Run a petty cash box

A petty cash box is the cash a branch keeps for small purchases. Each box has a keeper, a float it should hold, and a statement of every movement.

Before you start

• Opening a box needs a manager. The keeper needs the right Keep a petty cash box; managers have it.

Steps

To open a box:

1. Open Expenses → Petty cash.
2. Open Open a petty cash box.
3. Type the Box name, choose the branch and the Keeper, and type the Float.
4. Select Open the box.

To use a box:

1. Select the box in the list. Its statement for the current month opens.
2. To add money, open Top up, type the amount and select Top up. The form shows how much brings the box back to its float.
3. To record a purchase, open Spend from the box. Type the Merchant, the amount, the VAT, the Supplier's tax number, the category, and tick It is a tax invoice when it is one. Select Record the spending.
4. To check the cash, open Count the box, type what you counted and select Save the count. The difference is recorded as petty cash over or short.
5. To see another month, pick it above the statement.

Good to know

• Top-ups come from the bank.
• The box's balance can never go below zero.
• After a count, the box's balance becomes the counted amount.
• Claims paid from the box appear on its statement with the claim number. See Pay back an approved claim.
• A spending from the box takes a typed receipt. To keep a photo, the keeper submits a claim and pays it from the box.
• The owner gets an alert when a box falls under its low mark (a % of the float, set in the settings).
• With Books, each box has its own cash account, created the first time it is used. Top-ups move money from the bank to the box; spending posts the expense and recoverable VAT; a count difference posts to cash over or short.
• Without Books, spending and a count shortage go to the simple Expenses page. Top-ups and claim payments are not expenses, so nothing more is written.
• Use Change the box to rename it, change the keeper or float, or tick Close this box. A box is closed, never deleted.