End-of-Shift Cash Count: 6 Cash Drawer Rules

The cash drawer is the financial heart of your café. Every pound or riyal that comes in passes through it — which is also why it's where profit quietly disappears. An end-of-shift cash count is the simplest tool for catching shortfalls early, as long as you follow these six rules.

Rule 1: one drawer = one owner

Don't let three employees share the drawer at once. When everyone is responsible, no one is. Each shift has one drawer owner, and handovers go through a shift handover checklist.

Rule 2: the float is recorded

Start every day with a known, recorded float. Without it, no difference at the end of the day can be calculated.

Rule 3: separate payment methods

A customer who paid by mobile wallet put no cash in the drawer. If the method isn't recorded, the drawer looks short when it's fine — or fine when it's short. Record for every bill: cash, wallet, card, or a split across several.

Rule 4: "pay later" is not cash

A regular who will pay tomorrow should have their bill recorded as pay-later — not left open, and not counted as paid. See when pay-later for regulars makes sense.

Rule 5: the closing count is mandatory

The employee counts the drawer, enters the figure, and sees the difference. No count, no close.

Worked example: calculating expected cash

Item	Amount
Opening float	500
Cash received during the shift	+ 3,200
Cash refunded to a customer	− 100
Expected in the drawer	3,600
Actually counted	3,560
Shortfall	40

Bills paid by wallet or card don't enter this calculation, and neither do pay-later bills.

Rule 6: track recurring differences

Being 20 pounds or riyals short once may be a change mistake. The same shortfall every day on the same employee is a different story. Keep a log of differences, review it weekly, and treat it as a KPI — see count differences as a KPI. If shortfalls come with lots of voids, check the revenue leaks.

Shift counts in Pingo Pro

• Every shift in Pingo Pro is a drawer with an opening float.
• A bill is settled with one or more payment lines (cash, wallet, card).
• "Pay later" is its own status and moves no money.
• At close the employee enters the count, and a fixed summary of the shift is saved with the difference.

FAQ

How do I calculate the expected cash?

Expected = opening float + cash received − cash refunded. Leave out wallet and card payments and pay-later bills.

What do I do about a recurring shortfall on one employee?

Review that shift's bills, voids and refunds, check that payment methods were recorded correctly, then talk with numbers, not accusations. A mis-recorded payment method is a common cause.

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Try shift counts in Pingo Pro. One drawer per shift, several payment methods per bill, and the count gap in front of you at close — in the browser, no special hardware. Start your trial · See pricing