6 ways to automate daily cash counts

#1 - The basic check-in

Who it's for: Single-till businesses counting up at close, where one person runs the count and there is no formal cash procedure.

What it is: A daily cash count is an end-of-day reconciliation that compares the cash actually in the drawer to what the till says should be there. This version is five steps on a phone: name the till, log the opening float, log the closing total, log the variance against the till report, and add a note for anything unusual. Each completion is one timestamped record. The person counting runs the canvas once per till at close, and the audit trail is the list of completions over the week.

In practice: Take an independent bakery with one front till. At close, the owner opens the canvas, types "Front till", enters the morning float, counts the drawer and enters the closing total, then enters the variance the till report shows. It is forty pence under. They note "busy lunch, one card machine timeout processed as cash" and submit. Two minutes, timestamped on the server, with no scrap of paper to lose before the bookkeeper sees it.

Why it works: The variance is the signal. The count itself does not have to change. What changes is that there is now a dated, server-side record of the float, the closing total, and the gap, every single day. A forty-pence variance on a Tuesday means nothing on its own. The same till running short every Friday is a pattern, and the pattern only shows up if every day is logged the same way.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)

#2 - With written guidance

Who it's for: Multi-till sites with rotating staff on the count, where the person closing changes night to night.

What it is: The basic check-in plus two guidance panels woven through the canvas. The first panel explains how to count: notes by denomination, then coins, twice if there is time, checked against the till's Z-read before logging the variance. The second panel explains when to escalate: a small gap is normal, a big one goes to the duty manager before the cash is bagged. A new starter closing for the first time gets the same method as the supervisor who has done it for years.

In practice: Take a three-screen cinema with four tills across the foyer and the bar. The closing rota rotates between eight part-timers, and on any given night the person counting might be on their third shift. The "how to count" panel reminds them to run the notes by denomination first and check the Z-read before logging anything. The "when to escalate" panel tells them a gap over a pound goes to the duty manager that night, not into a quiet adjustment. Figures start arriving in the same shape from every closer, and a real shortfall reaches a manager while the building is still staffed.

What it adds to the basic check-in:

1. A "how to count" panel at the top that sets the method: denomination by denomination, a second count if time allows, checked against the till report.
2. A "when to escalate" panel after the variance that sets the threshold and tells the closer who to tell before bagging the cash.
3. A consistent standard across rotating staff, so the count does not change depending on who happens to be closing.

Why it works: Written guidance sits inline at the moment the person is about to act. The closer reads the counting method right before they count, not in an induction they half-remember. The escalation rule is on screen the instant a variance looks wrong, which is exactly when someone is tempted to make it disappear.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (how to count: denomination by denomination, second count if time, checked against till Z-read)
• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)
• 1 guidance note (when to escalate to duty manager)

#3 - With a signature

Who it's for: Businesses where the count needs a name against it. Rotating closing rotas, franchise groups where head office wants to know who signed off each site's count, or single sites where a different person closes every night.

What it is: A signed daily count is the basic check-in plus a signature captured at the end. The five inputs stay the same: till name, opening float, closing total, variance, and notes. The signature confirms who did the count and when they signed it.

In practice: A restaurant with a rotating close. Whoever closes works through the count, enters the float and variance, and signs off. The next morning the manager knows exactly who to ask about any anomaly, not just that someone left a note.

What it adds to the basic check-in:

1. A signature naming who did the count, captured at sign-off.
2. A record of when the count was signed, next to the figures that were entered.
3. Accountability without asking anyone to take a photo or call a manager.

Why it works: The name goes on the record at the moment the work finishes, not from memory later. When a variance is questioned the next day, the conversation starts with who signed it off, which is specific instead of general.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)
• 1 signature (counter)

#4 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Teams that want a photo record of the till reading, whether for a bookkeeper, an auditor, head office, or their own peace of mind.

What it is: The basic check-in plus a photo of the counted cash and float laid out (or the till Z-reading), captured at the time as a record. The five inputs stay the same. The photo lands in the same record as the typed figures, so the variance and the source it came from sit side by side.

In practice: Take a four-site garden centre that pools its takings to a central bookkeeper. Each site closes its tills, logs the count, and snaps the till Z-read or the counted cash laid out before submitting. When the bookkeeper reconciles the four sites the next morning, every variance comes with a photo of the reading behind it. A site that keyed its closing total wrong, transposing two figures, is caught in seconds because the photo and the typed number do not match.

What it adds to the basic check-in:

1. A photo of the counted cash and float laid out (or the till Z-reading), captured at the time.
2. Proof that holds up to an auditor or regulator, not just a ticked box.
3. A visual source for the variance, so the typed figure can be checked against the actual reading.

