Add prepaid sales to a shop with multiple tills
A shared float saves you from topping up every till separately. It works if you can trace every sale to a cashier, a till and an order reference. Before switching, agree who can sell, who can add funds and who takes over an order still pending at shift change.
What to record at each till
| Record | Minimum attribution |
|---|---|
| Customer sale | Outlet, till, cashier, time, value and receipt reference |
| Supplier order | Internal reference, supplier reference, product and status |
| Funding | Approval, amount, time and account balance evidence |
| Handover | Pending items, next owner and action due |
By Freepaid · Published
Choose the account arrangement
Find out whether the supplier gives each till its own operator account or draws every sale from one account. Give staff individual logins with the permissions they need. If the supplier report cannot identify a till, add an internal reference and try it during a busy shift before rolling it out.
Separate the authority to fund an account from the authority to sell. A cashier may initiate a sale, while a manager approves top-ups and exceptions. The bookkeeper can reconcile reports without having permission to place orders. Document cover arrangements for absence or shift changes.
Make references consistent
Choose a short internal reference pattern that identifies the outlet, till and sale sequence without exposing unnecessary customer data. For example, a fictional code could be B02-T03-00481 for branch 2, till 3, sale 481. Check the system’s field length and permitted characters before relying on a format. Keep the reference unique across the period or include a date component.
At close, match till receipts to supplier order records. Compare completed totals by cashier and till, and list pending or failed results separately. Do not treat a mismatch in the shared balance as proof that one cashier caused it. Investigate transaction evidence first.
Shift handover checklist
- Count or record the cash and card totals using the shop’s normal process.
- Export or review the prepaid activity for the shift.
- Match completed sales and retain references for exceptions.
- Note open cases, original supplier references and next action owner.
- Confirm remaining float against the supplier account view.
- Have outgoing and incoming staff acknowledge the handover.
Say the branch opens with R3,000 in float. Till 1 and Till 2 each record R600 in confirmed sales. You would expect R1,800 before fees or pending items (R3,000 − R600 − R600). Compare that figure with the balance the supplier actually shows and trace any difference to individual orders.
See where tills are losing time
Each week, compare sales, exceptions and handling time by till. Look for unclear instructions, duplicate references or missing fields before attributing a discrepancy to a cashier. If the procedure needs to change, show each shift what to do. Freepaid point-of-sale airtime