At register close, total sales rarely equal the money that belongs in the drawer. Some customers paid by card, others by SINPE, and others in cash. The opening float remains, and refunds may have occurred. Comparing all sales with counted notes turns normal payment differences into apparent shortages. Start by separating those paths and reviewing each currency independently.
A cash example you can check
In this example, a café opens with CRC 30,000. The shift receives CRC 90,000 cash, CRC 220,000 by card, and CRC 60,000 through SINPE. It refunds CRC 5,000 in cash for a sale made during the shift. With no other cash movements, expected cash is CRC 115,000: float plus cash receipts less the refund. Card and SINPE require separate checks.
The manager counts CRC 113,000, leaving a CRC 2,000 shortage to explain. The subtraction identifies a difference without proving its cause. Incorrect change, a misselected payment method, or a counting mistake could explain it. Changing tomorrow's float to hide the difference just moves the problem. Preserve the count and inspect the shift's documents.
Expected and counted cash in Tario POS
Tario POS opens a register with its starting cash. At close, the operator enters counted cash by currency and sees expected cash and the difference. The opening amount deserves equal care: an incorrect float skews the entire comparison. Count it with the responsible person before selling and identify the register to which it belongs.
Count physically before copying the expected amount. Compare afterward. This helps expose a real difference rather than arranging notes to reach the screen's figure. Keep dollars and colones separate. Extra dollars do not automatically cancel missing colones; conversion needs a documented amount, rate, and reason.
Split payments and unresolved payments
An order for CRC 18,000 may include CRC 10,000 cash and CRC 8,000 on an external card terminal. Only the first portion increases the drawer. Inspect the saved allocation if the customer recalls paying everything by card. The terminal receipt and order record help distinguish a selected-method error from a physical shortage.
Keep unresolved payments in their own list. An order appearing on screen does not prove a hosted payment completed. Check status before counting it as received money or asking the customer to pay again. Manager reports include sales, refunds, net sales, and unresolved payments. Give each exception an owner and next action even after the shift ends.
Card settlement follows a different clock
Card sales may deposit later and arrive net of fees. Register close checks checkout activity; bank reconciliation checks what reached the account. They need not happen on the same day to be correct. Preserve the acquirer's batch report and connect it with the deposit, avoiding a second sale entry when the statement arrives.
For SINPE, confirm reference and receiving account under the business's controls. A customer screenshot may need a further check. If two orders share an amount, reference and time help identify the correct payment. The aim is to verify one collection without treating an already recorded sale's deposit as new revenue.
Keep fiscal follow-up separate
A Hacienda rejection and a cash difference describe different problems. Payment can be complete while a document needs correction. Review fiscal issues and assign follow-up rather than changing counted cash to fix a document status. The order history should preserve both facts: how the customer paid and what happened to the invoice.
Leave a useful handoff
Record register, cutoff, float, expected and counted amounts, differences by currency, and open exceptions. Link cases to orders or receipts. The next person should understand the work without reconstructing chat messages. A note saying difference under investigation is weak; a specific order with a pending confirmation, owner, and date is actionable.
Replay a known shift in a Tario POS demo before rolling out to all terminals. Include split payment, partial refund, and a count difference. Compare with your current sheet and ask which record explains each amount. A useful close leaves checkable figures and a small exception list.