Night Audit Procedure

Overview

The Night Auditor is the person responsible for balancing ALL revenue streams at end of business each day. This procedure is the final line of defence in our cash handling chain.

You will reconcile:

• POS cash sales against the physical cash drawer
• Electronic fund transfers (EFT) against bank receipts
• Visa card transactions against terminal batch report
• Mastercard transactions against terminal batch report
• Account credit sales against authorised credit slips
• Staff meals (free and charged)
• GCash agent transactions (separate reconciliation)
• Void bag (all voided transactions reviewed)

The Sequence — Follow This Exact Order

Complete each step in order. Do not skip ahead. Each step feeds into the next.

Status key:   ☐ Not Started    ⏳ In Progress    ✅ Balanced    ❌ Discrepancy

Click a step in the flowchart above to mark its status as you work through the audit.

1.0 — Preparation

1.1 Gather Materials

Before you begin, collect every item below. Missing one item will delay the entire audit.

• POS terminal access (or laptop open to teller-screen.html)
• Cash drawer(s) from ALL teller stations
• Card payment terminal — batch reports ready (Visa / Mastercard)
• All EFT transaction receipts for today
• Account credit slips (signed by customer)
• GCash agent phone — powered on, transaction history accessible
• Calculator (physical preferred — do not use your phone calculator during audit)
• Night Audit sign-off sheet (print or digital)
• Pen (blue or black ink only)

1.2 Secure the Area

• No more transactions after audit begins — POS is CLOSED to sales
• Lock the front door / put up "CLOSED" sign
• All staff meals have been processed BEFORE audit starts
• All card terminal batches have been closed (no pending authorisations)
• All teller staff have logged out of POS

2.0 — Step 1: Cash

2.1 Count the Drawer

Remove the cash drawer to the counting area. Count by denomination, largest to smallest. Count twice if the total is more than ₱5,000.

2.2 Calculate Expected Cash

The expected cash is what SHOULD be in the drawer based on what the POS recorded.

2.3 Cash Variance

Variance = Total Counted − Expected Cash

2.4 Record

• Write COUNTED amount on audit sheet
• Write EXPECTED amount on audit sheet
• Write VARIANCE on audit sheet
• If variance noted — write the reason
• INITIAL this section on the audit sheet

3.0 — Step 2: EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer)

3.1 Gather EFT Receipts

• Collect ALL EFT transaction receipts from today
• Sort in chronological order
• Add up total EFT from receipts: ₱ 

3.2 Compare to POS

3.3 EFT Variance Investigation

If EFT does not match:

1. Check for missing receipts (receipt may still be on terminal or in teller area)
2. Check void bag for voided EFT transactions
3. Check if a reversed/failed transfer was not removed from POS
4. Verify every EFT has a reference number — no reference = suspicious

• EFT balanced and recorded — INITIAL this section

4.0 — Step 3: Visa

4.1 Card Terminal Batch Report

• Run end-of-day batch settlement on Visa/card terminal
• Print batch report (or note the screen total)
• Total Visa from batch report: ₱ 

4.2 Compare to POS

Every Visa transaction has a reference/approval code. Match each one individually if the totals do not agree.

4.3 Visa Variance

If totals do not match:

1. Check approval codes — does every POS entry have a matching terminal entry?
2. Look for transactions processed on the terminal but NOT entered in POS
3. Look for transactions entered in POS but NOT on terminal (keyed in wrong payment type)
4. Most common cause: teller forgot to select "Visa" on POS — defaulted to Cash

• Visa balanced and recorded — INITIAL this section

5.0 — Step 4: Mastercard

5.1 Card Terminal Batch Report

• Run Mastercard batch settlement (or use combined batch if one terminal handles both)
• Separate Mastercard transactions from Visa in the batch report
• Total Mastercard from batch report: ₱ 

5.2 Compare to POS

5.3 Mastercard Variance

Same investigation procedure as Visa (Section 4.3). Check approval codes, look for miskeyed payment types.

• Mastercard balanced and recorded — INITIAL this section

6.0 — Step 5: Account Credit

6.1 Review Account Transactions

Each account credit transaction should have the customer name recorded in the POS.

6.2 Verify Authorisation

• Every credit transaction is to an approved customer
• Every credit slip is signed by the customer
• Total of signed slips matches Z-report account credit total

6.3 Record

List each account credit transaction on the audit sheet:

• Account credit balanced and recorded — INITIAL this section

7.0 — Step 6: Staff Meals

7.1 Review Staff Meal Transactions

Staff meals are tracked in two categories:

• FREE meals = business expense (1st meal per person per day — entitlement)
• CHARGED meals = payroll deduction (2nd or subsequent meals — deducted from pay)

7.2 Verify

• Every staff meal has a team member NAME recorded
• No person has more than 1 FREE meal — if they do, flag it (one should have been CHARGED)
• Free meal count matches number of staff who worked today

7.3 Record

• Staff meals reviewed and recorded — INITIAL this section

8.0 — Step 7: GCash Agent

8.1 This is SEPARATE from POS

GCash agent revenue comes from commissions on Cash-In, Cash-Out, and Bills Payment. It has its own physical cash that must be counted and reconciled independently.

