Cashing up in your salon: a checklist that makes every cash difference traceable
What do you do when the till does not add up and you have no idea which payment to start with? Cashing up gets messy as soon as every team member follows their own routine, or when payments are not compared step by step with what the till recorded. A difference of a few euros then stays unexplained for weeks. This article gives you a fixed checklist per payment method, a search order for when things do not match and a simple log, so everyone on your team cashes up the same way and a difference can still be traced later.
Cashing up is not the same as the end-of-day close
Cashing up is the check where you compare a working day's till records with what actually came in: cash, card and online. You record the result and note any difference. That is all it is, and that is exactly what makes it a short, repeatable task.
The wider end-of-day close goes further: finishing appointments, reviewing the daily report and preparing figures for your accountant. We cover those steps in our guide to the end-of-day close with your POS. Keep the two apart. That way you know exactly which check belongs to the till, and a cash difference does not get buried under reports.
A fixed cash-up routine is a practical form of internal control: an agreed way of working that makes mistakes visible before they pile up. It is not about distrusting anyone. It is about explaining a difference on the same day, while everyone still remembers who was in the chair.
Before you start: fixed float, fixed moment, fixed person
Most cash differences do not come from counting. They come from a starting point that was never fixed. So decide three things once.
A fixed float. Start every day with the same amount in the drawer, for example €150. Then you know exactly what to subtract when you count. If the float changes from day to day, write it down every morning.
A fixed moment. Cash up after the last checkout, not halfway through the day. Otherwise a payment that comes in just after counting belongs to no count at all.
One person per count. Let one team member cash up and note who it was. For a larger difference, count again together.
Tips separately. Do not keep cash tips loose in the drawer. A tip jar next to the till means you do not have to explain a nightly 'surplus' that actually belongs to the team.
The checklist: four steps at every cash-up
Work in the same order every day. Adapt the list to the payment methods your salon uses, but never skip one.
1. Check the till transactions. Go through today's receipts. Look out for receipts still open, refunds and corrections, and check that each receipt is on the right day.
2. Compare per payment method. Cash: count the drawer, subtract the float and compare with the cash total in your till. Card: put the card total from your till next to the daily total of the card terminal. Online: check the payments in your payment provider's dashboard. Note that a payout to your bank account often does not match that day's takings. Compare at transaction level, not on the amount that lands in your account.
3. Note discrepancies. Write down which amount or transaction does not match. Do not jump to conclusions yet: a difference is a signal to look further, not proof of a mistake.
4. Record the follow-up. Note who will look into the difference and what still needs to happen. The next person then does not have to repeat the same checks.
Compare first, record second, follow up in a targeted way. That order keeps the check clear.
Found a cash difference? Work through this search order
If the till does not match, do not start from scratch. Go through these causes in a fixed order, from common to rare.
Wrong payment method. The client paid cash but the receipt says card, or the other way round. Cash and card are then off by exactly the same amount in opposite directions. It is the quickest check.
A receipt that was not completed. The treatment was paid for, but the receipt is still open or was never created. Compare today's appointments with the receipts.
Cash refund or petty cash. Money taken from the drawer for a refund, a pack of coffee or a delivery, without being recorded.
Rung up twice. The same treatment twice on one receipt, or two receipts for one client.
Change. Wrong change given, or a different float than you thought.
Rounding. Small differences of a few cents in cash can come from rounding. The Salonnare till rounds cash amounts to 5 cents, so the till total matches what you can actually count.
If you cannot find the cause, write down the difference together with the checks you already did. A small difference noted on the same day is a detail. The same difference found at quarter end costs you an afternoon of searching.
Keep a log anyone on the team can take over
Cashing up only becomes transferable when you record it the same way every time. A simple log, on paper or in a shared document, is enough. Note per day:
Date and who cashed up.
Expected and counted, per payment method.
The difference, plus or minus.
What you already checked, for example 'payment methods reviewed, receipts compared with the diary'.
Open action and who picks it up.
Look back once a week. If a difference keeps coming back on the same day or during the same shift, the cause is usually a way of working at the front desk rather than a single slip. Adjust the checklist, for example by adding a fixed place to record petty cash.
What a POS system does and does not do for you
Software does not count your cash drawer. What a good POS system does do is make every transaction easy to find. In the Salonnare point of sale you filter the receipt history by date, payment method and status, such as paid, open or refunded. A few clicks show you which receipts were settled by card or cash today.
A paid receipt does not disappear. You cannot delete a paid receipt. When you refund something, a credit note is created next to the original receipt. That keeps the day's revenue and VAT correct, and when the till is off you can see straight away whether anything was refunded that day.
Unmatched payments are flagged. If you work with a connected card terminal or payment links through Mollie or Stripe, Salonnare flags a payment that reached the provider but belongs to no receipt. You link it to the right receipt yourself.
Permissions per team member. You decide who can only view the till and who can check out or issue refunds. When there is a difference, you know who could create a receipt.
The daily report with revenue per team member and per payment method, with tips shown separately, is part of the reporting in Starter and Pro. How to set up the checkout moment itself with VAT-correct receipts is covered in our guide to the checkout system for your beauty salon.
Start with a till that makes cashing up easier
Salonnare is a young platform that brings calendar, online booking, POS and client management together in one system, in five languages and with your data in the EU.
Free, €0 per month: one team member, 50 appointments per month, online booking page, POS for cash and card, client management and email reminders.
Starter, €29 per month: up to three team members, unlimited appointments, online payments, reporting with the daily report, inventory management and an accounting export for Moneybird and e-Boekhouden (an export, not a live integration).
Pro, €59 per month: unlimited team members, plus deposits and email campaigns, among other things.
There is no fee per appointment, but every online or card payment through Salonnare carries a transaction fee of 0.5%, with a minimum of €0.30. Take it into account when you reconcile card and online takings with your bank.
Want to see what your cash-up looks like in Salonnare? Start free with Salonnare.
Make every cash-up traceable
Start with the free plan: €0 per month for one team member and 50 appointments, with the POS for cash and card. As your salon grows, move up to Starter (€29) or Pro (€59).
Start free with SalonnareFrequently asked questions
What is cashing up in a salon?
Cashing up is the check where you compare a working day's till records with what actually came in, per payment method. You record the result and note any difference. It is part of the wider end-of-day close, but a short task of its own.
How do you cash up?
Start with a fixed float, check the day's receipts, compare cash, card and online separately with your till, note discrepancies and record who will follow them up. Do it at the same moment and in the same order every day.
What do you do when you find a cash difference?
Work through a fixed search order: wrong payment method, a receipt that was not completed, a cash refund or petty cash, a double entry and the change. If you cannot find the cause, note the difference along with the checks you already did.
Does Salonnare count the cash drawer for me?
No. No POS system counts your cash. Salonnare makes every receipt easy to find, filters the receipt history by date and payment method and keeps a refund as a credit note next to the original receipt, so you can trace a difference faster.