Cash register

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National cash register from the end of the 19th century, National History Museum, Sofia. Old National Cash Register.jpg
National cash register from the end of the 19th century, National History Museum, Sofia.

A cash register, sometimes called a till,cashbucker, or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other valuables. A modern cash register is usually attached to a printer that can print out receipts for record-keeping purposes.

Contents

History

Antique crank-operated cash register, with display showing money in French francs and centimes Cmnational1.jpg
Antique crank-operated cash register, with display showing money in French francs and centimes

An early mechanical cash register was invented by James Ritty and John Birch following the American Civil War. James was the owner of a saloon in Dayton, Ohio, US, and wanted to stop employees from pilfering his profits. [3] The Ritty Model I was invented in 1879 after seeing a tool that counted the revolutions of the propeller on a steamship. [4] With the help of James' brother John Ritty, they patented it in 1883. [5] [6] It was called Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier and it was invented to stop cashiers from pilfering and eliminate employee theft and embezzlement. [7]

Early mechanical registers were entirely mechanical, without receipts. The employee was required to ring up every transaction on the register, and when the total key was pushed, the drawer opened and a bell would ring, alerting the manager to a sale taking place. Those original machines were nothing but simple adding machines.

Since the registration is done with the process of returning change, according to Bill Bryson odd pricing came about because by charging odd amounts like 49 and 99 cents (or 45 and 95 cents when nickels are more used than pennies), the cashier very probably had to open the till for the penny change and thus announce the sale. [8]

Shortly after the patent, Ritty became overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running two businesses, so he sold all of his interests in the cash register business to Jacob H. Eckert of Cincinnati, a china and glassware salesman, who formed the National Manufacturing Company. In 1884 Eckert sold the company to John H. Patterson, who renamed the company the National Cash Register Company and improved the cash register by adding a paper roll to record sales transactions, thereby creating the journal for internal bookkeeping purposes, and the receipt for external bookkeeping purposes. The original purpose of the receipt was enhanced fraud protection. The business owner could read the receipts to ensure that cashiers charged customers the correct amount for each transaction and did not embezzle the cash drawer. [9] It also prevents a customer from defrauding the business by falsely claiming receipt of a lesser amount of change or a transaction that never happened in the first place. The first evidence of an actual cash register was used in Coalton, Ohio, at the old mining company.

In 1906, while working at the National Cash Register company, inventor Charles F. Kettering designed a cash register with an electric motor.

A leading designer, builder, manufacturer, seller and exporter of cash registers from the 1950s until the 1970s was London-based (and later Brighton-based [10] ) Gross Cash Registers Ltd., [11] [12] founded by brothers Sam and Henry Gross. Their cash registers were particularly popular around the time of decimalisation in Britain in early 1971, Henry having designed one of the few known models of cash register which could switch currencies from £sd to £p so that retailers could easily change from one to the other on or after Decimal Day. Sweda also had decimal-ready registers where the retailer used a special key on Decimal Day for the conversion.

In current use

Various types of modern cash registers. Moderncashregisters.jpg
Various types of modern cash registers.

In some jurisdictions the law also requires customers to collect the receipt and keep it at least for a short while after leaving the shop, [13] [14] again to check that the shop records sales, so that it cannot evade sales taxes.

Often cash registers are attached to scales, barcode scanners, checkstands, and debit card or credit card terminals. Increasingly, dedicated cash registers are being replaced with general purpose computers with POS software.

Today, point of sale systems scan the barcode (usually EAN or UPC) for each item, retrieve the price from a database, calculate deductions for items on sale (or, in British retail terminology, "special offer", "multibuy" or "buy one, get one free"), calculate the sales tax or VAT, calculate differential rates for preferred customers, actualize inventory, time and date stamp the transaction, record the transaction in detail including each item purchased, record the method of payment, keep totals for each product or type of product sold as well as total sales for specified periods, and do other tasks as well. These POS terminals will often also identify the cashier on the receipt, and carry additional information or offers.

