The short answer
Start with opening cash, then follow the shift's actual cash movements. Compare cash with cash, card records with the separate payment provider and outstanding sales with customer balances. Close the register once with a clear handover note.
Start with the drawer, not today's sales total
The drawer has $230 in it. Today's sales show $500. That difference does not tell you whether anything is missing. Some customers may have paid by card, a customer may still owe part of a sale, and the shift may have started with cash already in the till.
Give yourself a cleaner question: what cash should be here, based on the cash that actually moved?
Follow one shift from opening to handover
Here is an illustrative shift, not a customer's financial record. You open with $50, collect $200 in cash and pay a $20 shop expense from the drawer. Before any other cash movement, you expect $230: $50 + $200 - $20.
Card payments do not belong in that cash count. Neither does an unpaid amount on a customer's invoice. Keep those records visible, but compare them with their own source.
| Record | Where to compare it |
|---|---|
| Cash received | Drawer count and cash handover |
| Card payment recorded | Your separate card provider's records |
| Customer still owes money | Saved sale and customer balance |
| Shop spending | Expense record and supporting receipt |
Give each cashier their own register
Let the person doing the work sign in with their own account. Open the register with the actual starting cash, then record the payment method used for each sale. A shared owner login may feel quicker at opening, but it makes a later handover harder to explain.
In Inventix, use the register details to follow the shift and enter the closing amounts. Add a note that the next person can act on, rather than "difference checked" with no explanation.
Follow the register opening and closing steps.
Find the record before changing the total
If the count differs, look for a payment entered under the wrong method, an expense without a reference, a refund or an opening-cash mistake. Open the underlying sale or payment before making a correction. Adding an unrelated transaction just to make the numbers agree creates another problem tomorrow.
Manually recording a card payment in Inventix does not charge the card. Check the separate provider before treating that amount as collected.
Leave a useful handover
Count, record the amounts submitted and close the register once. Note unresolved items with references and the next action. Tomorrow's shift should begin with its own opening cash, not by reopening yesterday's explanation.
Continue with payment methods, store expenses and the daily reports checklist. You can try the complete workflow during a free Inventix trial, with setup guidance included.