How to Handle a Cash Register
A cash register is an indispensable tool for a retail store. You can use it to track your daily sales and detail the amounts that you collect in cash, check, and credit card transactions. Utilizing some of the available features, you can break down your sales into categories so you can record how much of your income comes from each department of your store. Your cash register should be handled like any other business machinery--program it to do what you need and operate it according to the instructions.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Program your cash register, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Designate the category numbers on the keypad to correspond to the different departments in your operation. Enter the appropriate sales tax amount for each category. For example, if you sell groceries and household supplies, but food products are not taxed in your state, you can customize the keypad. In this example, you would program your food category so that it does not calculate sales tax and program your household supply category at the local sales tax rate.
-
2
Load the cash register tape. You can buy it at many office supply stores. Change the tape when it is full. Be sure to save your register tapes and label each one with the dates that it covers. Keep a separate log of the information that the machine tallies at the end of each business day.
-
-
3
Ring up a sale by entering the dollar amount of the item. (The machine will add the decimal point.) After entering the price, hit the button that corresponds to the item category, such as "food" or "magazines". After entering all of the items that a customer is purchasing, hit the "subtotal" button. If there is any discount on the transaction, such as an in-store sale or a price break for membership in a particular organization, hit the button corresponding to the discount amount. Press the subtotal button again.
-
4
Enter the amount of the customer's payment. Press the key corresponding to the payment method, such as "cash" or "charge". Hit the "total" button to display the amount of change you should give Open the register drawer.
-
5
Void the transaction if you make a mistake. Use the "void" button to clear the information you entered. If you already pressed the "subtotal" button, many machines will not allow you to cancel the transaction. If this occurs, hit the "total" button as if you were completing the sale and restart the transaction. Make a notation on the register tape indicating that the botched sale was an over-ring. Be sure to subtract this amount from your total sales at the end of the day.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you have difficulty operating your cash register while you are processing a customer transaction, finish the transaction manually and troubleshoot the cash register issue once the transaction is complete.
If you buy a used cash register or you cannot find the instruction manual, you can find manuals for many cash registers online.