Currently, many cash registers are individual computers. They may be running traditionally in-house software or general purpose software such as DOS. Many of the newer ones have touch screens. They may be connected to computerized point of sale networks using any type of protocol. Such systems may be accessed remotely for the purpose of obtaining records or troubleshooting. Many businesses also use tablet computers as cash registers, utilizing the sale system as downloadable app-software. [15]

Cash drawer

Old Canadian general store shopping register model, City of Surrey Museum, British Columbia, Canada Old Cdn general store register.jpg
Old Canadian general store shopping register model, City of Surrey Museum, British Columbia, Canada

A cash drawer is usually a compartment underneath a cash register in which the cash from transactions is kept. The drawer typically contains a removable till. The till is usually a plastic or wooden tray divided into compartments used to store each denomination of bank notes and coins separately in order to make counting easier. The removable till allows money to be removed from the sales floor to a more secure location for counting and creating bank deposits. Some modern cash drawers are individual units separate from the rest of the cash register.

A cash drawer is usually of strong construction and may be integral with the register or a separate piece that the register sits atop. It slides in and out of its lockable box and is secured by a spring-loaded catch. When a transaction that involves cash is completed, the register sends an electrical impulse to a solenoid to release the catch and open the drawer. Cash drawers that are integral to a stand-alone register often have a manual release catch underneath to open the drawer in the event of a power failure. More advanced cash drawers have eliminated the manual release in favor of a cylinder lock, requiring a key to manually open the drawer. The cylinder lock usually has several positions: locked, unlocked, online (will open if an impulse is given), and release. The release position is an intermittent position with a spring to push the cylinder back to the unlocked position. In the "locked" position, the drawer will remain latched even when an electric impulse is sent to the solenoid.

Some cash drawers are designed to store notes upright & facing forward, instead of the traditional flat and front to back position. This allows more varieties of notes to be stored. Some cash drawers are flip top in design, where they flip open instead of sliding out like an ordinary drawer, resembling a cashbox instead. [16]

A cash register's drawer can only be opened by an instruction from the cash register except when using special keys, generally held by the owner and some employees (e.g. manager). This reduces the amount of contact most employees have with cash and other valuables. It also reduces risks of an employee taking money from the drawer without a record and the owner's consent, such as when a customer does not expressly ask for a receipt but still has to be given change (cash is more easily checked against recorded sales than inventory). Cash registers include a key labeled "No Sale", abbreviated "NS" on many modern electronic cash registers. Its function is to open the drawer, printing a receipt stating "No Sale" and recording in the register log that the register was opened. Some cash registers require a numeric password or physical key to be used when attempting to open the till.

Management functions

An often used non-sale function is the aforementioned "no sale". In case of needing to correct change given to the customer, or to make change from a neighboring register, this function will open the cash drawer of the register. Where non-management staff are given access, management can scrutinize the count of "no sales" in the log to look for suspicious patterns. Generally requiring a management key, besides programming prices into the register, are the report functions. An X-report will read the current sales figures from memory and produce a paper printout. A Z-report will act like an "X" report, except that counters will be reset to zero.

Manual input

Modern cash register with touchscreen interface ADMAS1.jpg
Modern cash register with touchscreen interface

Registers will typically feature a numerical pad, QWERTY or custom keyboard, touch screen interface, or a combination of these input methods for the cashier to enter products and fees by hand and access information necessary to complete the sale. For older registers as well as at restaurants and other establishments that do not sell barcoded items, the manual input may be the only method of interacting with the register. While customization was previously limited to larger chains that could afford to have physical keyboards custom-built for their needs, the customization of register inputs is now more widespread with the use of touch screens that can display a variety of point of sale software.

Scanner

Modern point-of-sale system with stationary barcode scanner below the monitor, installed at NSK Trade City branch in Kota Damansara, Malaysia. NSK Trade City Kota Damansara - Cashier Counter.jpg
Modern point-of-sale system with stationary barcode scanner below the monitor, installed at NSK Trade City branch in Kota Damansara, Malaysia.

Modern cash registers may be connected to a handheld or stationary barcode reader so that a customer's purchases can be more rapidly scanned than would be possible by keying numbers into the register by hand. The use of scanners should also help prevent errors that result from manually entering the product's barcode or pricing. At grocers, the register's scanner may be combined with a scale for measuring product that is sold by weight.

Receipt printer

Cashiers are often required to provide a receipt to the customer after a purchase has been made. Registers typically use thermal printers to print receipts, although older dot matrix printers are still in use at some retailers. Alternatively, retailers can forgo issuing paper receipts in some jurisdictions by instead asking the customer for an email to which their receipt can be sent. The receipts of larger retailers tend to include unique barcodes or other information identifying the transaction so that the receipt can be scanned to facilitate returns or other customer services.

Security deactivation

In stores that use electronic article surveillance, a pad or other surface will be attached to the register that deactivates security devices embedded in or attached to the items being purchased. This will prevent a customer's purchase from setting off security alarms at the store's exit.

