A shift tracks one cashier's session at the till — from the moment they open the drawer with a starting float to the moment they cash up at the end. The Z-report is the end-of-shift summary you use to balance the drawer.
Open a shift
- When you start at the till, choose Open shift.
- Pick your till (the physical workstation) if asked.
- Enter the opening float — the cash already in the drawer to make change.
- Confirm. You're now on shift; every sale you take is linked to it.
During the shift
- All your sales, refunds and drawer movements (paid in / paid out) are tracked automatically against your shift.
- You can keep selling all day — there's no need to do anything until you cash up.
Close the shift and read the Z-report
- Choose Close shift / Z-report.
- Count the cash physically in the drawer and enter the counted amount.
- The Z-report shows:
- Opening float + cash sales − cash refunds + paid-ins − paid-outs = expected cash.
- Counted cash (what you entered).
- The difference (over/short), so you can spot a miscount.
- Totals by payment method (cash, card, transfer…).
- Credit sales — sales charged to a customer's account or a guest's room, and the amount charged to accounts / rooms. That money isn't in the drawer, so it doesn't count towards expected cash. Any part paid at the till is in the payment-method totals as usual.
- Open tables (restaurants using table service) — tables in your till's area that still have unbilled orders, with how long they've been open and their value. These are not in the sales totals, because a table's sale is recorded when it's billed. Settle them, or hand them over to the next shift.
- Confirm to close the shift. Hand the Z-report to your manager if required.
Find past Z-reports
Go to Reports → POS Shifts to see every shift, then open one to view its Z-report again.
Tips
- Count the drawer carefully before entering the figure — the over/short line is only useful if the count is honest.
- Refunds reduce the expected cash for the shift, so a day with returns will show less cash than gross sales — that's correct.
Common problems
- Can't open a shift — "already open" → you (or this till) already has an open shift. Close it first; only one open shift per cashier is allowed.
- Big over/short difference → recount the drawer, and check for a paid-out or paid-in you forgot to record (see Cash drawer operations).