8.2 Reconcile GCash

• Open GCash Transaction History: /ops/pos/gcash-history.html
• Verify today's entry is complete (filled in by GCash operator)
• Check: Opening Float is recorded
• Check: Cash-In total recorded and verified
• Check: Cash-Out total recorded and verified
• Check: Bills Payment total recorded and verified
• Check: Commission amount is correct
• Check: Closing Float calculated correctly
• Variance is ₱0 or within tolerance (±₱20)

8.3 GCash Sign-Off

• If balanced: Confirm "Reconciled By" has operator's name in GCash History
• If NOT balanced: Investigate with GCash operator — do NOT sign off until resolved
• GCash cash is in a SEPARATE envelope / bag from POS cash
• GCash reconciliation — INITIAL this section

9.0 — Step 8: Void Bag

9.1 Review All Voids

• Open the void bag in POS (all voided transactions for today)
• Count total number of voids:  
• Every void has a REASON recorded
• Manager-approved voids over ₱500 have manager PIN recorded

9.2 Suspicious Void Patterns

Flag and investigate any of the following:

• Multiple voids of the same item — could indicate theft (void after customer pays)
• Voids near close of business — after most staff have left, reduced oversight
• Void then re-ring at different price — possible price manipulation
• Voids with no reason recorded — every void must have an explanation
• Voids by the same teller repeatedly — pattern of concern

• All voids reviewed — no suspicious patterns (or concerns recorded)
• Void bag reviewed — INITIAL this section

10.0 — Step 9: Z-Report

10.1 Final Check Before Z-Report

The Z-Report closes the day. Before you run it, confirm ALL of the following:

• ✅ CASH — balanced and recorded
• ✅ EFT — balanced and recorded
• ✅ VISA — balanced and recorded
• ✅ MASTERCARD — balanced and recorded
• ✅ ACCOUNT CREDIT — balanced and recorded
• ✅ STAFF MEALS — reviewed and recorded
• ✅ GCASH — reconciled separately
• ✅ VOID BAG — reviewed
• ✅ ALL variances recorded and explained

10.2 Run Z-Report

1. Open POS Teller: /ops/pos/teller-screen.html
2. Click the Z-REPORT button
3. Review all totals one final time on screen
4. Confirm to close the day
5. Print or save the Z-report

10.3 Z-Report is FINAL

• Z-Report has been run and printed / saved
• All totals verified one final time
• Z-Report — INITIAL this section

11.0 — Step 10: Finals & Sign-Off

11.1 Safe Drop

• POS Cash: Opening float stays in drawer for tomorrow. ALL excess cash goes into the safe in a labelled envelope (date + amount written on outside).
• Card Slips: All Visa/Mastercard/EFT receipts in a labelled envelope → safe
• Account Credit Slips: Signed credit slips in a labelled envelope → safe
• GCash Cash: Separate envelope in safe (clearly labelled "GCASH" — do NOT mix with POS cash)
• Printed Z-Report: In the Night Audit folder (on desk or in safe)

11.2 Sign-Off

Complete the Night Audit sign-off. This is your formal declaration that the audit is complete and accurate.

11.3 Backup

• Open Backup Manager: /ops/pos/backup-manager.html
• Verify today's backup shows GREEN banner (backup completed)
• If RED banner — run backup NOW before leaving

11.4 Lock Up

• Safe is LOCKED (spin the dial / confirm it is secure)
• All POS terminals logged out / screens off
• GCash phone locked and secured
• Lights off in office / POS area
• Doors locked (front, back, office)
• Alarm set (if applicable)
• YOU ARE DONE — go home

Appendix A — Discrepancy Investigation Procedure

When a payment method does not balance, follow these steps in order. Do not skip ahead.

Step 1: Recount

Most errors are counting errors. Start the count again from scratch. Use a different counting method (e.g., if you counted stacks, try counting individually).

Step 2: Check Payment Method Entry

Look for transactions entered under the wrong payment method. A common mistake is a Visa sale recorded as Cash, or an EFT recorded as Account Credit. Check the transaction history for today and look at each payment method flag.

Step 3: Check the Void Bag

Was a transaction accidentally voided? A void removes the sale from the total but the payment may have already been collected. Look for voids that correspond to your discrepancy amount.

Step 4: Check for Unpaid Sales

Was a sale rung through the POS but the payment not collected? This would show the sale in the Z-report but no matching money in the drawer or receipts.

Step 5: Check Card Terminal

For card/EFT discrepancies: is there a transaction on the terminal that was not entered in the POS? Or a POS entry with no matching terminal transaction? Compare reference numbers line by line.

Step 6: Time Limit — Escalate

Appendix B — Escalation Guide

The following situations must be escalated. Do not try to resolve these on your own.

Escalation Contacts

NANA BAMBI'S

Night Audit Procedure — SOP-NA-001 — Version 1.0

This document is confidential. For internal use only.

Prepared by Operations. Approved by Management.