Self-service cash register

Self-checkout machine at Home Depot store, Pin Oak, Houston, Texas HomeDepotPinOakHoustonselfcheckout.jpg
Self-checkout machine at Home Depot store, Pin Oak, Houston, Texas

Some corporations and supermarkets have introduced self-checkout machines, where the customer is trusted to scan the barcodes (or manually identify uncoded items like fruit), and place the items into a bagging area. [17] The bag is weighed, and the machine halts the checkout when the weight of something in the bag does not match the weight in the inventory database. Normally, an employee is watching over several such checkouts to prevent theft or exploitation of the machines' weaknesses (for example, intentional misidentification of expensive produce or dry goods). Payment on these machines is accepted by debit card/credit card, or cash via coin slot and bank note scanner. Store employees are also needed to authorize "age-restricted" purchases, such as alcohol, solvents or knives, which can either be done remotely by the employee observing the self-checkout, or by means of a "store login" which the operator has to enter.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point of sale</span> Time and place where a retail transaction is completed

The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt for the transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoplifting</span> Theft of goods from a retail establishment

Shoplifting, shop theft, retail theft, or retail fraud is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items from the store and leave the store wearing the clothes. The terms shoplifting and shoplifter are not usually defined in law. The crime of shoplifting generally falls under the legal classification of larceny. Shoplifting is distinct from burglary, robbery, or armed robbery. In the retail industry, the word shrinkage can be used to refer to merchandise lost by shoplifting, but the word also includes loss by other means, such as waste, uninsured damage to products and theft by store employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cashier</span> Person who exchanges money for goods at a store

A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the context of accountancy for the person responsible for receiving and disbursing money or within branch banking in the United Kingdom for the job known in the United States as a bank teller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Receipt</span> Written acknowledgment that a person has received money or property in payment

A receipt is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or property in payment following a sale or other transfer of goods or provision of a service. All receipts must have the date of purchase on them. If the recipient of the payment is legally required to collect sales tax or VAT from the customer, the amount would be added to the receipt, and the collection would be deemed to have been on behalf of the relevant tax authority. In many countries, a retailer is required to include the sales tax or VAT in the displayed price of goods sold, from which the tax amount would be calculated at the point of sale and remitted to the tax authorities in due course. Similarly, amounts may be deducted from amounts payable, as in the case of taxes withheld from wages. On the other hand, tips or other gratuities that are given by a customer, for example in a restaurant, would not form part of the payment amount or appear on the receipt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retail loss prevention</span> Practices to reduce loss of goods in retail stores

Retail loss prevention is a set of practices employed by retail companies to preserve profit. Loss prevention is mainly found within the retail sector but also can be found within other business environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-checkout</span> Machine for customers to complete a retail transaction

Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that provide a mechanism for customers to complete their own transaction from a retailer without needing a traditional staffed checkout. When using SCOs, customers scan item barcodes before paying for their total shop without needing one-to-one staff assistance. Self-checkouts are used mainly in supermarkets, although they are not uncommon in department or convenience stores. Most self-checkout areas are supervised by at least one staff member, often assisting customers process transactions, correcting prices, or otherwise providing service.

Cashier balancing is a process usually conducted in businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants and banks that takes place at the closing of the business day or at the end of a cashier's shift. This balancing process makes the cashier responsible for the money in their cash register.

Debit card cashback is a service offered to retail customers whereby an amount is added to the total purchase price of a transaction paid by debit card and the customer receives that amount in cash along with the purchase. For example, a customer purchasing $18.99 worth of goods at a supermarket might ask for twenty dollars cashback. The customer would approve a debit payment of $38.99 to the store, and the cashier would then give the customer $20 in cash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrinkage (accounting)</span> When a retailer has fewer items in stock than in the inventory list

In accounting, shrinkage or shrink occurs when a retailer has fewer items in stock than were expected by the inventory list. This can be caused by clerical error, or from goods being damaged, lost, or stolen between the point of manufacture and the point of sale. High shrinkage can adversely affect a retailer's profit.

