Module 5 · Core · 10 min read

POS cash handling and day-end closing

You will be able to: Open and close a POS shift and explain expected cash; Name the entry for a shift over or short; Use Cash In/Out, blind count and variance limits; Run Day Close and the accounting Day End checklist.

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The POS Terminal is the cashier's till. Cash handling rests on one idea: every cash drawer belongs to a shift, and a shift is counted when it ends. A shift is one cashier's session on one terminal.

The POS Shifts screen with tiles for expected cash, counted cash and over or short and the list of shifts. — POS, Shifts: expected cash against counted cash for each shift.

Opening and selling

Sign in with your username and POS PIN, then on Open Shift check the terminal name, type the Opening Float, the cash you put in the drawer to start, and press Open Shift. Each sale is posted at once as a POS receipt. Each payment is debited to the account of its payment mode, so cash goes to Cash in Hand. A shift keeps the date it was opened, so close it each night.

The POS Day Close screen with the close parameters and the list of closed days. — POS, Day Close: lock the day after the cash is counted.

Expected cash

When the shift closes, Zeyto works out the cash that should be in the drawer: the opening float, plus the cash payments taken on the receipts, less cash handed back on refunds, plus cash paid in, less cash paid out. Only CASH-kind payments count; card and cheque payments are not in the drawer.

The Day End screen with the checklist of items that must be fixed or are still open, and the cash in hand and bank figures. — Accounting, Day End: the checklist before you close the day.

Cash In/Out in the terminal records a Paid In or Paid Out with a mandatory reason, for example paying a delivery driver from the drawer. It posts a journal against a counter account and counts in expected cash. Administrators set a limit above which a Paid Out needs a manager, and the allowed counter accounts, in Settings, POS Behaviour (Cash Control).

Closing the shift

Press Close Shift at the top right.
Count the drawer and type how many notes and coins of each kind you have. Check the Counted total and the Over / Short preview.
Press Close Shift. The Z report shows the figures and Zeyto posts any difference.

A short drawer is posted as debit to a miscellaneous or cash-shortage expense account (6900 in the standard chart) and credit to Cash in Hand. An over drawer is debit Cash in Hand and credit an other-income account (4900). Two controls are in Cash Control settings: Blind count when closing a shift hides the expected cash from the cashier until the count is in, and Closing variance needing a manager makes a difference above the limit require a manager's username and PIN before anything is posted. The X Report shows the figures mid-shift without closing.

Counting a drawerFloat 500. Cash sales taken 3,200. Cash refunds 105. Paid out 50 to a delivery driver. Expected = 500 + 3,200 - 105 - 50 = 3,545. The cashier counts 3,540. Variance is -5, a shortage: debit 6900 for 5, credit Cash in Hand 5. Card sales of 1,800 are not part of the drawer and never appear in this count.

Day Close and Day End

Once every shift is closed, a manager runs POS, Day Close for the branch and date. It adds up the day's sales and cash, saves the result and locks the day: no more receipts, refunds, voids or shifts can be posted for that branch and date until someone with the right permission reopens it. It posts nothing to the accounts, because the over and short were posted when each shift closed. Optionally you enter the day's own cash count by denomination.

Accounting, Day End is the business-wide close. Its checklist shows what is still open for the day: unposted drafts, open POS shifts (must fix), POS day close not run, Field Sales sessions still out, approvals waiting, cheques due and not cleared, negative stock, sales waiting for a purchase, backup age and ledger balance. Items marked Must fix stop the close; warnings can be confirmed. You can tick Lock the books up to this day so nothing dated on or before it can be changed.

Watch outIf the server cannot be reached the till keeps selling and sends sales later. A shift opened offline is a LOCAL SHIFT: closing it records no cash count on the server, so open a normal shift as soon as the connection returns.

Try it in the demo

Open demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in with the public demo user (admin, password demoAdmin123).
Open POS, Shifts and read the tiles: Expected Cash, Counted Cash and Over / Short.
Open POS, Z Reports and click View Z on a closed shift.
Open POS, Day Close and read the Close Parameters and the list.
Open Accounting, Day End and read the Checklist.

Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways

Expected cash = float + cash sales - cash refunds + paid in - paid out.
Over and short post when the shift closes; Day Close only locks the day.
Blind count and variance limits protect the cashier and the owner.
Day End lists everything still open before you lock the books.

Check yourself

5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. What do you type when opening a POS shift to start the drawer?

2. Which Day End checklist item stops the day from being closed?

3. POS shift: float 500, cash sales 3,200, cash refunds 105, paid out 50. What is the expected cash?

4. A POS drawer is expected to hold AED 3,545 and the cashier counts AED 3,540. What does Zeyto post?

5. With Blind count when closing a shift switched on, what is hidden from the cashier until the count is entered?

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Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet