Ask for a surprise cash count

A surprise count checks a drawer while the shift is still open. You ask from Kila, wherever you are; the till asks the cashier to count the notes and coins straight away, without showing them what Kila expects. Kila compares the count with what the drawer should hold at that moment and tells you.

Before you start

• Surprise counts are on for your business. In Administration › Settings, the Point of sale tab has a Till controls card where Surprise cash counts shows On. The owner switches it on or off under Plan and modules (Point of sale features).
• You manage shifts, as a till supervisor or branch manager does, and the shift is someone else’s.

Steps

1. Open the cashier's shift

   In Sales › Shifts, choose the Open tab and tap the shift.

2. Tap Count now

   It is on the Surprise counts card: “Mid-shift counts of the drawer against what it should hold at that moment.”

3. Choose Ask the cashier

   Kila explains: “Ask the cashier to count now (blind: they never see what Kila expects), or count the drawer yourself if you are at the till.”

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   Steps 3 to 5 on one screen.

   

4. Add a note if you want

   The cashier sees it on the till.

5. Tap Ask for the count

   Kila says Count requested: “The till asks the cashier to count now. You are told the result.” The card shows Asked by your name, waiting for the count.

6. The cashier counts the drawer

   Within a minute the till shows Count your drawer now, such as: “Agnes Chepkemoi asked for a count at 19:21: Routine check before the evening rush. Count the notes and coins in the drawer; selling continues once the count is sent.” The cashier types how many notes of each value are in the drawer, and the coins.

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   What the cashier sees: steps 6 and 7.

   

7. The cashier taps Send the count

   The button shows the amount counted. Kila tells the cashier Count sent: “Thank you. You can carry on selling.” They never see what Kila expected.

8. Read the result

   Kila tells you, such as Surprise count on Till 1 (by the door): balanced: “Eric Mutai counted KES 2,550.00 on SH-000251; Kila expected KES 2,550.00 at that moment.” The card shows who counted and how much, the result, such as Balanced, and what Kila expected.

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Good to know

The till waits for the count: Count your drawer now stays on the cashier’s screen until the count is sent. In the same Till controls card the owner sets The till waits for the count (“Once a manager asks, the cashier counts before the next sale.”) and the Minutes to count before it is marked late: 10 at Baraka Wines and Spirits.

What if

You are at the till yourself

Choose I am counting it instead, count the drawer and tap Record KES …. Kila says Count recorded with the result, such as Short by KES 50.00, and the card shows Counted by your name.

You asked by mistake

Tap Call off on the card while it says waiting for the count. It then shows Called off, and the till stops asking the cashier.

Related

• Review a shift: what to do when a shift closes short or over.
• How shifts and cash-ups work: what Kila expects in the drawer.
• Close a shift: the count at the end of a shift.
• Count your drawer now: what the cashier sees, and how they send the count.

Next: the shift carries on. At the end the cashier closes it with a full count.