At closing

Wanted to run this by others to see if anyone has had this experience.

No one can tell us why when we x or z out at the end of day why the z reading shows a different figure, than the total figure of the recipts/tickets.

Nothing matches up, so it is hard to tell if we are really over or under in the cash register.

What formula does everyone else use?

Raine,
It should be very simple: opening bank + sales (which is the x or z number) - payouts - charges(because they're in the x/z but not in the drawer) - returns/loss - closing bank = the drop. don't forget to justify the tips, if that applies, before you figure in the charges.

x'ing out and z'ing out aren't the same thing. you should x out at the end of a shift, if you run a tape for the whole day, or to take a quick reading. z'ing out should only be done at the end of the day, as it should return the total to zero.

if you're interested, i'll see if i can dig up the excel form that i developed a few years ago as a daily cash management sheet. whoever runs the register should fill it out completely every day and then attach the journal tape to it.

are you under or over on the count, Raine? and who's running the register? if you're always under in the drawer, you may have to look at the possibility that someone has sticky fingers. of course, if you're always over, the same thing might apply; someone's not ringing in all the sales, but isn't able to lift the correct amount. that's a real talent.

if you're the one who runs the register, be more careful making change and ringing in sales. and recheck your math. i used to go through this at the end of an 18-hour day, and it often took me a few tries to count the money accurately and to do the math right.

a big help is to have a constant bank. every day, every shift, the cashier should have the same amount of money in the till. that takes some doing unless you have big banks with enough change, but i think it's critical.

if you have cashiers, another old trick is to slip, say, $40 into the drawer when they're taking a break, and see if it shows up in the works.

Here's our procedure. The cashier rings up the items on the guest ticket and staples the register recipt to the ticket. If you add up the recipts they do not add up to the same total as the x reading, so I'm not sure what the sales really are, nor the sales tax.

If you add up just the items written on the guest tickets, they won't add up to the total of the recipts or the x reading.

Over, under it varies everyday, and it doesn't matter who is running the register.

We staart the drawer with the same amount everyday. It is a real pain everyday to have to sit and figure every ticket everyday, when I should be able to get the numbers from the x reading.

We have thought about adding extra, but until we can figure out why things don't balance, we're not sure we could prove anyone took it. It doesn't even balance when no one but me runs the register.

It should be simple math, but it gonna drive me to drink!

Sure I would love to take a look at your spreadsheet.

Depends on the numbers. My wife is an accountant and will spend three hours to find a twenty cent difference. I'm a bit more pragmatic...twenty cents...ok we just spent that amount considering it. If my employees want to cheat me they'll get it done. I pay well and expect honesty. Only been burned twice in twenty years...once big time...she's a guest of the NC Corrections Dept for the next few years but I'm out 35K. Exactly why didn't the wife who spends forever looking for twenty cents find out about someone punching out fake invoices??????? They looked real and an accountant loves real looking invoices.

Been married to her for twenty four years and can hear her in the next room complaining about a bill that was OVERPAID by twenty some dollars and how we should handle it. My comment of "cut them a gift certificate" (return visits?) was not well recieved because she doesn't know how to put that one on the books. I love my wife but accountants have all the imagination of a German Shepard.

God was she mad at me about my purchases at the Winn Dixie store closing but that isn't this topic is it. Slicers, mixers and grinders at scrap metal prices.

Hello all,
When I was a night auditor at the local Sheraton, the bar never, and I mean never, balanced out. Much of it had to do with the darkness of the bar which made it hard for them to see what they were punching in on the register,(and it was dark), the laziness and sloppiness of the bartenders on ringing things up, and a small amount of stealing. We often found the amount of loss depended on who was using the register. And of course there was the number 9 problem, for example typing into the register $1.78 instead of $1.87. That happened way too often. Quite often, things were written down on a check, but not punched into the register. Bartenders often give freebies for a big tip. But, let me say, I love bartenders and know they work like hades for low wages. It's the system.
But you said you ran the register and had the same problem....perhaps there is a problem with your register...a malfunction. Machines can make mistakes too.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

i will have to have a drink for ya, raine
try this......
i am thinking you have preset button, yes?
this may take a while, but it will find your problem. i am thinking it may be a programming error. or maybe certain items you ring up are being divided into other categories, due to the programming. so, take a couple hours, a pot of coffee, and a role of tape. sit down with that machine, and ring each button(plu's) individually. after certain groups of maybe 4-5, run a z and an x. find the group that dont match, and isolate the bug, and reprogram the PLU.
and make sure you never leave the key in the machine for others to fool with!
good luck, keep us posted.

No, the buttons are not pre-set. They key each item/price in.

First, you shouldn't be using the X and Z readings to balance. BTW they are for shift changes, X, and the Z is for daily totals.

You should be balancing by the Grand Totals. These are generally listed at the very first or end of the tape, depending on the register....everything should balance to these totals.

This keeps someone from running the register and possibly Z'ing it out during the shift. Don't say it's impossible because it is and has been proven many times over!

Can't go by the grand total as it is the register that came with the restaurant when we bought it.

Trying to figure out what my daily sales are and exactly how much sales tax we owe.

The cashier rings up the customer's bill (from the guest ticket) and then staples that reciept to the waitress' ticket. If you add up all the reciepts, should they not match the daily sales total from the x& Z readings?

Yes they should theortically.

However you have other things that will affect those totals.
Voids, Refunds, Comps, etc

But more important, they should match your grand total reading of today minused from the previous grand total reading.

If you could send me a copy of your z tape, I could help you develop a spread sheet to balance your register

hb