CASH HANDLING POLICY
Policy statement
This policy has been developed for all employees responsible for collecting and/or handling cash. Cash includes coins, bank notes, currency, cheques, postal orders, gift vouchers, gift cards, debit cards, credit cards and cash equivalents. These internal controls and cash handling procedures have been established to ensure proper security arrangements and accountability.
Cash transactions should only be dealt with by employees who have been expressly authorised bythe Company to undertake such responsibilities.
All employees working in cash handling will be given training in how to do so safely, whether they are working as a till operator, they have responsibility for cashing up or they are an authorised employee with access to the safe.
A breach of the rules set out in this policy is a disciplinary offence and will be dealt with in accordance with the Company’s disciplinary procedure. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, it may amount to gross misconduct and could lead to summary dismissal.
Till operation
Each till operator must log in and log out of their session in their own name in order for each transaction to be identifiable for reconciliation and audit purposes. All tills have two till rolls, one for receipt purposes and one for audit purposes. A till receipt must be issued to each customer who makes a purchase, regardless of the method of payment.
It is the till operator’s responsibility to verify the float in the till drawer is correct at the beginning of each shift or working day. Regular float and spot checks may also be carried out throughout the course of the day by management.
Cashing up
At the end of each shift or working day, the employees with responsibility for cashing up should run a till report, count the cash in the till (including the float) and ensure there are no discrepancies.
Individual tills are to be balanced as follows:
- all cash is to be removed from the cash drawer. This must not take place when customers or clients are present
- the cash should be counted (including the float) discreetly in a nominated secure area with restricted access away from public view and cheques and credit/debit card payments should be verified by matching them to the till report
- two members of staff must be present when cashing up
- if the total amount in the till (deducting the amount of the float) equals the amount on the till report, the employee may sign the cash count sheet and submit the till report to management prior to leaving work.
Cash discrepancies
If the total amount in the till does not match the balance on the till report, the employee must attempt to determine which transaction accounted for the error.
If an individual transaction was entered incorrectly, management must immediately be notified so they can take the necessary steps to correct the error. After the correction is made, the employee will be able to run the till report and attempt to balance again.
If the mistake cannot be identified, management must again immediately be notified and they will attempt to locate the mistake. If the mistake cannot be found, the employee must note the shortage or overage on the cash count sheet and acknowledge this by signing their name prior to leaving work.
Access to safe
The safe is located in a secure room which has no external access. Only authorised employees have access to the safe and should know the location of the safe keys and the safe combination. The safe keys must be kept in a separate location, secured and not in public view and they should not be marked in any way to identify the safe that they open. The safe must always be opened with two authorised employees present. The safe combination will be changed on a regular basis and whenever an authorised employee leaves employment.
Banking arrangements
At the end of each shift or working day, once all tills have been balanced or discrepancies recorded, an authorised employee with access to the safe should complete a bank pay-in slip with the takings, seal the takings in a cash bag and temporarily store the bag in the safe until it is taken to the bank. Takings are banked at least on a daily basis by management using unmarked bags ortakings may be collected for banking on a daily basis by an appointed cash handling company.
Refunds
Where a refund is required by a customer or client, an authorised employee must approve and document the refund. Cash purchases can be refunded in cash. Payments made by debit or credit card must be refunded back to the source card which actioned the original transaction. A refund must never be processed onto a card that is not the source transaction card. Payments made by cheque must be refunded by BACS. Payments made by gift card or gift voucher can be refunded back to the gift card or a new gift voucher issued.
Cheque procedures
The minimum amount for cheque payments is ………. (insert amount, e.g. £5). When accepting a cheque payment, till operators must check the following:
- the date is correct
- the payee is correct
- the words and the amount in figures agree
- the cheque is signed
- the cheque guarantee card has been viewed (if applicable).
The till receipt number should be noted on the back of the cheque.
Credit/debit card procedures
Credit and debit card payments must be processed in accordance with the PDQ card machine instructions and guidelines. The customer or client must receive the customer copy of the PDQ receipt as well as the till receipt.
Merchant copies of PDQ receipts must be kept for a rolling year of twelve months for audit purposes. Any PDQ machine receipts that are retained for audit purposes must be kept in a locked drawer or cabinet or in the safe.