POS shift open, close, and cash reconciliation

A shift is the unit of accountability at the POS — one waiter, one POS Point, from open-cash-count to close-cash-count. Done right, end-of-shift takes 3 minutes and produces a signed report. Done sloppy, you spend the next morning hunting for a missing 1,500 ALL. This article is the protocol.

Opening a shift

1. Before logging in, count the physical cash drawer. Bills + coins, per currency. Write the number down — you'll type it in.
2. Open the POS app, go to your shift screen (My Shift), enter the counted starting balance, click Open Shift.
3. The system records the timestamp and starts tracking every order and payment under your user. The elapsed-time counter starts.
4. If the previous shift didn't close cleanly (drawer count is off, system shows an unclosed shift), close that one first. Don't open on top of an open shift — the variance from the previous shift will silently roll into yours.

During the shift

• Take orders and payments normally. Every cash payment goes in the drawer; every card payment goes through the terminal.
• If you give cash from the drawer for a non-sale reason (paying a delivery, petty cash), record it in the system as a cash payout — otherwise your end-of-shift count will be short by exactly that amount.
• Tips: if you put cash tips in the drawer (vs a separate jar), they will count as cash over at the end of shift. Talk to your manager about which model your venue uses.
• Mid-shift, you can drop excess cash to the safe (cash drop) and record it. The drawer should never get so full that it's a theft target.

Closing the shift

1. Stop taking new orders. Finalize and close any open tables.
2. Recount the drawer. Per currency. Write the numbers down.
3. Open the close-shift screen. Enter actual balance per currency.
4. The system shows the expected balance (starting + cash sales − cash refunds − cash payouts − cash drops) and the variance (actual − expected). Negative variance = short. Positive = over.
5. If the variance is small (a few hundred ALL / a few euros) and you can't trace it on the spot, close the shift and let the manager review tomorrow. Don't artificially adjust the count.
6. Click Close Shift. The Z report (shift report) generates and prints.
7. Drop the closing-balance cash to the safe, leaving the next-shift float. Sign the printed Z report and place it in the day's binder.

What's on the Z report

• Waiter name + POS Point + open/close timestamps + elapsed.
• Total orders count, total revenue (gross + tax breakdown).
• Per-payment-method totals: cash, card, room charge, etc.
• Cash reconciliation: starting balance, cash sales, refunds, payouts, drops, expected, actual, variance — per currency.
• Voids and refunds processed during the shift (with reasons if entered).
• Tips collected (cash + card).

Reviewing past shifts

Reports → Shift Report shows every closed shift filterable by waiter, POS Point, and date range. Useful for: investigating a variance after the fact, computing tips per waiter for payroll, spotting patterns (one waiter consistently short by 200–500 ALL is a conversation, possibly a training issue, possibly worse). Each shift in the list links to the original Z report.

Auto-close behavior

If a waiter forgets to close (rare, but it happens — busy night, walked out without clicking), the shift stays open. The next morning, a manager closes it manually from Reports → Shift Report. The system asks for the closing balance just like the waiter would have, but logs the closer's name. Treat this as a process miss to fix, not a normal pattern.