Retail: Tricks to balancing a till

[tomm4004]

I work in retail, a store that rings through many customers will small purchases. Lots of cash. My manager is suspicious that one of our cashiers always balances to the penny. I said I thought that was good. Manager said there are "tricks" cashiers can use, but did not elaborate. This cashier is on the outs. Anyone know what manager means? I'm wondering what to look for.

I watched this cashier recently and just think that they are adept and proficient. The manager seemed to imply that they were stealing, or at least fudging to always balance. But it seems to me that if you are smart enough to do that then you should be smart enough to balance honestly. Since the cashiers cannot take till readings, I'm not sure how they would even know they are going to balance or not until the end of their shift. And why not just be a few cents off now and again, which is not considered a big deal?

 

[heartodisney]

If that cashier is doing the honest work, maybe it is the "manager" that should be looked into!

 

[tigsmom]

I worked in a store for years and it was a rare occasion when the till balanced out exactly on any register, there is usually a few pennies here and there. We were given a $1 range over or under. If the cashier can't take the balance during the shift then how could they be playing around with the sum?

 

[rsoxguy]

The manager sounds a bit paranoid. Numbers do not lie. Perhaps the manager is implying product theft?

 

[Debbie]

Purchases rung up---money collected---exact change returned to customer with a 'thank you'---doesn't seem that hard. Some folks are excellent at handling money---some are not good at alot of anything else.
So if the customer is paying for all of the purchases and the cashier is balancing out to the penny; I'd wonder what the manager's beef is too?
And......unless you are in management; your manager should have never disclosed this to you---it's considered unethical.

 

[tomm4004]

And......unless you are in management; your manager should have never disclosed this to you---it's considered unethical.

I am. Thanks.

 

[accord99cutie]

Every job I've ever worked that had me dealing with cash registers, my drawers were always exact to the penny... ALWAYS... Im just good at math! How any manager would think that means the employee was beng suspitious is extremely odd to me :shrug:

 

[Phonedave]

When I was in HS / College I worked in a grocery store.

We started with manual ringing (I.e - no scanning, all products had price labels)

I was to the penny most of the time when balancing out. We had some old cash registers, and sometimes change fell into the cracks.

However, there was no way for a cashier to know what their till was supposed to be. You counted out your till and handed the slip into the office. Then they would look it up and tell you how you did.

There were ways - especially before scanners, to steal money, but thats a different story. You could do things to steal money and your till would still come out even at the end of the shift. A small hint, coupon audits are few and far between. We did catch and fire a few people for that.

-dave

 

[diddy_mouse]

I wouldn't say there are any tricks to balancing a till unless the cashier knew exactly how much money was supposed to be there. Usually some stores give a $1 cushion if you are over or short and that's why you'll round up your deposit. Also sometimes people refuse their change.

 

[unkadug]

I wouldn't say there are any tricks to balancing a till unless the cashier knew exactly how much money was supposed to be there. Usually some stores give a $1 cushion if you are over or short and that's why you'll round up your deposit. Also sometimes people refuse their change.

Yeah, I've often wondered how that works.

I have often told clerks to keep the pennies. Do they keep them in the register, or do they go into the clerks pocket. Or do they go into the "take a penny/give a penny" container. :shrug:

 

[Hrudey3032]

Yeah, I've often wondered how that works.

I have often told clerks to keep the pennies. Do they keep them in the register, or do they go into the clerks pocket. Or do they go into the "take a penny/give a penny" container. :shrug:

I worked for years in retail from Walmart as a associate to Store Manager for a Hat World.Whenever someone would say keep the pennies I would always still take them out and place them on the counter.If another customer needed a penny or two I had it to give them. I always had a balanced drawer.If i had extra I usually put it in the Riley's Children Hospital donation jar.

 

[Fantasmic!329]

Yeah, I've often wondered how that works.

I have often told clerks to keep the pennies. Do they keep them in the register, or do they go into the clerks pocket. Or do they go into the "take a penny/give a penny" container. :shrug:

I'm a cashier in a small gift shop during the spring and summer months. When a customer tells me to "keep the change," whether it be a penny or several cents, I put it directly in the "extra" coin dish inside the register. (It's the unused coin section inside the register, alongside the dishes for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.) Then, if a customer comes up later and is short a cent or two, we can use the spare coins to make up the difference.

But in regards to the OP's post, I think that it is very strange that the manager is unhappy when the till comes out perfectly. My managers are always very happy when it comes out exact. :lol:

 

[Uncle Lupe]

It would be odd if the till was off the same amount everyday, under not over. It is not hard to be perfect on a cash register, it is difficult when you have to share a register with other people the entire day. Also the change rolls are rarely correct when you start the day, pennies with dimes etc.. I would think that the person on not charging the customer for all of his items, we have had cashiers "forget" on multiple occasions and always for friends and family's to charge for entire purchases. There is always a paper trail and security cameras, a thief will always be caught.