Use of change
The use of change is a basic standard in connection with the use of cash register systems. However, the practical workflow is handled very differently depending on the operating concept. We consider the topic here both for practical reasons, such as controlling, and from a legal perspective.
In principle, we assume a theoretical standard, for which we provide tips and answers here. If this differs from your practice, use a solution that suits you and is close to our suggestions.
The necessary change for the operation should be kept in full at the farm. This includes the change for the starting stock as well as possible replenishment during operation.
At the end of the operation, it must be possible to separate the change from the income, tips and gratuities. This can be an extensive task due to the use of cashless payments and money replacement receipts.
Technically, it is best to use the change specifications and the programme Wallet-Control, which also correspond to the settlement.
Please note that, at least for Germany, from the year 2020 onwards, money changes involving the holder (his wallet) or other external sources will result in these being taken into account in the cash balance. Employees must also be prohibited from changing from their own private cash holdings or from putting unspecified change into circulation.
Operators with their own tip...
If your POS operators bring their own wallets and, if necessary, their own change, you should have this booked as income at the beginning and as expenses at the end. Otherwise, you will not be able to cash out for this reason alone.
Regardless of the legal situation, controlling is at risk and your staff management is acting "absurdly" with this method. If change (and tips) are not accurately recorded, any surplus money automatically remains in the operator's possession. In a high-frequency work situation or one that is otherwise burdened, certain sales are usually not posted and then form a surplus. Thus, a handling where the change is brought by the operators is not recorded and is not controlled, leading to an automatism that pays all the unbooked income to the operator and at the same time reduces the tax (you are also responsible for the transactions not booked by the operator). At the same time, you "educate" employees not to book through these involuntary rewards. Also from a social security point of view, you could "intentionally control little" so that your employees are more motivated to work thanks to "wrong tips". From this point of view, in addition to tax, you also reduce social insurance. (With random samples in average establishments, we were able to count spontaneously handed in wallets, from which the tip was taken by mutual agreement, again with an average of between €5 and €50 surplus per daily shift. These surpluses could be added to the turnover from then on).
Whether this is intentionally or involuntarily part of your previous standard is not relevant here. The aim is to define best practice for the future. If you encounter resistance from operators when making procedural changes, this is generally considered an alarm signal in several respects. It could be that improvements in controlling could also lead to some employees being less motivated or demanding higher wages. Especially retrospectively this is critical, but you can also evaluate this reaction as a direct success of your operational organization and of course agree to such (possibly justified) demands. It would not be surprising if, within the framework of an emphatic changeover that correctly assesses the situation, you ended up with more sales. As a rule, every improvement in your controlling can then be viewed positively during company audits without necessarily triggering a "retroactive reaction".
The change is "only" a cash flow burden and a security risk. If these are organizationally optimized, the amount should be as high as possible so that there is sufficient change in every situation. Any unavoidable exception should be noted in such a way that this can be made comprehensible in the case of (spontaneous) tests as an alternative. Further documentation: Fraud Protection with Wallet Control.
Automate change with Wallet-Control
Wallet-Control is a programme included in Hypersoft POS that allows the operator to easily record change and payment receipts. Here you will learn about the various possibilities of Wallet-Control. You can also use the change specifications in the Wallet-Control.
Book change as income and expenditure...
Change can be entered at the beginning of a day or shift as "Change Received" and also at the end as "Change Issued". However, this is not the optimal way, since these postings also appear in the accounting export.
Please refer to the chapter Post incoming and outgoing payments.
Change with the change specifications....
If you work with money bombs, you can use the change presets (even without wallet control). Please read the chapter Change processing.
Further documentation:
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