced when you close the shift	The official end-of-shift document. It locks in the totals and the final cash count, and is the one you keep for your records.

A simple way to remember it: X is a peek, Z is the close.

Cash variance (over or short)

When you close, the system works out how much cash should be in the drawer — your opening float, plus cash sales, minus cash refunds, plus or minus any cash added or removed during the shift. It then compares that expected amount to what you actually counted. The difference is the variance:

Result	Meaning
Counted = Expected	The drawer balances perfectly. Nothing to explain.
Counted > Expected	Over — there's more cash than there should be (often a miscounted change given to a customer).
Counted < Expected	Short — there's less cash than there should be.

Small differences are normal and expected. Your store sets a tolerance (for example, a few units either way). If the variance is within tolerance, the shift closes as Closed. If it's outside tolerance, you must choose a mismatch reason — such as a miscount, a change dispute, or an unrecorded cash movement — and the shift closes as Closed with variance, with a note for the record. Managers can review the standard mismatch reasons under Shifts → Cash Mismatch Reasons.

Tips & best practices

Count carefully, twice. Most variances are simple miscounts. Use the denomination helper to avoid mistakes.
Run an X report mid-shift on a busy day to confirm the drawer is on track before it's too late to spot a problem.
Be honest about the cash you take. Type the real amount a customer hands you at the counter, so the expected-cash figure stays correct.
Write a clear mismatch reason. "Gave wrong change at lunch" is far more useful later than a blank note.

Notes & warnings

A closed shift can't be reopened. Closing is final. Make sure your count is right before you confirm.

Voids only work while the shift is open. If you need to reverse a sale, do it before closing — once the shift is closed, its sales can no longer be voided. See Sales history.

Don't skip the count to save time. A guessed closing figure defeats the whole point of a shift. The few minutes it takes to count the drawer is what protects you from losses going unnoticed.

Related: The POS screen · Sales history · Reports