Why it works: A keyed number is a claim. A photo of the till reading is the source. The two together let anyone reviewing the count check the figure without phoning the site that filed it. Captured at the moment of the count, on the same device, the photo cannot be reconstructed later to fit a number that does not add up.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)
• 1 photo of the counted cash and float

#5 - With Poppi checking the photo

Who it's for: Multi-till venues where the photo gets taken but nobody looks at it. Multi-site groups where head office can't review every site's photos every night.

What it is: A photo-checked count is the basic check-in plus a photo of the counted cash and float (or the till Z-reading) that Poppi (AI) reviews the moment it's saved. Poppi answers one question about that photo, set by you: is the cash and float clearly counted and laid out in the photo? A single named spot is something an AI can actually judge, where a vague wide shot is not. If the answer is no, Poppi posts what it spotted to the team chat, so the problem gets fixed before everyone leaves.

In practice: A three-site bakery group closes at 6pm. The closing baker photographs the counted cash and float. Poppi reads the photo: clear, well laid out, counted correctly. Verdict yes, and nothing changes. On a rushed Friday the photo shows items scattered and a poor layout. Poppi answers no and posts the reason to the team chat ("The photo does not show the cash and float clearly counted and laid out"). The baker retakes the photo while still in the building.

What it adds to the basic check-in:

1. A photo of the counted cash and float that gets checked the moment it's saved, not just stored.
2. A team chat message with Poppi's reason the moment a photo fails the check.
3. The manager stops being the only person who ever looks at the counted cash photos.

Why it works: The check happens in the seconds between the photo being taken and the person leaving. That's the only moment the problem is still cheap to fix. A manager reviewing photos the next morning can only record that the count looked poor; Poppi catching it at 6pm gets it fixed by ten past.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)
• 1 photo of the counted cash and float
• 1 Poppi decision (judges the photo against your question)
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the photo fails the check)

#6 - With a team alert if the count isn't done by close

Who it's for: Multi-till venues and multi-site groups where the cash count must be completed by a set closing time but sometimes gets delayed or abandoned.

What it is: An end-of-day alert is the basic check-in plus a Poppi (AI) action set to the workflow's end time. If the count isn't finished by the time the cash count is due to be completed, Poppi posts a message in the Pilla team chat so the outstanding count gets done before anyone leaves. It watches the end time, so it catches the count that quietly got delayed or half-done, not just the one that never started.

In practice: A five-till restaurant closes the dining room at 11pm. The cash count must be done and the safe locked before the manager leaves, which is usually by 11:30pm. On a busy Saturday the closing sequence runs late and the count gets started late. With this version, if the count hasn't been completed by 11:30pm, the team chat gets a message, so the manager catches the unfinished count that night rather than discovering the next morning that the safe is still open and the count is incomplete.

What it adds to the basic check-in:

1. A message in the team chat if the count isn't finished on time.
2. A catch for the count that got delayed or half-done, not just the one that was skipped.
3. A record of when the count should have been done, next to when it was.
4. The manager finds out that night, not from the next morning when the safe needs to be opened.

Why it works: The alert is tied to the closing time, so an unfinished count raises its own hand. Nobody has to check the clipboard; the deadline does.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which till)
• 3 number inputs (opening float, closing total, variance against the till report)
• 1 text input (notes)
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the count isn't finished by closing time)

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the basic check-in plus one addition, so pick the additions your till actually needs.

Do other people run the count, or is it just you?

If you count yourself and know the method, the plain list is enough: #1. The moment someone else runs the count, guidance needs to be on the screen: #2.

Does the count need a name against it?

If knowing it was done is enough, skip this one. If you want who signed it off on the record, #3 adds a signature.

Do you need proof the count was done to standard?

A ticked list says the work was done; a photo shows it. If you want visual proof, #4 adds a photo of the till Z-reading or the counted cash laid out.

Does anyone actually look at the photos?

If a manager genuinely reviews every photo, #4's record is enough. If photos get taken and filed unseen, #5 has Poppi (AI) check each one as it's saved, and tell the team chat when something's wrong.

Does the count have to be finished by a set time?

If a tired team sometimes leaves the count incomplete, #6 posts a message to the team chat when the deadline passes with the count unfinished.

Need more than one addition? Open the version with the addition that matters most in the playground and add the others as steps. That's how the product works anyway: every option here is one step added to the same list.

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Conclusion

A daily cash count is a dated reconciliation that compares the cash in the drawer to what the till says should be there, logging the float, the closing total, and the variance every day. Every version above is the same basic check-in plus one addition: guidance, a signature, a photo, an AI check on the photo, or a deadline alert. Pick the ones your till needs and combine them in the playground.

More additions are coming in future refreshes, like pulling every till's counts into one daily reconciliation report. Those need more review time and will land separately.

→ Build your own daily cash count on Pilla.