Till Calculator — UK Cash Count
Count your till at the end of a shift. Enter how many of each coin and note you have, set the opening float, and see your takings, whether the till is over or short against the Z read, and exactly which notes and coins to bank and which to leave in the drawer.
Notes
Coins
Shift
Bank this, leave this
| Denomination | Counted | Bank | Leave in till |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
The bag takes the largest notes and coins first, so the float left in the drawer is the small change you need to start the next shift.
How to cash up a till at the end of a shift
- Run the end-of-day report first. Print the Z read (or your EPOS end-of-day report) before you touch the cash, so the expected figure is fixed before anyone counts.
- Count notes, then coins, one denomination at a time. Face notes the same way and count them twice. Stack coins in pounds (five £1 coins, ten 10p coins) so miscounts are easy to spot. Enter each count above as you go.
- Check the float. The calculator takes the opening float off the total. If the drawer holds less than the float, there are no takings and something went wrong at the start of the shift.
- Compare with the Z read. Enter the cash figure from the report. The calculator shows whether the till is balanced, over or short.
- Bag the takings, leave the float. The table shows which notes and coins go in the banking bag. The bag takes the biggest notes first, so what stays in the drawer is the change the next shift needs.
- Record and sign. Print the cash-up sheet, write the till number, and have a second person check the count and sign it.
For the difference between X and Z reads, coin bag weights and how long HMRC expects you to keep till records, see the money counter, which also counts US, euro and other currencies.
How much float should a till have?
There is no legal amount: each business sets its own. Small shops and cafés commonly start each till with around £100 to £200. Busy pubs and stalls that take a lot of cash at the start of a shift often use more. What matters is that the float is the same every shift, so takings are always "everything above the float", and that it holds enough small change.
As an example, a £150 float might be made up of £50 in £5 and £10 notes, £50 in £1 and £2 coins, £30 in 50p and 20p coins, and £20 in 10p, 5p, 2p and 1p coins. Set the opening float above to your own figure; it stays in place when you clear the counts.
Working out a till discrepancy
The sum is: discrepancy = (cash counted − opening float) − expected cash takings. A positive answer means the till is over; a negative answer means it is short.
Press Load example to see it worked through. The drawer holds 2 × £50, 12 × £20, 9 × £10 and 14 × £5 in notes (£500.00) and £79.30 in coins, so £579.30 in all. Take off the £150 float and the takings are £429.30. The Z read says £431.00 of cash, so the till is £1.70 short. To bank the £429.30, the bag takes both £50s, all twelve £20s, eight of the £10s, one £5, two £2 coins, a 20p and a 10p, leaving exactly £150.00 of mostly small change in the drawer.
Common reasons a till is over or short
- Wrong change given, or two notes stuck together when paying out.
- A refund, void or no-sale that was not recorded on the till.
- Cashback given but not keyed, or a card payment keyed as cash (or the other way round).
- Petty cash taken out for milk or postage without a slip in the drawer.
- The float was not counted in at the start of the shift, or was a different amount.
Many businesses set a tolerance, often a pound or two, below which a difference is noted but not investigated. Repeated shortfalls on the same till, however small, are worth looking into.
UK coins and notes in a till
| Type | Denominations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notes | £5, £10, £20, £50 | Bank of England polymer notes. King Charles III notes circulate alongside Queen Elizabeth II notes at the same value. |
| Coins | £1, £2 | The 12-sided £1 replaced the round £1, which stopped being legal tender in October 2017. |
| Coins | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p | Usually the bulk of the float. Count small coins by weight or in bags if you have a lot. |
Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are legal currency and many shops in England and Wales accept them, but they are not legal tender there, so check your business's policy. Count them in the matching denomination above.
Till calculator FAQs
A till calculator adds up the cash in a till drawer from the number of each coin and note, then works out the takings by taking away the opening float. This one also compares the takings with the expected cash figure from your Z read, so you can see straight away if the till is over or short, and shows which notes and coins to bank and which to leave in the drawer as the next float.
Print the Z read (or end-of-day report) so you have the expected cash figure first. Take the drawer to a quiet area, count the notes and then the coins one denomination at a time, and enter each count. The calculator totals the drawer, takes off the float and compares the takings with the Z read. Bag the takings, leave the float in the drawer, and have a second person check and sign the count.
The float is the fixed amount of change put in the till at the start of a shift so cashiers can give change to the first customers. It is not takings: it stays with the business and goes back in the drawer for the next shift. Small shops commonly use a float of around £100 to £200, mostly in coins and £5 and £10 notes, but the amount is set by each business.
Discrepancy = (cash counted − opening float) − expected cash takings. If you count £579.30 with a £150 float, your takings are £429.30. If the Z read says £431.00 cash, the till is £1.70 short. A positive figure means the till is over and a negative figure means it is short. Recount before recording either.
A UK till holds eight coins (1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2) and four Bank of England notes (£5, £10, £20 and £50). All current notes are polymer, and King Charles III notes circulate alongside Queen Elizabeth II notes at the same value. Scottish and Northern Irish notes are legal currency and many shops accept them, though they are not legal tender in England and Wales.
Count coins and notes in pounds, dollars, euros and more, with safe drops and a US register mode.
See where your money goes each month with a live flow chart and what-if scenarios.
Turn an hourly rate into weekly, monthly and yearly take-home pay after tax and NI.