Closing the shift and reconciling the till

Reconciling the till means comparing two numbers: what the system says you should have, and what you actually have. The first comes from the financial position report with its opening balance, receipts and payments out; the second from counting the cash and reading the statements. You look for the discrepancy the same day, because a week later nobody can remember where it came from.

Why "there is this much in the till" and "we earned this much" are different numbers

This is the most common confusion in a service business, and it is not about arithmetic. It is about the date:

• The till reflects the date of payment. The client paid today, the money is here today.
• Profit is calculated on the date the service was delivered. The Profit and Loss report is built that way, and it is the only financial report with that rule.

So a membership sold in December sits in the till in December but enters profit gradually, as visits are used. Anyone reconciling those two numbers daily and being surprised is hunting for an error where there is none.

What to reconcile at the end of the day

The last two rows account for most "extra" and "missing" amounts. They are not errors, they are a difference in dates.

Five steps

1 Close every appointment of the day

An open appointment is a service delivered but not recorded. While it hangs there, the day's picture is incomplete.

2 Record cash movements as documents

Payments out, change, small purchases: anything leaving the till needs a cash document with an item assigned. Money taken "just for a minute" is the single biggest cause of a gap.

3 Open the financial position report

It shows the change in till balances by branch and by register: opening balance, receipts, payments out and the total. That is what the system expects to see.

4 Compare against reality

Count the cash, check the terminal total and the provider's account.

5 Find the gap today

If it does not add up, read the cash history: it gives the full chronology of operations across your accounts.

Items are the whole point

A cash document with no item turns your report into a line called "other". The minimum set worth creating on day one:

• service revenue
• product sales
• membership and certificate sales
• buying consumables
• rent and utilities
• wage payments
• cash collection

After that the cash flow report shows your main sources of income on its own, and the financial results report shows how much money a given specialist brought in and how much of it went to their pay.

The monthly reconciliation

Once a month, reconcile what the daily check cannot catch:

1. The month's profit in the P&L, expanding a line down to specific services and cash documents.
2. The outstanding balance of unused memberships and certificates, which is a liability rather than income.
3. Stock on hand against the cost written off by the techmaps.

Common questions

Why is there more in the till than in profit?

Usually prepayments, memberships and certificates: the money has arrived, the service has not been delivered yet.

Why does online payment not reconcile same-day?

The provider settles on its own schedule. Reconcile against their account, not against the appointment date.

Who should close the shift?

Whoever worked the till. The point of reconciling is that the person who took the money confirms the balance the same day.

What do I do with a gap I cannot find?

Record it as a cash document under its own item rather than quietly adjusting the balance. An "unexplained discrepancy" item that shows up every week is a useful signal in itself.