Cash Drawers

TablePort keeps a running figure for each cash drawer during the trading day: how much cash should be in it. You record cash going in and out from the staff app, and the daily report shows the result in Money → Cash drawers.

Setting up a drawer

A cash drawer is plugged into a receipt printer, and the printer opens it. To tell TablePort a printer has a drawer:

In the console, go to Location Settings → Printers.
Open the printer and turn on Cash Drawer Connected.
Optionally, under Auto-open Drawer for Payments, choose the payment methods that should open the drawer automatically, such as Cash.

Each printer with a drawer connected is listed as its own drawer, named after the printer. If you take cash but have no drawer connected, the app shows a single Cash (no drawer) entry.

See Kitchen & Hardware Setup for adding printers.

What the figures mean

Figure	Meaning
Float	Cash put in the drawer at the start of the day, recorded as a deposit with a note such as "Opening float".
Cash sales	Cash payments taken into this drawer during the day.
Paid in	Other cash put in the drawer, such as change from the bank.
Paid out	Cash taken out of the drawer, such as a supplier paid in cash, petty cash, or a cash lift to the safe.
Expected	What should be in the drawer now: float + cash sales + paid in − paid out.
Counted	The latest saved count of the notes and coins in the drawer; see Counting the drawer.

TablePort recognises a deposit as the float when its note contains the word "float", "opening" or "start". Any other deposit is shown as Paid in.

Recording cash in and out

Cash entries are made in the staff app while the day is open. You need the Manage Orders permission.

Go to the Stats tab and open Money.
In Cash drawers, tap Add cash entry.
Choose Deposit to put cash in, or Withdraw to take cash out.
If you have more than one drawer, choose the drawer.
Enter Amount and add a useful Note, for example "Opening float", "Change from bank" or "Supplier invoice paid". The note appears in the report.
Review the action, selected drawer and amount, then use the amount-specific Deposit … or Withdraw … confirmation. Verify the saved log entry before repeating an uncertain action.

You can also tap View log on a drawer in Cash drawers to see its log, with the summary "Sales · In · Out", Expected in drawer, and Deposit and Withdraw buttons, plus Count drawer. The log lists every entry with who made it, when, the note and the amount.

Cash movements cannot be edited or removed. Have the authorised shift leader verify an incorrect entry and use the supported reversing entry with a clear correction note where appropriate. Preserve the original log and actual cash count. Do not invent a movement to make a genuine variance disappear.

Once the day is closed no more entries can be added. Make every cash movement before you close.

Starting the day

Record the float as soon as the day is open, as a Deposit with the note "Opening float". Without it, Expected at close will be short by the float.

Counting the drawer

Save the count in the staff app while the daily is open:

Go to Stats → Money → Cash drawers.
On the drawer you are counting, tap Count drawer. You can also open its log and tap Count drawer there.
Count every note and coin, then enter Total counted. An empty drawer can be recorded as zero. Each cash entry or count can be up to 10,000 in your business currency.
Add a note if useful, review the total, and tap Save count of ….
The report shows Counted beside Expected, with the amount over or short. The count is recorded in the drawer log with who saved it and when.

Counting does not add or remove cash. The latest saved count replaces the previous count for the comparison, while both entries remain in the log. If cash moves after counting, count again before closing.

When you close the daily, the app offers an optional count for drawers with cash activity and no saved count. You can count them or close without counting. A count does not block closing the day.

The console and thermal report show the saved count. Without a saved count, the thermal slip leaves a blank Counted line for a handwritten count.

If you lift cash to the safe or bank before counting, record it as a Withdraw first so Expected matches what should be left.

When the count does not match

A difference between counted and expected is called a variance. If the drawer holds more than expected it is over; if it holds less it is short.

Work through these before deciding cash is missing:

Recount. Most differences are counting errors.
Check the float. Was the float recorded today, and with a note that includes "float"? Was yesterday's float left in the drawer but not recorded?
Check the drawer log in the app or in the console's Cash drawer log. Look for cash paid out without a Withdraw, or a deposit entered twice.
Check payment methods. In Money → Takings by method, a card payment recorded as cash makes the drawer look short; a cash payment recorded as card makes it look over. Open the orders from that period to check.
Check refunds. A cash refund lowers expected cash.
Check the drawer. With more than one drawer, cash may have been taken on one and put in another.

If the drawer is still out after that, save the actual count and follow your own cash-handling policy. Record a Deposit or Withdraw only when cash actually moves; a count preserves the difference for review.

Viewing drawers in the console

In the console daily report, Money shows one panel per drawer with Opening float, Cash sales, Paid in, Paid out and Expected, and the Counted and the difference when a count is saved. The Cash drawer log shows time, drawer, action, amount, who made it and the note. The console is read-only for cash: entries are made in the app. See Reading the daily report in the console.

Opening the cash drawer

There are several ways to open the drawer:

Stats header: tap Open cash drawer. It only appears when this device's selected printer has a drawer connected. Long-press it to choose a different printer; this changes the selected printer without opening a drawer.
On an order: the Open cash drawer button next to Bill and Receipt opens the drawer on the selected printer, and records the opening on the order.
Automatically when paying: if the printer has Auto-open Drawer for Payments set for that payment method, the drawer opens when the payment succeeds. It opens the drawer on the printer it is wired to, even when the payment is taken on another device.
Settings → Printers in the app: tap Open drawer on the printer card.
An earlier report (Settings → Daily reports): the Print card has an Open cash drawer row when the selected printer has a drawer.

Opening the drawer does not change any figures. Only payments and the Deposit and Withdraw entries change expected cash.

After an uncertain cash entry or count, inspect the same drawer log before repeating it. Keep the daily, drawer, amount, actual count, and error reference for the shift leader; preserve unsynced device work.

Browse more guides