How to Reconcile the Cash Drawer in Microsoft Accounting

Reconciling the cash drawer is essential to business.

Reconciling the cash drawer is a critical procedure in any business. Microsoft Accounting has simplified the task and has provided more than one option to enable you to reconcile the cash and checks you receive from business operations to your cash account. Microsoft Accounting allows you to reconcile both deposited and undeposited funds to the cash account, yet allows you to maintain these separately. It also allows you to perform and record banking related transactions without requiring an extensive knowledge of accounting. Understanding how these transactions should be performed within Microsoft Accounting will contribute to accurate record keeping and optimize the cash management of your business.

Instructions

Gather All of You Customer Cash Receipts

1. 

   Total your receipts that are to be entered in Microsoft Accounting.

   Total the amount of all the cash receipts found in the cash drawer. You will later use this total to verify that all cash receipts have been included in your Microsoft Accounting reconciliation. Identify the customer accounts to which the cash receipts are to be applied.

2. 

   Prepare the Microsoft Accounting form for updates.

   Select "customers" from the menu bar; then select "new," and "new cash sale." The cash screen will appear for you to input your receipts. On this screen you will see both required and optional fields. Though we are updating the required fields, you may update the optional fields according to the needs of your business. Some businesses decide to use the "reference" or "memo" fields to include check numbers or other detail related to the sale transaction.

3. Select the first customer from the drop-down box. Choose the payment method from the drop-down box that is found in the section of the form labeled "terms." If you are reconciling any checks from the cash drawer that were received from the customer, indicate these using this field.

4. Select "undeposited funds" from the drop-down box that is labeled "deposit in." It is good business practice to maintain undeposited receipts separately from those that have already been deposited in the bank.

5. Select the sales item from the drop-down box in the column labeled "name" in the section of the form labeled "products and services." Update the description with a description that suits the needs of your business, one that reflects the type of sale for which the receipt was issued.

Enter Your Cash Receipts

1. 

   Update the detail related to the cash receipts.

   Update the quantities, items and amounts sold to the customer. Verify that all of the detail found on the form is accurate, then click "save and new" from the taskbar. Update all of your cash drawer receipts in this manner until they have all been entered. Once complete, you may close the screen form.

2. Select "reports" from the menu bar. Under "banking," select the report "undeposited funds collected today." You can select the date range of the reconciliation to reflect the transactions that you just updated.

3. 

   Review your reconciliation report for accuracy and completeness.

   Review your reconciliation report. The report total should equal the total that you calculated in Step 1 of Section 1. Verify that the proper customers, quantities and amounts have been updated accurately. You have now reconciled your cash drawer in Microsoft Accounting.

Tips & Warnings

• Microsoft Accounting has more than one way to reconcile the cash drawer and to view your reconciled cash receipts. Choose a method that can be easily understood and performed by you and others that are responsible for this procedure.

References

• Microsoft Office: Reconciliation Detail Report