Till reconciliation template
An end-of-day check for one cash drawer. Start from the opening float, add and take away every cash movement through the day to find what the drawer should hold, then set the count beside it and note why any gap remains.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
A till reconciliation compares the cash a register should be holding with the cash actually in it. Among the ATO's tips for avoiding common record-keeping errors is reconciling cash and EFTPOS sales by checking that what you recorded matches the outside records, and the ATO notes that, depending on the business, this could be a daily, weekly or monthly job. For a till that takes cash every day, the close of trading is the natural time to do it.
The template follows the cash through the drawer in the order it moves. The opening float comes first, then cash sales from the register's end-of-day report, cash refunds, cash paid in, such as extra change from the safe, cash paid out against a slip, and any banking taken out during the day. What remains is the cash you expect to find. The count sits underneath, and the result line shows whether the drawer is short or over, together with a note of what was checked. A gap is recorded as it stands, not hidden by adjusting the cash you expected.
business.gov.au points out that cash carries more risk of theft and of mistakes than payments that go straight into a bank account, and suggests banking cash regularly instead of holding large amounts. The last line works out the cash to bank once the next day's float, and any change borrowed from the safe, is set aside. The file is a CSV that opens in a spreadsheet program, and one sheet covers one till for one day.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Stage | Item | Supporting record or note | Amount (AUD) | Total (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expected | Opening float | Float counted and signed for at the close on 11 Jun 2026 | 300.00 | |
| Expected | Cash sales | Register end-of-day report, cash sales before refunds | 1,846.50 | |
| Expected | Cash refunds | Refund slips R-31 and R-32 | (62.00) | |
| Expected | Cash paid in | Extra change brought from the safe | 100.00 | |
| Expected | Cash paid out | Paid-out slip PO-07, ice from Supplier G | (35.00) | |
| Expected | Banking during the day | Deposit slip for the midday banking | (1,000.00) | |
| Expected | Cash expected in the drawer | Total of the lines above | 1,149.50 | |
| Counted | Notes | Count sheet signed by Staff member B | 1,020.00 | |
| Counted | Coins | Count sheet signed by Staff member B | 124.50 | |
| Counted | Cash counted | Notes plus coins | 1,144.50 | |
| Result | Difference: short | Cash counted less cash expected. Recounted by Manager C; no missing slip or unrecorded sale found, so recorded as a shortage and reported | (5.00) | |
| Banking | Cash to bank | Cash counted less the float of 300.00 kept for 13 Jun 2026 and the 100.00 of change returned to the safe | 744.50 |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Stage: Expected, Counted, Result or Banking, which keeps the lines that build the expected cash apart from the count, the difference and the cash to bank.
- Item: The cash movement, count or total the line records.
- Supporting record or note: The report, slip or count sheet the figure comes from or, on the result line, what was checked and what was found.
- Amount (AUD): The amount of the movement or count, with amounts that take cash out of the drawer shown in brackets.
- Total (AUD): The figure each stage ends on: the cash expected, the cash counted, the difference between them and the cash to bank.
How to use it
- Before trading starts, count the opening float and check it against the amount signed for at the last close.
- At close, print the register's end-of-day report and collect the day's refund slips, paid-out slips and deposit slips. Give each one its own line, with cash that left the drawer in brackets.
- Have someone count the drawer before they see the expected figure, notes and coins separately, and sign the count sheet.
- Take the expected cash away from the count. If the result isn't zero, count again and look for a missing slip, a refund or payout made without one, or a sale keyed in wrongly, and write what you checked on the result line.
- Record any gap you still can't explain as a shortage or an overage instead of changing the expected figure, and ask your accountant which account it goes to. A gap that keeps coming back on the same till is worth a closer look.
- Set aside the float for the next day, return any change borrowed from the safe, and bank the rest. Then compare the register's card sales with the EFTPOS terminal's settlement report, and tick each banking off against the bank statement when it arrives.
Related terms
Sources
- Record-keeping tips
Australian Taxation Office. Current at 25 October 2022 (QC70730), released 25 October 2022. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia Licence: ATO website copyright notice (copy, adapt and distribute, without implying ATO endorsement).
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business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 18 December 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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