Record a cash shortage or overage

Find out what to do when the amount in your cash drawer doesn’t match your Z-Out Drawer Count report in QuickBooks Point of Sale.

You use the Z-Out Drawer Count report to track your total cash flow for the day. If you have less or more money in your cash drawer than you should, you have cash shortage or overage.

It’s important that your books match what happens to your business in real life. We’ll show you how to keep your books in QuickBooks Desktop up-to-date.

Step 1: Make sure there’s a shortage or overage

1. Recount the money from the cash drawer.
2. Make sure the beginning and ending amounts in the Z-Out Drawer Count report are correct.
   1. Go to the Reports menu.
   2. Select Cash Drawer, then Z-Out Drawer Count.
   3. Change the date, then select Apply date range.
3. Compare the amount in the cash drawer to the amount in the report.

If the amounts are the same, continue with your end-of-day procedures. But if there’s an overage or shortage, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Run a Financial Exchange

1. Go to the Financial menu, then select Financial Center.
2. In the Actions section, select Update QuickBooks Desktop Now.

Step 3: Create a shortage or overage account in QuickBooks Desktop

If you already have a shortage or overage account, proceed to Step 4.

1. Go to the Lists menu, then select Chart of Accounts.
2. From the Accounts ▼ dropdown, select New.
3. Choose an account type, then select Continue.
4. Complete the account info, then select Save & Close.

Step 4: Record the shortage or overage using a deposit

1. Go to the Banking menu, then select Make Deposits.
2. If the Payments to Deposit window opens, select the pending payments you want to deposit, then select OK.
3. In the Make Deposits window, select Save & New.
4. Update the Deposit to, Date, and Memo fields.
5. From the small arrow ▼ icon in the Received From column, select Cash in Drawer.
6. From the small arrow ▼ icon in the From Account column, select your shortage or overage account.
7. In the Amount column, enter the shortage (negative) or overage (positive) amount.

   Example: $10 shortage = -10, $10 overage = 10

8. Select Save & Close.