THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCING YOUR CASH REGISTERS

There are plenty of things in life which are not very exciting. You only have to think about filing out a tax return or grouting the tiles in a bathroom to be reminded that, sometimes, the important things are not always the most riveting. The same can be said for balancing a cash register in a retail store. It is unlikely to throw up any big surprises, but it represents an essential part of running a business. UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF YOUR BUSINESS This is why it is so important to get it right. And to do this, you need to have an efficient balancing system for your cash registers in Colchester. Now, in some ways, the smaller businesses are going to find this process easier. There are fewer transactions to deal with, only a handful of cashiers to train and monitor, and only relatively small amounts of cash being stored on the premises. On the other hand, larger department stores and chain retail outlets run their balancing systems like clockwork. It is the only option; every pound must be accounted for and every single transaction recorded. Whilst smaller stores should aim for the same, places like sandwich bars, corner shops, and kiosks can usually deal with discrepancies and mistakes directly. If the figures are slightly off, but an error has been reported, it can be solved quickly. BALANCING THE BOOKS WITH CASH REGISTERS This level of direct involvement is what sets larger and smaller businesses apart and determines what kind of cash registers in Colchester are needed. If you do operate an extensive staff network and process hundreds of transactions every day, it is probably best to opt for a computerised POS system. They are fast, efficient, and very accurate. However, being computers, they are also prone to software glitches and system hiccups. For this reason, lots of businesses still use cash registers. They are slightly slower than EPOS resources, but they are sturdy and solidly reliable. Whilst the temptation is to believe that cash registers make it a lot harder to balance the books than EPOS systems, this is not really true. To identify discrepancies and monitor sales figures, only one calculation is needed; the sum of total sales is subtracted from the amount contained in the register at the start of the day. CASH REGISTERS VS EPOS SYSTEMS The one major advantage to choosing EPOS tools over standard cash registers is that they can keep more accurate records. There are lots of modern cash registers in Colchester which track transactions, so that discrepancies and errors can be spotted, but they will never be as fast or reliable as a digital bookkeeping resource. With cash registers, it is easy to spot the presence of an error (a customer given too much change, a missed transaction, etc.), but it can be trickier to identify exactly what that error is. The key is to work backwards until you spot the mistake, which is why cash registers are easier to manage in small businesses; there are fewer transactions to record. THE RIGHT WAY TO BALANCE A CASH REGISTER It is customary to balance a cash register at the end of day or in between cashier shifts, if you are keen to keep an individual record of sale for each employee. The best way to do this is to take the cash drawer from the register to an area away from the shop floor. If you are doing this at the end of the day, always make sure that the front door is securely locked. It is entirely up to your discretion to decide how many overages or shortages should be investigated. For most small businesses, it is important to get the right balance between unavoidable human error and running a suitably tight ship. So, whilst all cashiers should be aiming for as much accuracy as possible, it is not always helpful to penalise every mistake. However, do keep a close eye on shortages. If they occur frequently, during the same time periods and shifts every week, intentional theft could be one explanation. The good news is that this is exactly what balancing your cash registers in Colchester is designed to identify and prevent. If you are happy to hand over responsibility for balancing the books to an employee, make sure that they sign and date audit reports every time. To browse a broad selection of cash registers and EPOS systems, click here to visit CRS Ipswich. Or, for more advice on operating cash registers in a small business, call 01473 396037 and speak to an expert.