In short: A cash drawer is a metal till for notes and coins, usually wired to the receipt printer so it opens on its own with every cash sale.
The full guide: Daily cash control
Work it out now: Cash count
A cash drawer, or till, is where a shop keeps its cash during the day. It has slots for notes from one dinar up to fifty and trays for coins. Most modern drawers have no electronics of their own. They plug into the receipt printer with a small cable, and the printer kicks the drawer open when the software tells it to, usually once a cash sale is complete.
On a typical day the cashier starts with a fixed float in the drawer, say 20 or 30 dinars. With every cash sale the software prints the receipt and opens the drawer, and the cashier puts the money in and gives change. Card payments usually leave the drawer shut. At the end of the shift the cash is counted and compared with what the software says should be there.
How to choose a cash drawer
- Check its cable fits the drawer port on your printer or POS terminal.
- Pick enough note slots for 1 to 50 dinar notes, plus coin trays.
- Choose one with a lock and key for the night or when you leave the till.
- Measure the counter first, since some drawers are wider than you expect.
Why watch every opening
A drawer that opens without a sale is the first thing to watch. Restrict manual opening to staff with permission and log every time it happens. Do not let large sums build up either: move the surplus to the safe during the day and record it.
In Ghalleh the drawer opens after a cash sale or a cash refund when it is wired to the printer and switched on in the printer settings, and stays shut for card, CliQ and credit sales. On POS terminals such as Sunmi and iMin the drawer plugs into the terminal's own port. When the shift closes the cashier counts the drawer, and if expected and actual cash differ, the owner gets a notification with the amount.
A shop example
A supermarket in Mafraq starts the morning with a 25 dinar float. By noon, JOD 312.500 has come in as cash, and the manager has moved 200 dinars to the safe and recorded it. The drawer should therefore hold JOD 137.500 when counted.
Common questions
Why doesn't my cash drawer open with the printer?
Usually the cable is not in the right port on the printer, or the open-drawer option is off in the software. Check both before replacing the drawer.
Does the drawer open for card payments?
In most systems, no, because a card payment puts no cash in the drawer. It opens when cash moves: a cash sale, the cash part of a split payment, or a cash refund.
Do I need a cash drawer if most customers pay by card?
With very little cash, a simple box can do. But a drawer wired to the printer cannot be opened without a record, which helps even with small amounts.