Cash Register Reconciliation Calculator
Reconcile your cash drawer count with expected sales.
About this calculator
End-of-shift reconciliation exists to answer one question: does the cash physically sitting in the drawer match what the register expected to have collected? This calculator counts each bill denomination and a lump coin total to arrive at the total cash actually present, then compares that against the starting float plus the cash sales the point-of-sale system reported for the shift. The difference is the over/short figure — positive when there's more cash than expected, negative when there's less — and the deposit amount is simply the cash collected above the starting float, which is what typically goes to the bank or safe.
The model is intentionally simple: it treats coins as a single rolled-up dollar value rather than counting individual denominations, and it assumes the starting cash and expected cash sales figures fed in are themselves accurate. It has no way to account for register drops made mid-shift, paid-outs for small purchases, or voided transactions that never hit the POS total, all of which can produce a real variance that has nothing to do with employee error. A consistent daily pattern of shortages or overages is worth investigating regardless of size; a single small variance on a busy shift usually reflects ordinary counting or making-change mistakes.
Inputs
Results
Over / Short
-$29.25
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the starting cash drawer amount at the beginning of the shift.
- Input total cash sales and any cash refunds processed during the shift.
- Enter the physical cash counted at drawer close.
- Review the Expected Cash Balance vs Actual Count to find overages or shortages.
- Use the Variance output to identify whether a discrepancy requires investigation.
How the result changes with Expected Cash Sales
| Expected Cash Sales | Over / Short |
|---|---|
| $325.00 | $295.75 |
| $488.00 | $132.75 |
| $975.00 | -$354.25 |
| $1,625.00 | -$1,004.25 |
What each input means
- Starting Cash
- Cash in drawer at start of shift.
- $100 Bills
- Number of $100 bills.
- $50 Bills
- Number of $50 bills.
- $20 Bills
- Number of $20 bills.
- $10 Bills
- Number of $10 bills.
- $5 Bills
- Number of $5 bills.
- $1 Bills
- Number of $1 bills.
- Total Coins
- Total value of all coins.
- Expected Cash Sales
- Cash sales reported by POS system.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersStarting Cash = 200, $100 Bills = 2, $50 Bills = 3, $20 Bills = 15 = 9 input(s) provided
- Calculate Over / ShortOver / Short-29.25 = $-29.25
- Calculate Total Cash CountedTotal Cash Counted820.75 = $820.75
- Calculate Expected TotalExpected Total850 = $850
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a positive versus a negative Over/Short number actually mean?
A positive number means the drawer has more cash than the register expected — the cashier may have undercounted change given to a customer, or a tip or extra payment ended up mixed into the till. A negative number means cash is missing relative to what was expected, which could be a shortchange error, a miscounted starting float, or an unrecorded cash payout.
Why might a drawer come up short even though every sale was rung up correctly?
Cash drops taken out mid-shift for safe deposits, small paid-outs for supplies, or an incorrect starting cash count all create a variance that has nothing to do with how sales were entered. This calculator only compares what's physically counted against starting cash plus reported sales, so any cash movement outside that simple model shows up as a false discrepancy.
Does this calculator account for cash removed from the drawer during the shift?
No. It assumes the starting cash figure you enter reflects the float at the start of the shift and that no cash left the drawer except through recorded sales. If drops or paid-outs happened mid-shift, add them back into the expected total manually before comparing, or the variance will look larger than it really is.
How is the Deposit Amount different from the Over/Short figure?
Deposit Amount is simply the cash counted above the starting float — the money that should go to the bank or safe regardless of whether the drawer balanced. Over/Short is a variance check against expected sales; a drawer can have a healthy deposit amount and still be flagged as short if it didn't collect quite as much as the POS system reported.
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