What exactly is a Cash Drop?

In the retail, hospitality, gaming, and similar industries, cash is managed using formal methods. A cash drop is an established way to remove excess cash from a point-of-sale register and drawer and deposit it into a safe, drop box, or bank so that there is less cash on hand at any given time. Decreasing the chance of cash being stolen, burglarized, or having issues internally while maintaining the ability to continue doing business throughout the day.

How It Functions

To start, you will log into the POS system's cash management feature (typically located in either the Management or Cash Drop section). Enter your starting till and manually count the money (coins and bills) in the drawer.

The cash management system will then calculate what you should have based on the total sales recorded. By comparing the new total with the amount of cash you counted, you will identify any discrepancies, and once validated, the difference will be recorded in the system as an adjustment. Any excess cash must be placed into a secure drop envelope or safe, and a receipt from the register should be printed and include the register number, time stamps, expected vs. actual totals, and any variances.

Subsequent drawer activity restarts from the predefined starting float, with periodic drops (e.g., multiple times per shift) ensuring minimal cash exposure; end-of-shift reconciliation verifies all drops against total sales for accurate accounting.