Register Basics

This standard governs how a register session is opened, operated, and closed at the point of sale. It applies to cashiers, who open and close their own sessions and are accountable for the drawer during them, and to managers, who close a session left open by another cashier, approve cash movements that require a second person, and investigate variances. Every sale rung during a session carries that session's identifier, and the close-out figures are calculated from the tenders actually recorded in the session.

Register PIN

Each staff member shall set a personal register PIN from their own staff profile before opening a register for the first time. A PIN is 4 to 8 digits, may be changed by its owner at any time, and is stored only in protected form; no staff member, including an administrator, can read another person's PIN back.

1. A cashier with no PIN set cannot open a register. The register refuses the attempt and directs the cashier to set a PIN first.
2. A cashier who enters an incorrect PIN cannot open the register. The register remains closed and nothing is partly opened.
3. A cashier who has forgotten a PIN shall set a new one from their own profile. A forgotten PIN is replaced, not recovered.

Opening a shift

Opening a shift is the point at which the cashier takes custody of the drawer. The cashier shall complete these steps in order

1. Sign in. The register resolves the sign-in to a staff profile. A person with no linked staff profile cannot use the register; a manager shall link the profile first.
2. Select the physical register at which the cashier is standing, from the register list showing register number, name, store branch, and active status.
3. Count the drawer. Count every bill and coin before ringing any sale. The count is the opening float, and it is the baseline against which the close-out is measured.
4. Enter the float and the PIN. The register verifies the PIN first, then checks whether the register already has an open session.
5. Begin selling only when the cashier's own session is open, stamped with the verified identity and the opening time.

Only one session may be open on a register at a time. If a previous session is still open, the register presents that session rather than opening a second one. The cashier shall not sell under another cashier's session. If the previous cashier has left, a manager shall close that session properly before the next cashier opens a new one.

If a cashier realizes during the shift that the opening float was never entered, the cashier shall tell a manager at once. The session is corrected with a documented cash movement; a silent correction at close is prohibited.

Cash movements during a shift

Cash may enter or leave the drawer outside a sale, for example a paid-out for emergency supplies. Every such movement shall be recorded at the time it occurs, with the amount, whether cash is entering or leaving, a reason in plain words, and the identity of the person recording it. A recorded movement adjusts the session's expected cash at once: cash in raises it, cash out lowers it.

Paid-outs require a manager. Cash shall not be taken from the drawer for any purpose without a recorded movement. An unrecorded removal cannot be distinguished from a loss in any report the register produces.

Closing a shift

The cashier shall close the session in this order

1. Finish selling. Complete or clear any open cart. Do not close with a customer mid-tender.
2. Run the session report first. The report states the opening float, every cash movement, every sale, the cash totals, and refunds, so the cashier knows what the drawer should hold before counting.
3. Count the drawer in the same manner as at opening, and enter the counted total: the amount actually counted, not the amount the report expected.
4. Read the variance. The register calculates variance as counted cash minus expected cash and records it on the session permanently.
5. If the variance is over the threshold set by the store, call a manager before finishing the close.
6. Sign out. A session left open after close causes the next cashier's sales to be recorded on the wrong session.

Controls

• No shared register logins and no shared PINs. A cashier shall not share a PIN, use another person's PIN, or ask another person for theirs. Every action taken under a PIN is attributed to its owner in the audit trail.
• A cashier who suspects a PIN is known to another person shall change it immediately.
• A counted total shall never be adjusted to match the expected total. The variance is a measurement to be investigated, not a figure to be corrected at entry.
• When variance exceeds the store threshold, the manager's investigation follows a fixed order: re-count the cash; review the shift's voids and refunds; check for sales rung to the wrong tender; review cash movements. Only then is the close accepted.
• If the drawer does not open for change, the cashier shall trigger the release again from the register; the drawer release fires only on cash and check tenders. If it still does not open, the cashier shall call a manager and shall not leave cash unsecured on the counter while troubleshooting.

Records

Each session creates a session record showing opening cash, expected cash, counted cash, variance, opening and closing times, and who opened and closed it. Each cash movement creates a movement record showing direction, amount, reason, and who recorded it. Session records, movement records, and the sales recorded under a session are kept in the point of sale system and are the records used for reconciliation and for the reports described in Reporting and Quick Access.

Escalation and review

Managers review variances over threshold, unresolved open sessions, and cash movements without an adequate reason. A register, PIN, or session fault that the store cannot resolve shall be reported to support@aapawz.com. Legal process concerning a register record shall be directed to legal@aapawz.com.