Cash Drawer Count Sheet

How to use the cash drawer count sheet

1. Count each denomination and type how many you have: 7 twenties, 13 quarters and so on. The amount for each row and the total update as you type. Press Enter to move to the next row.
2. Add rolled coins separately, by the roll, so you don't have to break them open.
3. Check against the register (optional): enter the starting cash, the cash sales from your register report, and any cash paid out. You'll see what should be in the drawer and whether you're over or short.
4. See the deposit. The sheet keeps the starting cash in the drawer for the next shift and shows the rest as the deposit. Enter a different "Leave in drawer" amount to change it.
5. Print the count sheet for your records, or print a blank one to fill in by hand. Choose "Save as PDF" in the print window to keep a digital copy.

Add the business, register, date, shift and the names of the person who counted and the person who verified under "Sheet details" and they print at the top of the sheet.

How to count a till, step by step

A till count has the same steps in every shop. What changes is who does it and how often, so follow your own cash handling policy where it differs.

1. Close the drawer to sales. Finish or pause the current sale, then print the register's cash report (often called an X or Z report) so you know the cash sales and paid-outs before you count. Counting first and looking at the report afterwards keeps the count honest.
2. Take the drawer to a private spot such as the back office, away from customers.
3. Sort the bills by denomination, largest first, and face them all the same way. Pull out checks, coupons, receipts and anything that is not cash and count those separately.
4. Count each pile and enter it in the sheet above. Count bills by touching each one rather than fanning them, and say the running total quietly as you go.
5. Count the coins in stacks of ten or in rolls. Count loose coins by stacking quarters in fours (a dollar), dimes in tens (a dollar) and so on.
6. Enter the register figures and read the over or short line. If it is more than a few cents off, recount before you write anything down.
7. Sign it. Print the sheet, sign it, and have a second person verify it if your policy requires one.

How to tell if a drawer is over or short

Expected cash = starting cash + cash sales − cash paid out. Compare that with what you counted.

• A drawer that started with $150.00, took $412.35 in cash sales and paid out $20.00 should hold $542.35.
• If you count $541.10, the drawer is short $1.25. If you count $543.00, it's over $0.65.
• Over means there is more cash than the register says there should be. Short means there is less. Zero is called balanced.

The usual causes are simple: giving too much or too little change, a bill put in the wrong slot, a sale rung up as cash instead of card, or a paid-out that was not written down. Counting twice finds most of them before they become a pattern.

Small differences also come from giving change without pennies. If your store rounds cash totals to the nearest 5 cents, each sale can move the drawer by up to 2 cents, so a few cents over or short at the end of a day is normal. See the penny rounding calculator and your state's rule on the penny rounding laws by state page.

If the drawer is off: a 10-minute check

If the over or short line isn't zero, work through these in order before you write anything down. Most differences turn up in the first three steps.

1. Recount. Count the drawer again from the start, ideally with a second person, and compare row by row with the first count rather than only the total.
2. Re-sort the bills. Go through each pile again and look for a bill in the wrong pile, such as a $10 among the $1s or two bills stuck together.
3. Look for card sales rung up as cash. Compare the card slips or the card total on the register report with the card terminal. A card sale entered as cash makes the drawer look short by the full amount.
4. Check paid-outs and refunds. Every cash paid-out and cash refund should have a receipt or a line on the register report. One that was handed out but not entered makes the drawer look short; one that was entered but never paid makes it look over.
5. Check no-sale openings. Look at the register's no-sale count for the shift. An opening nobody can explain is worth noting, even if it doesn't explain the difference.
6. Check the starting cash. Make sure the float you entered is the amount the last shift actually left in the drawer, not the usual amount.
7. Separate rounding from shortage. If your store rounds cash totals to the nearest 5 cents, a few cents either way is expected (see Over or short above). Write that amount down as rounding, separately from any shortage, so it isn't counted against the cashier.
8. Record it. If there is still a difference, write the amount and what you checked on the sheet or in the notes of your daily cash report, sign it, and follow your store's policy. Don't make up a shortage from your own pocket or take an overage home. That hides the pattern you are trying to find.

Deposit calculation example

Say the drawer started the day with a $150.00 float and you counted this at closing:

• Expected cash was $150.00 + $412.35 − $20.00 = $542.35, so the drawer is short $1.25.
• Leave the $150.00 float in the drawer for the next shift. Deposit = $541.10 − $150.00 = $391.10.
• The deposit is based on what you actually counted, not on what the register says it should be. Record the shortage on the sheet instead of topping the deposit up from your own pocket.

