Opening a shift
A shift is the record of one person, one drawer and one stretch of time. It starts with a count.
Before the till will take a sale, PointLit wants to know what is already in the drawer. That figure is the opening float, and everything the shift later says about being over or short is measured from it. Counting it honestly takes a minute and saves an argument at the end of the day.
Who can open a shift
Opening and closing a shift needs the permission described as opening and closing till shifts and recording cash movements. The Owner, Manager and Cashier roles all carry it as standard, so an ordinary cashier opens their own shift and does not need a manager to start the day. If the shift bar is not on your register screen at all, your account does not hold that permission: there is no hidden button and no disabled strip to press, so ask whoever manages staff rather than hunting for it.
Opening the shift
Count the drawer before you touch the screen. The number you type is the one the end of the shift will be judged against, so it is worth counting twice.
- Count the cash you are putting into the drawer.
- On the register, open the shift bar and choose Open shift.
- Type what you counted into Opening float, for example 200.00. If the till starts empty, zero is fine.
- Add a Note if the next person reading this shift should know something. It is optional.
- Press Open shift. The bar changes to Shift open and the register will take sales.
One shift at a time
A location can have only one shift open at once, and that rule is enforced by the server rather than by the screen. If somebody else has already opened the till, your attempt is refused and the register tells you so. That is the correct outcome rather than a fault: find the shift that is open and close it properly, so the drawer it was counting is reconciled before a new one starts.
Moving cash during the shift
Money that enters or leaves the drawer without being a sale or a refund is recorded as a cash movement, not left to memory. Cash in covers a float top-up or change brought from the safe. Cash out covers a supplier paid from the till or a drop to the safe. Both ask for a reason, and both are required to be honest about direction: you enter a positive amount and the button you pressed decides which way it went. Movements cannot be edited or deleted afterwards, so a mistake is corrected by recording the opposite movement.