Cash tin counts: how to make the takings match the attendance
A cash tin should hold its last counted amount, plus every cash payment recorded since (class fees and pass sales), minus any cash paid out of it (a teacher paid from the tin). Count it every night cash is taken, compare the count with that expected amount, and record "exact", "short $5" or "over $10" the same night. One tin per venue. If the count matches, the door's record is right; if it doesn't, tonight is when someone still remembers why.
The one formula
Should hold = last count + cash in since − cash out since.
"Cash in" is every check-in paid in cash and every pass sold for cash. "Cash out" is anything that left the tin: a teacher paid from it, a float removed, a parking ticket. If the door recorded each cash payment as it happened, "should hold" is already known before anyone opens the tin. The count then has one job: agree, or not.
Why the count matters more than the amount
It isn't about theft, mostly. It is about whether the record can be trusted. A tin that is "short $23" once a week is a door person tapping Card when the student paid cash, or forgetting to record a late arrival. "Over $20" is a pass sale that was never recorded, which also means a student with a pass the system doesn't know about. A count that matches is proof that tonight's attendance and tonight's money are the same story, and that is what makes the month's profit figure worth reading.
The routine
- One tin per venue, named for it. Cash taken at that venue goes in that tin, nowhere else.
- Record every cash payment at the door, as it happens. Not from memory at the end.
- Record every cash payout at the moment it leaves the tin. If Sam is paid $60 from the tin, that is written down before the tin is closed.
- Count at the end of the night, before the tin leaves the hall. Write the count down. Compare with "should hold". Note the difference.
- Fix the record, not the count. If the count says $240 and the record says $263, the record is probably missing a card-not-cash tap. Find it tonight. Don't "adjust" the count to match.
- Bank it regularly. A tin with $900 in it is a tin someone will take home.
Teachers paid from the tin
Paying a teacher cash from the tin is fine as long as it is a recorded payout. The sequence that goes wrong is: pay Sam $60 from the tin, forget to write it, count the tin, find it $60 short, suspect the door volunteer. The sequence that works is: pay Sam from the tin through the pay list, so the payout and the teacher's paid class are one record, and "should hold" drops by $60 at the same moment.
What ClassMetrix does
Money → Cash shows each tin with what it should hold (last count, plus cash taken including pass sales, minus cash paid out) and the last count's result: exact, short or over. "Count this tin" takes the amount and records the difference on the spot. A tin is tied to a venue so cash taken there goes to the right tin. Teachers can be paid from a tin on the pay screen, which records the payout against the tin and marks the classes paid in one step.
See two cash tins in the demo
One is exact. The other is short $5. The demo shows why.
Read next
Questions
How often should I count the cash tin at a class?
Every night cash is taken, before it goes home with anyone. A count the same night finds a $5 slip while someone remembers the $5. A count a fortnight later finds $45 missing and nobody remembers anything.
What should the cash tin hold?
The last counted amount, plus every cash payment recorded since (class fees and pass sales), minus any cash paid out of it since (a teacher paid from the tin, a float taken out). If the count matches that number, the record is right. If not, one of the two is wrong, and tonight is when to find out which.
Should each venue have its own tin?
Yes. One tin per venue, named for the venue, so the Marrickville count never has to explain the Lane Cove takings. A door person should only ever touch one tin.
What about the float?
Treat it as part of the count. A $50 float that is always there is $50 that is always counted. Taking it out at the end of the night is a cash payout; putting it back is a count.