End-of-day cash-up, step by step

Why cash up every day?

A discrepancy is easy to find while it is small and almost impossible once it has grown. Tracing a week's worth of difference backwards is guesswork; tonight's difference usually comes down to a single ticket. A regular cash-up also protects stylists and reception: everyone knows their day closed cleanly, and suspicion doesn't hang in the air.

The point isn't to catch anyone out but to close the day's books cleanly. Most differences aren't deliberate. They are a payment recorded against the wrong method, a forgotten expense or a ticket left open.

Good habits during the day make the evening easy. If every payment is recorded with the right method as it is taken, every bit of cash out of the drawer is noted at the time and tickets are closed as the client leaves, the cash-up is just counting and checking. Anything left until the evening relies on memory, and at the end of a busy Saturday memory is the weakest link.

The cash-up routine

1. 1

   Close open tickets

   No ticket from today should be left open and unpaid. If a client left without paying in full, put the balance on their tab rather than leaving the ticket open.

2. 2

   Split payments by method

   Look at cash, card and bank transfer totals separately. Compare the card total with the card terminal's end-of-day report (often called the Z-report or batch total) and transfers with the bank account.

3. 3

   Record cash in and out

   Money taken from the drawer during the day (product run, advance, change for the float) and money put in should all be on record.

4. 4

   Enter expenses

   Small purchases such as colour from the wholesaler, cleaning supplies or milk and coffee should go in with a category.

5. 5

   Count the cash and compare

   Count the drawer and compare it with the expected cash shown on screen.

6. 6

   Review discounts and cancellations

   Run through the day's discounts and cancelled tickets. Does each one have a reason?

When you count, set aside the float you leave in the drawer for tomorrow and note it as the next day's opening amount. Starting every morning with the same float makes the evening sum simpler.

Tips and tabs are kept separate

Tips are not takings, and they confuse the till more than anything else. A tip added on the card terminal never arrives as cash, but if the stylist is paid it in cash it leaves the drawer. Always record tips separately and look at them separately at the end of the day; your takings report stays accurate too.

A tab is a sale that hasn't been paid yet. When you close the ticket, the unpaid part goes on the client's account and must not be shown as money in the till. If a client settles an old balance today, that payment goes into the till under the method they used. See client tabs for keeping on top of what is owed.

Differences from the price list

Some services will be charged at something other than the list price: rounding down for a regular, extra for long hair, a package price. That is normal, but it should be visible. At cash-up, glance at the lines charged differently from the list. If one stylist is always below list or one service is routinely sold at a different price, either your price list is out of date or there's a habit worth talking about.

What if the till doesn't balance?

• Check payment methods first: a card payment may have been recorded as cash, or the other way round.
• Is there unrecorded cash out? Money taken for product, an advance or change is the item most often forgotten.
• Is there a ticket left open or closed at the wrong amount? Sort the day's tickets by amount and look down the list.
• Has a tip leaked into the till? A card tip paid out to a stylist in cash makes the drawer look short.
• If you can't find it, note the amount and the likely cause, and look again tomorrow. Never delete records to make the numbers fit.

Once you find the cause, correct the record rather than deleting and re-entering it: fix the payment method, or add the forgotten expense with that day's date. When the history stays intact you can also see whether the same mistake keeps happening. If it does, the problem is the process, not the person; a clear rule for card tips, or a note every time cash leaves the drawer, is usually enough.

End of day in Makastam

In Makastam every payment taken during the day is recorded against its method. The till and expenses page shows payments by method, manual cash in and out, expenses and the net figure separately; tips are shown on their own and not counted as takings. An advance to a stylist is recorded as cash out and comes off their commission.

The end-of-day report brings takings, payment methods and the till together on one screen, with the day's discounts, cancellations and lines charged differently from the list price listed separately. Cancelling or discounting a ticket needs permission and a reason, and is logged with a name. The owner gets an end-of-day summary by email and notification, and by Telegram if you link it. Counting the drawer is still your job: the screen tells you what should be there, you count what is.