Beancounting

What is "beancounting"?

Beancounting is a job that needs to be after a cash till is pulled from the front desk or thrift store. The staff member counts the money from till, transfers it into the safe, and makes the till ready for the next shift.

The Bookkeeping Toolbox

Get the bookkeeping toolbox (currently located in the Monkeyhouse. It should contain:

• An endorsement stamp for checks received
• Some end of shift forms
• Some large envelopes
• Deposit tickets for making deposits at the bank
• A pen or two

The Till

Get the till (either from the front desk or the store). It should contain:

• Cash (bills and coins) received that day
• Checks received that day
• A completed end of shift form

It might also contain:

• Reimbursement slips with proof of purchase receipts attached
• Miscellaneous money receipts
• Cash transfer slips
• Notes about data entry errors that should be corrected in the database
• Copies of receipts for clients to be invoiced

The job

• Print out an income report for the day the till was active.

Count the money

• Verify that the cashier who last used the till filled out the end of shift form correctly.

Transfer out excess money

Leave a standard till.

Details of the Process

1. Shortly before the end of the shift, get the data corrections from each till and make the corrections in the database, so that the income report will be accurate.
2. Get the uncounted tills and the cash box from safe
3. Pull up the income report for the day in question
4. Check the end of shift form for data entry errors
   • Correct in database, if possible
5. Print hard copy of income report and manually correct if necessary
6. Count the money (do this for each till and the cash box in the safe):
   1. "Face" the bills and the checks. (That is, put all the bills face up with the dead presidents' heads pointing in the same direction. This makes counting easier and it makes it easier to spot a five in the tens, for instance.)
   2. Count the checks, the bills, and the coins
      • (Use the cashbalance spreadsheet to record the amounts and to calculate the totals.)
      • When counting money, clip it by denomination:
        • 20s -- 25 ($500)
        • 10s -- 20 ($200)
        • 5s -- 20 ($100)
        • 1s -- 25 ($ 25)
      • When finished, print out a copy of the cashbalance spreadsheet to record what the tills and cash box looked like before the transfer.
7. Count the miscellaneous stuff
   • Money receipts
   • Reimbursements
   • Transfers in and out
   • Unpaid IOUs
8. Correct the end of shift form as needed
9. Transfer the money from the tills to the cash box:
   • Transfer all checks, and all 20s, 50s, and 100s.
   • Transfer whatever else you need to to make the remaining till come out right ($100).
   • Try to leave enough ones and quarters. (See Standard Cash Drawer for details on how much of each denomination is needed for each till.)
   • Record the transfers on the cashbalance spreadsheet.
   • When finished, print out a copy of the cashbalance spreadsheet to record what the tills and cash box looked like after the transfer.
10. Prepare the deposit:
    • Get a blank deposit ticket and fill out
    • Normally just deposit all checks, all bills with denominations of five and up, and all but 25 or 50 ones.
    • From time to time, deposit excess coins, leaving enough quarters to replensish tills.
    • Deposit into our main checking account.
    • List checks on the back of deposit ticket.
    • Double count and double check the math.
    • If extra changes is needed (usually quarters or maybe ones), mark this in the LESS CASH BACK box on the deposit ticket.
    • Prepared deposits can go into the safe in the deposit box, while awaiting deposit.
11. Make the deposit
    • Take the money to the bank (Oregonians Credit Union on NE 20th just south of Sandy). This is easier to do earlier in the day than later on.
    • Return the deposit receipt and any cash back (typically rolls of quarters) to the bookkeeper. Note any discrepencies between the prepared deposit ticket and the actual deposit as counted by the teller at the bank.

Recording the transactions in Gnucash

In Gnucash, record the transactions from the shift:

• For the Store:
  1. Enter the Net Sales number from the income report in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account as "Income:Thrift Store:Cash Sales" as of the date of the shift with a description of "Sales".
  2. Enter (miscellaneous) Money Receipts as seperate transactions in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account. Each should have an appropriate income account and description. Enter them as of the date of the shift. The total of all Money Receipts entered should match the Money Receipts line on the end of shift form.
  3. Enter Reimbursements as seperate transactions in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account. Each should have an appropriate expense account and description. Enter them as of the date of the shift. The total of all Reimbursements entered should match the Reimbursements line on the end of shift form.
  4. Make sure that all Transfers in and out from the end of shift form are recorded in gnucash as well.
  5. Enter the Till Adjustment number from the end of shift form in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account as "Equity:Adjustments:Petty Cash Adjustments" as of the date of the shift with a description of "Till Adjustment -- Thrift Store".
  6. Enter the Money for Safe number from the end of shift form in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account as "Assets:Petty Cash:Safe" as of today's date with a description of "Daily Transfer".
  7. Verify that the balance in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Store" account is $200.00 (two tills at $100.00 each).
• For the Front Desk:
  1. Enter the Cash number from the income report in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account as "Income:Donations:Cash Donations" as of the date of the shift with a description of "Cash Donations".
  2. Enter the Monitor Fees number from the income report in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account as "Income:Recycling:Monitor Fees" as of the date of the shift with a description of "Monitor Fees".
  3. Enter (miscellaneous) Money Receipts as seperate transactions in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account. Each should have an appropriate income account and description. Enter them as of the date of the shift. The total of all Money Receipts entered should match the Money Receipts line on the end of shift form.
  4. Enter Reimbursements as seperate transactions in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account. Each should have an appropriate expense account and description. Enter them as of the date of the shift. The total of all Reimbursements entered should match the Reimbursements line on the end of shift form.
  5. Make sure that all Transfers in and out from the end of shift form are recorded in gnucash as well.
  6. Enter the Till Adjustment number from the end of shift form in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account as "Equity:Adjustments:Petty Cash Adjustments" as of the date of the shift with a description of "Till Adjustment -- Front Desk".
  7. Enter the Money for Safe number from the end of shift form in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account as "Assets:Petty Cash:Safe" as of today's date with a description of "Daily Transfer".
  8. Verify that the balance in the "Assets:Petty Cash:Front Desk" account is $180.00 (two tills at $90.00 each).