Marketing Essentials
n Chapter 16 Using Math in Sales
Section 16.1 Cash Registers
Chapter 16 n Using Math in Sales
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
What You'll Learn
 The three general functions of all cash
registers
 The arrangement of currency and coins in a
cash register drawer
 The two methods of making change
 The two most important rules for safeguarding
money at the cash register
 The general content of sales checks and the
basic ways of generating them
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Why It's Important
Your customer's decision to buy does not
conclude the sales process. You must
record the transaction and present the
customer with proof of payment—or secure
a promise to pay in the future. In this
section, you will explore cash register
operations. You will learn the basics of
operating both manual and electronic
registers.
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Key Terms
 sales transaction
 Universal Product Code (UPC)
 Universal Vendor Marketing (UVM) code
 till
 opening cash fund
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Cash Register Operations
The sales transaction is the process of
recording a sale and presenting the customer
with proof of payment. Most retailers today use
cash registers for this. Cash registers fill three
important functions of sales transactions:
 recording sales
 storing cash and sales documents
 providing receipts
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Electronic Cash Registers
Electronic cash registers automatically perform
many functions of a sales transaction:
 totaling quantity purchases
 figuring sales tax
 subtracting refunds and returns
 calculating the change due a customer
Information can be entered by:
 manual key entry
 electronic wand entry
 optical scanning
Slide 1 of 2
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Electronic Cash Registers
Two types of codes are widely used for
electronic entry.
 The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a bar
code composed of a series of vertical parallel
black and white lines and a row of numbers.
Each item has its own distinctive UPC.
 The Universal Vendor Marketing (UVM)
code appears as a series of numbers across
the top of a price tag.
Slide 2 of 2
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
POS Terminal Functions
POS computer terminals are connected to
an in-store network that keeps track of
sales, inventory, and often how much new
merchandise to be ordered. POS terminal
functions include:
 scanning products
 transferring information
 recording sales
Slide 1 of 4
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
POS Terminal Functions
Scanning Products The checker passes
each item over the optical scanner so that it
can read the code printed on the package.
The checker will key in the sale amount if
code label is torn or missing.
Slide 2 of 4
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
POS Terminal Functions
Transferring Information The terminal shows
the price and name of each item, and the total
amount of the sale after any special discounts.
The terminal sends the information to a central
computer, where inventory is updated and new
merchandise can be ordered if stocks are low.
Slide 3 of 4
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
POS Terminal Functions
Recording Sales The terminal calculates
the change due to the customer, and prints a
paper receipt listing each item sold along
with prices, the date and time, and
sometimes the customer's name and account
information.
Slide 4 of 4
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
The Cash Drawer
Checks and currency collected in sales
transactions are generally deposited in
the till. The till is the cash drawer of a
cash register.
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Cash Drawer Arrangement
The till normally has ten compartments—
five in the back and five in the front. Bills are
usually kept in the back compartments of the
drawer (with checks on the far left, and other
bills in descending order: $20s, $10s, $5s,
and $1s), and coins in the front compartments
(also in descending order, half-dollars on
the far left, then quarters, dimes, nickels,
and pennies).
Chapter 16 n Using Math in Sales
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Opening Cash Fund
The opening cash fund consists of the coins
and currency designated for the register for a
given day's business. To verify the fund, count
the coins and the currency. When the amount
is more than planned for the register, the fund
is over; if there is less than planned, the fund
is short.
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Making Change
Be thorough and accurate when making change,
and follow these five steps:
1. Once the transaction has been entered
in the cash register, announce to the
customer the total amount of the sale.
2. Announce the amount tendered
when the customer offers payment in cash.
Slide 1 of 2
Chapter 16 n Using Math in Sales
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Making Change
3. Place the money on the cash drawer ledge
and leave it there until you have
completed giving change to the customer.
This eliminates most disputes over the
amount tendered.
4. Count silently while removing change from
the cash drawer.
5. Count aloud when handing the change to
the customer.
Slide 2 of 2
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Sales Tally
Salespeople and cashiers who use cash
registers must account for the day's sales
and money at closing. This is also called
balancing the cash or balancing the till.
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Safeguards Against Theft
Every employee who uses a cash register should
be familiar with some safeguards against the theft
of money.
 Always close the cash drawer between
transactions.
 Always lock the register if you leave it.
 Ignore interruptions while you are making
change.
 Learn how to recognize counterfeit money
and look at money you receive very closely.
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SECTION 16.1
Cash Registers
Sales Check
A sales check is a written record of a
sales transaction that includes:
 the date of the transaction
 the items purchased
 the purchase price
Many businesses use electronic cash
registers and POS systems that produce
computer-generated sales checks.
Smaller businesses write them by hand.
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16.1 ASSESSMENT
Reviewing Key Terms and Concepts
1. What are three functions that all cash registers
perform?
2. From left to right, how are the coins arranged in
a typical cash register drawer? The bills?
3. A customer gives you a $50 bill for a purchase of
$37.73. How will you count the change back?
4. What can you do to help prevent theft from a
cash register?
5. What sort of information does a sales check use
to detail a sales transaction?
Chapter 16 n Using Math in Sales
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16.1 ASSESSMENT
Thinking Critically
What advantages do you think using an
electronic optical scanning wand would
have over manually entering prices?
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16.1 Graphic Organizer
Cash Drawer Arrangement
BACK ROW
Checks
and
Special
Items
$20
bills
$10
bills
$5
bills
$1
bills
Dollar Coins
and
50¢ coins
25¢
coins
10¢
coins
5¢
coins
1¢
coins
FRONT ROW
Chapter 16 n Using Math in Sales
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Marketing Essentials
End of Section 16.1
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