Server Cash Drawers & End Shift Checklist Video

Managing Server Cash Drawers

Summary: This article covers managing server cash drawers and settling out servers at the end of their shift.

How do servers manage cash?

Standard practice for full service restaurants is for servers to start their shift with cash they brought in, to bankroll making change.

They will keep all the cash they receive from sales through the shift, including their cash tips in their pockets.

At the end of their shift they will settle with the house before they leave.

Typically, restaurants will also deduct the servers credit card tips from the cash they owe the restaurant.

What is a Server Cash Drawer?

This is the "virtual drawer" monitoring the server's activity including cash sales, comps and refunds. This is the basis for the total cash owed by the server at the end of the night. 

NOTE: The drawer follows the user's login on the POS. Servers are free to use any of the POS tablets that are configured as "Server Drawers", because they do not have a cash drawer.

However, Servers holding their own cash should NOT use any cash registers with a connected drawer. These registers expect the money to be placed in the cash drawer attached to the register. The cash can not be in two places at once, so it is important to keep this rule in mind when working with multiple cash drawer types.

What is the End Shift Checklist?

The End Shift Checklist is a step-by-step tutorial on the POS that walks the server through the required steps they must complete before being released by their manager. This includes closing all their open orders, entering tips, tipping out other departments and closing their drawer, reseting for their next shift.

Pay Ins and Pay Outs

It is uncommon for servers to have a pay in or pay out on their drawer. However there are some use case examples.

Pay In -- A pay in increases the amount of cash owed by the server at the end of their shift. If a server did not bring their own bankroll and the restaurant is funding their initial starting cash a pay in should be performed.

Also, some managers prefer to make a pay in before the server cashes out credit card tips in order to avoid closing the drawer with a negative balance.

Pay Out -- A pay out decreases the amount of cash owed at the end of the night by the server. A pay out rom the server's drawer is even less common, but may be used to offset the servers cash owed for some reason.

A possible scenario where Pay Out is used for a server it to offset tips from an external payment type, such as a 3rd party online ordering service.

To perform a Pay In or a Pay Out:

• On the POS, tap the Management Button (bar graph)

NOTE: Most of the buttons in the Cash Drawer Management section are irrelevant to Server Cash Drawers and should not be used except under non-standard conditions.

• In the section titled "Cash Drawers", tap the Pay In or Pay Out Button

• Enter the reason and the amount for the pay in or pay out, and tap Save.
  • The server's drawer balance is now adjusted by the entered amount.

End Shift Checklist

When the server is nearing the end of their shift, they still need to perform some additional tasks before leaving the restaurant. To make this easier for management, we have a pre-flight checklist that walks servers through the steps to properly close.

• From the Management screen, tap the End Shift button

The End Shift Checklist walks the server through a variety of checks to make sure they are ready to clock out. these include closing or transferring open orders, entering all tips, removing credit card tips from their bank and settling their cash with the restaurant.

NOTE: The steps included in the End Shift Checklist and the order they are presented in are set up in Back Office >  Settings > End Shift Settings.

On the left of the screen are the steps that need to be completed. To skip a step or mark it as done, tap the Done Button in the top right of the screen.

Closing the Cash Drawer

The last step of the checklist is typically to close the cash drawer. Servers must close their cash drawer at the end of their shift to reset the amount owed.

NOTE: If closing the drawer is not set up as part of the End Shift Checklist servers still need to close their drawer on the POS under the Management Button > Cash Drawer > Close Button.

When you tap the Close Button you will see the Audit screen. An audit is performed before the drawer is closed.

• Tap the field near the bottom that says "Other"
• Use the keypad to enter the Expected Value
  • This is how much cash the server owes the restaurant
• There should not be any discrepancy
• Tap the Submit button when done

The POS will ask you to print the Drawer Summary and the User Day Report

Drawer Summary

The drawer summary shows a total of cash sales, any additions, deductions and adjustments. the final balance is the amount owed by the server to the restaurant. This report is typically provided to the manager with the cash to show that they are providing the correct amount of cash.

Negative Drawer Balance After Paying Credit Tips

In cases where the restaurant deducts credit card tips from the amount owed by the server: Sometimes cash sales are less than credit card tips. When this happens, the expected drawer value is negative. The restaurant owes the server the negative balance for unpaid credit card tips.

The drawer can not be closed with a value less than $0.00. If the server submits the drawer, reporting will reflect that there was a positive adjustment on the drawer, equal to the negative drawer amount.

There are two ways for management to handle this condition:

1. When the server brings the drawer summary pay the server the remainder of their tips from the restaurant's cash.

2. BEFORE the server closes the drawer, pay in an amount equal to the remaining tip balance so the drawer closes without an adjustment.

User Day Report

The second report that is printed is the User Day Report. This report has all of the server's activity for the day. Including sales, tips, comps, gratuity and more.

Near the top of the User Day Report is Net Cash. This can be used to help determine how much cash the server owes without closing the drawer, provided it is configured in Back Office > Settings > Tip and Gratuity Settings.

NOTE: Even if managers are referencing Net Cash on the User Summary, servers still need to manage their drawer, record tip-outs and close the drawer at the end of their shift.

To reprint a User Day Report From A Previous Day

The User Summary can be printed at any time during the day by going to the Management Button (bar graph) > Print User Day Report.

• Tap the Sales Dashboard button

• Tap Change Date in the top right corner of the Dashboard
• Select the desired date in the calendar
• The Dashboard view updates to the selected day

• Tap the Print User button in the top right of the screen
• Select the user to print for the day