Understanding Cash Office Functions
Authorized associates can perform the following cash office tasks through the POS back office functions:
- Receiving tenders from an external source
- Managing tills in the cash office
- Accepting non-sale payments
- Paying for non-merchandise transactions
- Settling the till
- Settling the repository
- Transferring tenders
- Depositing tenders to an external source
The cash office functions can be configured depending on the retailer’s needs. For more information, refer to Cash Office.
Understanding the terms
This section defines some terms used in this section and throughout the system.
Terminal accountability
If the accountability for the drawer stays with the terminal regardless of the operators that have used the terminal, then the terminal is deemed Terminal Accountable. This designation means that everyone who has used the terminal during the day shares in the accountability for the money in that cash drawer. Generally, the cash drawer stays in the terminal until the end of the day at which point the terminal is settled.
The Cashier terminal mode with operator accountability is not supported in the Advanced Store Cash Office functions.
Over/Short
The Over/Short term is used in reference to differences detected by the system between an amount entered by the user for a field and the amount calculated by the system for that same field. An over is positive, and a short is negative.
Overs and shorts can be created in the following scenarios:
- During terminal settlement.
- During office balancing.
Overs and shorts represent money erroneously coming into or leaving the store due to operator mistake or fraud. While some small deviations are generally acceptable, this value must be watched closely in order to keep it as close to zero as possible.
Over
An over is the condition of an over/short that represents an amount discovered to be greater than what the system reports it should be. For example, when settling a terminal and the system reports $900.00 in the cash drawer but actually there is $1,000.00, then the system calculates an over of $100.00 for this terminal during settlement.
An over represents money coming into the store but is generally an unwanted situation because overs are caused by not returning enough change to a customer and failing to record a loan. An over is always a positive number.
Short
A short is the condition of an over/short where a counted amount is discovered to be less than the system-calculated amount. For example, when settling a terminal and the system reports there should be $1,000.00 in the cash drawer but actually there is only $900.00, then the system calculates a short of $100.00 for this terminal when settled.
A short represents money that is leaving the store and is definitely an unwanted situation. While simple errors are the cause of many shorts, the possibility of theft must always be considered. A short is always a negative number.
