In short: A cashier is the person at the till who rings up sales, takes payment and hands the customer a receipt. In Jordan the Arabic word كاشير also covers the POS software and device.
The full guide: What is a POS system
Work it out now: Cash count
A cashier is the person at the till who takes payment from customers; the word comes from cash. In Jordan it has stretched to cover the machine and the software too, so you hear people ask for a cashier program or a cashier device. Either way it means the same spot in the shop: the place where what the customer picked up turns into a paid invoice, and into cash in the drawer or money in the bank.
On a normal day the cashier opens a shift with a known float in the drawer, scans items, applies the discounts they are allowed to give, takes cash or card and hands over change and a receipt. At the end of the shift they count the cash and hand it to a manager or the next cashier. Cashier software records each of those steps with the employee's name and the time.
A cashier's duties
- Open the shift with a known float in the drawer.
- Scan or pick each item and check the price matches the shelf.
- Apply only the discounts and offers they are allowed to give.
- Take cash, card or CliQ, and put a sale on a known customer's tab if the owner allows it.
- Hand over change and the receipt, or send the receipt on WhatsApp.
- Record returns and any expense paid from the drawer as it happens.
- Count the drawer at the end of the shift and hand it over with the closing report.
How to protect the till from small mistakes
The biggest risk at the till is not only theft. It is small repeated mistakes: wrong change, an item that never got scanned, a discount given without permission. Give every cashier their own login, their own PIN and set permissions, and never let the whole team sell under one account.
In Ghalleh a new staff member joins by scanning a QR code from the owner's phone and signs in with their own PIN on the shared shop phone, so every sale is recorded under whoever made it. The owner decides what each person may do, such as returns, discounts, price changes and selling on credit, and can be notified when someone gives a big discount or processes a refund.
A shop example
A bakery in Irbid runs two cashiers on two shifts. The first hands over at 3 pm with JOD 186.250 in cash sales, and the second starts with a 30 dinar float. Because each has a separate login, the owner knows exactly what each shift sold and who answers for any difference.
Common questions
What does cashier mean?
A cashier is the person who takes payment at the till; the word comes from cash. In Jordan the Arabic word كاشير is also used for the POS software and device.
What is the difference between a cashier and cashier software?
The cashier is the employee at the till. Cashier software is the system they use to record sales, print receipts and keep stock up to date.
Can a phone work as a cashier device?
Yes. Many cashier apps now run on a phone, scan barcodes with the camera and print to a Bluetooth printer.