Sunday newsagency management tip: managing cash from drawer to bank

I have been working this week with a newsagent dealing with a possible employee theft situation. there was a disconnect between the cash they balanced at the end of the day and what they balanced.  A colleague of mine prepared advice for them on managing cash from the end of shift to the bank and I share it here for others:

1. Conduct your end of shift, including counting the cash, using your computer to record counts for each note denomination.
2. Store each days takings in a separate, dated, bag along with the end of shift report from your computer system.
3. Each day, after the end of shift, count the cash recorded in the end of shift to ensure it matches the cash contained in the bag.
4. The preferable option is to deposit each shifts monies separately in to your bank account. This eases reconciliation to your statement and problems can be found much easier. You need to be able to reconcile every cent of cash received against what you bank.
5. Setup MYOB or whatever accounting system you use with a Safe account to manage your bash balance between bankings. Then move cash in safe to the bank with an MYOB transfer. This provides an audit of cash movement from the time it is recorded as a sale to it reached the bank.

While different people will have different processes, the key is that know track all cash from register drawer to your bank account. Any hole in your process is an invitation for theft.