One way to rebuild a $150.00 float is 3 twenties, 4 tens, 6 fives, 10 ones and a roll of quarters. Set it aside first, then count the rest as the deposit. Type the float you leave in "Leave in drawer" if it is not the same as the starting cash.

Using the sheet for a cash register or a safe

The same sheet works as a cash register count sheet: the register is just the drawer, so count it the same way and fill in the register or drawer name under "Sheet details".

For a safe count sheet, count everything in the safe by denomination, then use the check boxes like this: enter the amount from the last safe count as the starting cash, enter deposits and drops added since then as "Cash sales from register", and enter cash taken out (for example a bank deposit or a change order) as "Cash paid out". The over or short line then compares your count with what the safe should hold. The labels say "register" and "sales", but the arithmetic is the same.

Keep a separate sheet for each drawer and for the safe. Mixing counts on one sheet makes it hard to find where a difference came from.

Coin rolls, coin boxes and bill straps: how much is in each

Bank cash comes in standard packs: coins in rolls and boxes, bills in straps of 100. Knowing what a full pack holds lets you order the right amount of change from your bank and count wrapped cash in the safe without breaking it open. Enter unopened rolls in the sheet's rolled coin rows, and add a full strap or box at its face value.

Coin rolls and boxes

Box amounts are the standard sizes banks sell (Bank of America's change order guide lists the same values). Some banks sell coin only by the roll, so ask yours before you order. Pennies are no longer being made, and the Federal Reserve says penny supply will vary by location as stocks run out, so a penny order may not be filled in full.

Bill straps

A strap is 100 bills of one denomination held by a paper band. Bank bands are usually white with the color along the edges, and the band is stamped with the amount. Ten straps make a bundle of 1,000 bills. The colors follow the American Bankers Association standard that the Federal Reserve uses.

A sealed strap is worth its face value only if it's full. If a strap has been opened, or came from anywhere other than a bank, count it bill by bill before you put it on the sheet.

Counting coins by weight

If you have a jar or bag of loose coins, weighing them gives you a quick estimate. Sort the coins by type first, because a mix can't be worked out from the weight.

Coin weights are the U.S. Mint's specifications for coins it makes now. Dimes, quarters and half dollars all weigh 22.68 g per dollar, so a mixed pile of only those three can be weighed together.

1. Put an empty bowl on a kitchen or postal scale and set it to zero (tare).
2. Add one type of coin and read the weight in grams.
3. Divide by the weight of one coin to get the number of coins, or by the weight of $1 to get the value. For example, 567 g of quarters ÷ 5.670 g = 100 quarters, or $25.00.

Treat the result as an estimate. Worn coins weigh a little less, and copper pennies dated 1982 or earlier weigh about 3.11 g each, so an old penny jar will read high. Before you deposit, roll the coins or count them again.

Count sheet or daily cash report: which one?

The two forms answer different questions. This count sheet tells you how much cash is in the drawer. The daily cash report tells you what the day's sales were, how much cash there should be and how much to deposit, with card and check sales listed alongside cash.

If you use both, count first. Fill in this sheet, then copy the counted total into the daily cash report and file the two together with the deposit slip.

Tips for counting a cash drawer

• Count away from the register and out of view of customers, with the drawer closed to sales.
• Face and sort bills by denomination before counting, largest first.
• Count twice. Have a second person verify and sign the sheet, especially for the deposit.
• Build the next float first: set aside the starting cash in small bills and coins, then count the rest as the deposit.
• Write down over and short amounts every shift, even small ones. Patterns matter more than any single count.
• Count at the same time each day, such as at shift change, so each sheet covers one clear period.
• Keep the printed sheet with the deposit slip so anyone checking later can match the two.
• Budgeting with cash at home? Print labeled envelopes with the Money Envelope Template.

How to use it as a till, teller, church or end of day count sheet

The sheet counts any pile of cash by denomination, so it adapts to most jobs. Use the sheet details to name what you are counting.

• Cash register count sheet: count the drawer at shift change. Enter the float as starting cash and the register's cash sales.
• Till count sheet: the same as a register. Many shops use "till" for the removable drawer insert.
• Bank teller count sheet: count the teller drawer at the start and end of the day. Enter cash received as sales and cash paid out to customers as paid-outs, then compare with the teller's balance.
• Church offering count sheet: count the offering with two unrelated people present, enter 0 as the starting cash and leave cash sales blank. The total is the cash to deposit. Count checks separately.
• End of day cash count sheet: count each drawer at close, deposit everything above the float, and keep the printed sheet with the deposit slip.
• Weekly cash count sheet: print one sheet per day and add the daily deposits for a weekly total, or use one sheet for a weekly safe count.

Cash drawer count sheet FAQ