Let’s dive into Sessions! A session is simply the block of time when a cash register is actively being used, usually matching up with a cashier’s shift. In a physical retail store, sessions are your best friend for financial accountability. By asking your team to open and close sessions, you can perfectly track cash movement, quickly spot any discrepancies, and prevent theft with ease.
Here’s everything you need to know about a typical POS session workflow.
Opening a Session (Starting the Shift)
Before your cashier rings up their very first customer of the day on a Terminal, they’ll need to open a brand new session. It’s quick and easy!
Launch the Terminal
From your POS Dashboard, just click Launch on your assigned terminal.
Count the Starting Cash
The system will happily prompt you to enter the Opening Cash (often called the Float). This is simply the amount of physical bills and coins sitting in the drawer before any sales are made.
- Take a moment to count the money currently in the till.
- Enter that total amount right into the system.
Confirm and Begin
Click Start Session. Voilà! The main cash register interface will load up, and you’re officially ready to start serving customers.
Mid-Session Activities
While a session is up and running, every single sale, return, and payment processed on that terminal is securely and mathematically linked straight to that specific session ID.
Cash In / Cash Out (Petty Cash)
Every now and then, you might need to manually move cash in or out of the drawer without making a sale. We’ve made this super simple:
- Cash In: E.g., Adding $100 in smaller bills from the back safe to make change.
- Cash Out: E.g., Taking $20 out to pay a quick delivery fee or grab some office supplies.
- Action: Just click the Control (or Settings) menu in your active POS screen and select Cash In/Out to log the exact amount and the reason. It keeps your books perfectly clean!
Closing a Session (Ending the Shift)
When the shift is over, it’s time for the cashier to perform a blind-count of the drawer and reconcile the day’s hard work.
Initiate Close
Ready to wrap up? Click the Close Register (or Close Session) button located in the top menu of your POS interface.
The Blind Count
The system will ask the cashier to input their Closing Cash—this is the actual physical amount of money sitting in the drawer right now.
- The cashier carefully counts all the cash and enters that exact figure.
- Meanwhile, the system is doing the heavy lifting in the background, calculating the Expected Cash:
(Opening Cash + Cash Sales + Cash In) - (Cash Refunds + Cash Out)
Review Discrepancies
Now for the moment of truth! The system compares the mathematically Expected Cash against the cashier’s Closing Cash count.
- If they match perfectly, congratulations! The drawer balances beautifully.
- If there’s a difference, the system will clearly highlight the discrepancy (whether you’re over or short) so you can double-check.
Finalize
Once everything looks good, the cashier clicks Validate & Close Session. The session is securely locked, and a neat summary report is automatically generated for management to review. Great job!
A Quick Note on Session Overages/Shortages: If there are any significant discrepancies during closing, don’t worry—the system immediately flags them for your accounting team. You can even configure Sevenledger to automatically post a seamless journal entry that moves the differing amount into a designated “Cash Short/Over” expense account.