Cash Office Reconciliation SOP

Step-by-step procedure for reconciling retail cash office funds, verifying register pulls and safe counts, preparing deposits, escalating discrepancies, and completing armored carrier handoff.

Steps

• Cash officer verifies shift authorization and opens cash office access log
  The cash officer confirms they are scheduled and authorized for cash office duties, then opens the cash office access log and records the date, time, and their name or ID before handling any cash.
• Cash office associate collects register pull receipts and verifies timestamps
  The cash office associate prints or retrieves all 8 register pull receipts from the POS system in numerical order, then checks that each receipt timestamp falls within the shift window of ±2 minutes and records any missing or out-of-window receipt for review.
• Cash office associate counts each drawer and verifies the safe count
  The cash office associate counts each drawer separately by denomination, records each subtotal on the cash count sheet, and compares the drawer total and safe total against the expected amounts before moving to reconciliation.
• Cash office associate reconciles counted cash against POS and expected balances
  The cash office associate compares the counted drawer totals and safe total to the POS reports and expected balances, records any variance amount, and marks each location as within tolerance or out of tolerance.
• Cash office associate determines whether the variance is within tolerance
  The cash office associate reviews the variance amount against the store tolerance and records the decision: proceed to deposit preparation if the variance is within tolerance, or escalate for secondary review if the variance exceeds tolerance or cannot be verified.
• Cash office associate prepares the deposit and seals the cash bag
  The cash office associate verifies denominations, coin rolls, checks, and supporting paperwork, then places the deposit in the approved bag, applies a tamper-evident seal, and records the seal number on the armored carrier manifest.
• Cash office associate documents the discrepancy and notifies the manager
  The cash office associate records the variance amount, affected register or safe location, time discovered, and any supporting notes in the variance log, then notifies the manager for review before any deposit is released.
• Manager and cash office associate complete the armored carrier handoff
  The manager or authorized verifier confirms the carrier identity and manifest details, then the cash office associate releases the sealed deposit only after the receipt is signed or acknowledged and the handoff is recorded according to policy.