Cash Register Reconciliation Calculator
Count bills and coins to calculate total cash in your register, compare to expected amount, and find any over/short discrepancy.
Cash register reconciliation (also called “till counting” or “end-of-day balancing”) is the process of comparing the actual cash in the drawer against what the point-of-sale system says should be there. Discrepancies reveal errors, voids, or theft — and every cent matters in tight-margin retail.
Formula: Expected Cash = Opening Float + Total Cash Sales − Cash Paid Out
Variance: Variance = Actual Cash Count − Expected Cash
- Positive variance (overage) = more cash than expected
- Negative variance (shortage) = less cash than expected
What each variable means:
- Opening Float — the cash you start the shift with (change fund). Typically $100–$300 for small retailers.
- Total Cash Sales — the sum of all transactions where the customer paid with cash (from your POS system report).
- Cash Paid Out — any cash removed from the drawer during the shift (vendor payments, refunds, manager pulls).
- Actual Cash Count — the physical total of all bills and coins in the drawer, counted carefully.
Worked example: Opening float: $200 Cash sales (POS): $1,847.50 Paid outs: $45.00 (vendor delivery payment)
Expected cash = $200 + $1,847.50 − $45.00 = $2,002.50 Actual count: $1,988.75
Variance = $1,988.75 − $2,002.50 = −$13.75 (shortage)
Counting denominations methodically: Always count largest to smallest: $100s → $50s → $20s → $10s → $5s → $1s → quarters → dimes → nickels → pennies.
Acceptable variance thresholds:
- Tight operation: ±$1.00
- Average retail: ±$5.00
- Variances over $20 warrant investigation