Shifts and the Z report
Z report and closing the shift: count first, then see the variance
A Z report is the end-of-shift report that closes a till's drawer. It totals the shift's sales, refunds, discounts and payments, and compares the cash counted in the drawer with the cash expected. In PointLit the cashier types the counted cash before the expected figure appears, so the variance (Over, Short or Balanced) is an honest one.
What is a Z report?
A Z report is the slip a till produces when a shift is closed. It is final: once printed, the shift it describes is over and its figures cannot change. An X report is its mid-shift sibling. It shows the same kind of totals so far without closing anything, which is useful when a manager wants to check the drawer at lunchtime.
In PointLit a shift is one person, one drawer and one stretch of time at one branch. It starts with an opening float, records every sale, refund and cash movement against that drawer, and ends with a count and a Z report.
The blind close count
Closing a shift is a count, not a confirmation. The screen asks for Counted cash, one total for the whole drawer, and only after it is entered does it reveal Expected in drawer and the Variance. A count typed to match an expectation is not a count, so PointLit does not show the expectation first.
The Variance is always your count minus the expected figure. A positive figure is Over, a negative one is Short, and an exact match is Balanced. The badge and the sign always agree, so there is no reading it two ways.
While a shift is still open, you decide who can see its expected cash: it comes with a role's permission to open the staff reports, which the Cashier role template does not have. Give it to a role, or keep it for managers and owners.
Cash in and cash out, with a reason
Money that enters or leaves the drawer without being a sale or a refund is a cash movement. Cash in covers a float top-up or change brought from the safe. Cash out covers a supplier paid in cash or a drop to the safe. A Reason is required, and movements cannot be edited or deleted: a mistake is corrected by an opposite movement, so the drawer's story stays complete.
How it works in PointLit
- Count the drawer, choose Open shift and type the Opening float, for example 500.00 EGP.
- During the shift, record Cash in or Cash out with a Reason whenever money moves for anything other than a sale.
- To check the drawer without closing the shift, open Shifts in the back office and choose View on the open shift: it shows the X-report, the totals so far, and can print it. This needs the permission to read sales reports, so it is usually a manager's check.
- At the end, count the drawer away from the screen, choose Close shift and type the total into Counted cash.
- Read Expected in drawer and the Variance, then print the Z-report to the receipt printer.
What the Z report shows
- The branch, who opened the shift and who closed it, and the range of bill numbers
- The sales total, discounts and refunds
- A breakdown by payment method and by tax rate, for example VAT at 14%
- The drawer: opening float, cash sales, cash refunds and the variance
- Money taken at the counter against customer accounts that could not be tied to a shift, in its own block rather than folded into the variance
Questions and answers
- What is the difference between an X report and a Z report?
- An X report shows a shift's totals so far and leaves the shift open, so a manager can open it at any time from Shifts, with View on the open shift, to check the drawer, and print it there. A Z report is produced when the shift is closed: it holds the final totals and the cash variance, and it cannot be changed afterwards. In PointLit both can be printed to the receipt printer.
- Why does PointLit hide the expected cash until I count?
- Because a person who sees the expected figure first tends to find it. Hiding it until Counted cash is entered means the count records what is really in the drawer, and the variance shows a real gap. That is the whole point of closing a shift with a count rather than a button.
- Can a cashier close their own shift?
- Yes. The Owner, Manager and Cashier roles can open and close shifts and record cash movements as standard. A cashier whose role does not include the sales summary still counts and closes the drawer, but does not see the expected cash while the shift is open. The Z report shows it, with the variance, once the shift is closed.
- Can two shifts be open on the same till?
- No. A branch can have only one shift open at a time, and the server enforces it rather than the screen. If someone else's shift is still open, opening another is refused, so the drawer that shift was counting is reconciled before a new one starts.
- What happens when the drawer is short?
- The variance is recorded as Short on the Z report and cannot be edited afterwards. Over time, the Cash variances report shows each shift's variance and who worked it, so a one-off mistake can be told apart from a pattern. The recorded figure is the starting point for a conversation, not a guess.
Close every shift with a real count
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