Cash handling procedure, Wickfield Corner Cafe

Cash handling procedure template with floats, counts and banking steps

A cash handling procedure has to make every till start with the right float, close with an honest count, and get takings to the bank safely, so losses are caught early and staff are never blamed without evidence. This three page procedure for a cafe with two tills does that with float breakdowns of $200 and $150, six count steps, a four level discrepancy rule and a three day banking schedule.

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Wickfield Corner Cafe
7 February 2028

Cash handling procedure

Floats, counts, banking and the safe, for every shift lead and barista on the tills.

Prepared by
Owner
Date
7 February 2028
Cash handling procedure, Wickfield Corner CafePage 2 of 3
Cash handling procedure, Wickfield Corner CafePage 3 of 3
1
Purpose and scope
Wickfield Corner Cafe takes about a quarter of its sales in cash across two tills: the front counter and the takeaway window. Clear steps protect the business from loss and staff from suspicion. This procedure applies to everyone who opens, uses or closes a till, and to the two key holders.
2
Float amounts
Each till starts and ends every day with the same float, made up as below so there is always change for a $50 note.
Denomination
Front counter
Takeaway window
$20 notes
$40.00
$20.00
$10 notes
$50.00
$40.00
$5 notes
$40.00
$30.00
$2 coins
$30.00
$20.00
$1 coins
$20.00
$20.00
50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coins
$20.00
$20.00
Float total
$200.00
$150.00
3
Opening the tills
The opening shift lead takes both float bags from the safe, counts each one by denomination at the back counter, and records the totals on the daily cash sheet. A second staff member checks the count and both initial it. A wrong float is reported to the owner, never topped up from another till.
4
Count steps at close
Each till is counted by two people, away from the customer area, in this order:
1.
Lock the till so no further sales can be rung up, and print the end of day report.
2.
Count all cash by denomination onto the cash sheet, one till at a time.
3.
Make up the float from the counted cash using the table above, bag it and label it with the till name.
4.
The cash left over is the takings. Compare it with the cash total on the end of day report and write down the difference.
5.
Both counters sign the sheet. Place the takings, the report and the sheet in a numbered deposit bag and seal it.
6.
Put both floats and the sealed bag in the safe, and record the bag number in the safe log.
5
The discrepancy rule
Small differences happen. What matters is that every one is written down and patterns are spotted:
Difference on one till
What happens
Under $5
Recorded on the cash sheet; no further action
$5 to $20
Recount by a different person; refunds and voids checked; note to the owner
Over $20
Owner reviews the till report and camera footage the next day
Same till short three times in a month
Owner meets the regular users of that till to find the cause
Never cover a shortage
Staff must never make up a shortage from their own money or from the tip jar, and the cafe never deducts a shortage from pay. Covering a difference hides the cause and makes the next one harder to find.
6
Banking schedule
Takings are banked every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before 2pm, at the branch two streets away, by a key holder. The banker varies the time and route and takes a second person when the deposit is over $1,000. The safe never holds more than $1,500 in takings: if it would, an extra banking run is made. The bank receipt is stapled to the cash sheet the same day.
7
Safe access
Only the owner and the manager hold safe keys and the combination. The combination is changed whenever a key holder leaves. Every opening is written in the safe log. During busy periods, when a till holds more than $400 in notes, the shift lead drops the excess into the safe's drop slot in a labelled envelope and records it on the cash sheet.
8
Refunds, voids and safety
Refunds and voids need the shift lead's PIN and a reason on the till. If anyone demands cash with threats, staff hand it over, do not resist or follow, and call police once it is safe. The owner reviews this procedure every year and after any loss over $100.

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Cover
Document cover with the cafe, title and purpose line.
1 and 2. Scope and float amounts
Two tills and a denomination table totalling $200 and $150.
3. Opening the tills
A counted, checked and initialled float before trading.
4. Count steps at close
Six steps from locking the till to logging the deposit bag.
5. The discrepancy rule
Four levels of difference and a callout on covering shortages.
6 and 7. Banking and safe access
Three banking days, a $1,500 safe limit, two key holders and drops over $400.
8. Refunds, voids and safety
PIN approval, robbery response and yearly review.

How to adapt this document

First, set each float from a week of real takings: note the largest notes customers use and the change you ran short of, then rebuild the table so both columns still add up. Second, size the discrepancy levels to your turnover; a busy bar might start investigating at $50, a market stall at $10. Third, if you take very little cash, bank once a week and keep the safe limit low, and add a rule for card refunds, which is where losses move when cash falls away.

What makes this document work

Floats that add up to the cent

The float table breaks each till down by denomination, $40 in twenties, $50 in tens and $40 in fives on the front counter, down to $20 in small coins, and both columns total exactly: $200.00 and $150.00. A float that does not add up on paper never balances at the till.

Differences are graded, not ignored

Under $5 is recorded and left; $5 to $20 means a recount by someone else and a check of refunds and voids; over $20 means the owner reviews the till report and camera footage the next day; and the same till short three times in a month brings its regular users together.

Staff are protected as well as the cash

Two people count and sign every close, a wrong float is reported rather than topped up, and the callout forbids covering a shortage from wages or the tip jar. Each rule makes a missing $20 traceable to a cause instead of to whoever happened to be on the till.

Questions people ask

How much float should a cafe till have?

Enough to give change for the largest note you accept during the first hour, without holding more than you would be comfortable losing. Small cafes commonly hold $150 to $300 a till. The breakdown matters as much as the total: here each till has enough small notes and coins to change a $50.

Why should two people count the till?

A second counter catches mistakes and protects the first person if the till is short. When both sign the cash sheet, a difference becomes a fact to investigate rather than an accusation. In a small cafe the second person can be any staff member on the closing shift.

Can staff be made to pay for till shortages?

In most places an employer cannot simply deduct a shortage from wages, and making staff cover shortages from their own pocket hides the real cause, such as a refund keyed wrongly. This procedure forbids both and investigates patterns instead. Check your local wage deduction rules before adopting any other approach.

How often should cash takings be banked?

Often enough that the safe never holds more than your insurance covers. This cafe banks on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and adds an extra run if the safe would pass $1,500. Varying the time and route, and taking a second person for larger deposits, reduces the risk on the way to the bank.

What should staff do if they are handed a suspicious note?

Check the security features the issuing central bank publishes, such as the feel of the paper, the watermark and the security thread, without putting themselves at risk. If a note seems counterfeit, do not hand it back; keep it, note who presented it and tell the shift lead, who reports it to police.

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