How to Count a Cash Drawer

A reliable drawer close keeps two numbers separate: Actual Cash, which comes from physically counting the drawer, and Expected Cash, which comes from the point-of-sale or other business record. Count first, compare second, and do not change a physical count merely to make the two numbers agree.

This is a practical workflow, not a legal rule or a replacement for your organization's cash-handling policy. Your secure location, approval steps, starting float, escalation threshold, and sign-off requirements may differ.

Before you start

Gather the record that provides Expected Cash, any recorded pickups or payouts, and the approved amount that should remain as the next starting drawer. Use a quiet counting area approved by your organization and keep access limited while the drawer is open. UC Davis's cash-control guidance similarly recommends counting away from public areas, restricting access, and securing cash when it is not being handled.

Keep one drawer associated with one responsible cashier during a shift where your operating model allows it. If your organization requires an independent review, arrange that review after the first count rather than letting two people edit the same quantities at once.

Count the drawer by denomination

1. Remove non-cash items such as receipts, checks, coupons, and foreign or unidentified money from the physical groups you plan to enter. Handle them under the separate process that applies to each item.
2. Select the correct Supported Currency in the Cash Counter Calculator. Enable Legacy Denominations only when the physical cash you are counting requires them.
3. Sort bills and coins into one group for each face value. Keep each group separate until its quantity has been entered and checked.
4. Count pieces, enter a whole-number quantity, and review the displayed denomination subtotal. The calculator multiplies the face value by the quantity without accumulating floating-point money values.
5. Complete every denomination, including zero rows that you deliberately checked, then read the Cash Count total as Actual Cash.

The denomination-by-denomination method is also reflected in the cash forms published in Northwestern University's cash-management procedure. Those forms are useful evidence for the method, but their exact USD rows and approval fields are not universal requirements.

Compare Actual Cash with Expected Cash

Enter the independently obtained Expected Cash amount in the Cash Drawer Reconciliation. TheCashCount always uses this sign convention:

Balance Difference = Actual Cash − Expected Cash

• zero is Balanced;
• a positive difference is Over; and
• a negative difference is Short.

Expected Cash belongs to the organization's system of record. Depending on the operation, it may reflect an opening float, recorded cash sales, pickups, payouts, refunds, or other approved entries. TheCashCount does not reconstruct that ledger and does not decide what the number should be.

If the drawer is Over or Short, recount the affected denominations before treating the difference as final. Check for bills stuck together, coins in the wrong group, transposed quantities, and a missing recorded pickup or payout. If the difference remains, keep the actual physical count and document the difference under your own policy. Procedures published by the University of Washington and USNH both preserve and investigate unexplained differences instead of hiding them.

Separate the next drawer from the deposit

After reconciliation, identify the approved amount that remains as the next starting drawer. The remainder may be prepared for secure transfer or deposit, but the amount and custody process come from your organization. Never infer a universal starting float from this guide.

Record the count, the Expected Cash, the Balance Difference, and any required review. If the cash is moving to a bank, continue with the cash denomination sheet guide. For a repetitive coin-heavy drawer, use the coin-counting workflow before returning to the reconciliation.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Counting mixed denominations as one pile.
• Editing quantities until the total matches Expected Cash.
• Reusing another shift's Expected Cash or starting float.
• Treating Over as profit or Short as proof of misconduct.
• Leaving the open drawer or count record visible to people who are not part of the process.
• Assuming this workflow overrides an employer, insurer, bank, or local legal requirement.