The Inventory Information Approval System, or IIAS, is a point-of-sale technology used by retailers that accept FSA debit cards, which are issued for use with medical flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), and some health savings accounts (HSAs) in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banking agent</span>

A banking agent is a retail or postal outlet contracted by a financial institution or a mobile network operator to process clients’ transactions. Rather than a branch teller, it is the owner or an employee of the retail outlet who conducts the transaction and lets clients deposit, withdraw, transfer funds, pay their bills, inquire about an account balance, or receive government benefits or a direct deposit from their employer. Banking agents can be pharmacies, supermarkets, convenience stores, lottery outlets, post offices, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon Fresh</span> Grocery store chain and delivery service operated by Amazon.com

Amazon Fresh is a subsidiary of the American e-commerce company Amazon in Seattle, Washington. It is a grocery retailer with physical stores and delivery services in most major U.S. cities, as well as some international cities, such as Berlin, Hamburg, London, Milan, Munich, Rome, Tokyo, and some other locations in Singapore and India.

Return fraud is the act of defrauding a retail store by means of the return process. There are various ways in which this crime is committed. For example, the offender may return stolen merchandise to secure cash, steal receipts or receipt tape to enable a falsified return, or use somebody else's receipt to try to return an item picked up from a store shelf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Product return</span>

In retail, a product return is the process of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the retailer, and in turn receiving a refund in the original form of payment, exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ShopKeep</span>

ShopKeep by Lightspeed is a cloud-based iPad point of sale (POS) system headquartered in New York, NY. Founded in 2008, its POS system is used by more than 23,000 small businesses in the United States and Canada, most of which are retail shops, coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. The system allows merchants to ring up sales, print or email receipts, pop a cash drawer, accept credit cards and print remotely to the kitchen right from an iPad or Android tablet. The web-based BackOffice allows inventory, employee, and customer management, and analytics and reporting. The smartphone dashboard app allows merchants to view real-time store sales remotely.

Payanywhere is a payments platform and app that allows merchants in the United States to accept credit and debit card payments while building customer relationships in-store, online, or on the go. Merchants may accept payments on their smartphone via a Bluetooth card reader or on an in-store “Storefront” solution featuring a tablet and stand, which was introduced on April 8, 2014. PayAnywhere offers credit card readers and apps that are compatible with both Apple and Android devices.

I Love Velvet is a global provider of hardware and software for mobile point of sale (mPOS) transactions and value-added retail services. I Love Velvet manufactures and sells merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service mPOS systems to the entertainment, retail, hospitality, and automotive industries.

Fiscalization is a system designed to avoid retailer fraud in the retail sector. It involves using special cash registers or software to accurately report sales, helping prevent tax evasion. Fiscalization laws about cash registers have been introduced in various countries to control the grey economy by ensuring that all retail transactions are properly recorded and taxed, thereby reducing the possibility of fraud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon Go</span> Convenience store chain operated by Amazon.com

Amazon Go is a chain of convenience stores in the United States and the United Kingdom, operated by the online retailer Amazon. The stores are cashierless, thus partially automated, with customers able to purchase products without being checked out by a cashier or using a self-checkout station. As of 2023, there are 43 open and announced store locations in Seattle, Chicago, London and New York City.

The Scanner Price Accuracy Code is a Canadian retail voluntary practice managed by the Retail Council of Canada and endorsed by the Competition Bureau. It was introduced in June 2002 as Canadian retailers were in the midst of updating their point-of-sale systems with barcode readers to "foster consumer confidence" with the new systems. It provides consumers with compensation for items with an incorrectly scanned price.

References

  1. ↑ "Cash register vs. POS system –what's the difference?". June 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ "How to Choose a POS Cash Register".
  3. ↑ Cash and Credit Registers, National Museum of American History.
  4. ↑ "Replica of the Ritty Model 1 Cash Register". National Museum of American History . Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ "On This Day". The New York Times . January 30, 2002. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Inventor of the Week: Archive". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. April 2002. Archived from the original on March 2, 2003. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  7. ↑ Kerr, Gordon (2013). Book of Firsts. RW Press. ISBN   9781909284296.
  8. ↑ Bryson, Bill (1994). Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States . William Morrow Paperbacks. pp.  114–115. ISBN   978-0380713813.
  9. ↑ Brat, Ilan; Zimmerman, Ann (September 2, 2009). "Tale of the Tape: Retailers Take Receipts to Great Lengths". The Wall Street Journal . p. A1. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Forum relating to the manufacturing activities at the Hollingbury industrial estate, Brighton, during 1960s" . Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Gross Cash Registers pictures and company history" . Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Gross Cash Registers". BBC. 1980.
  13. ↑ "Restaurants, paying the bill, receipt, check". Slow Travel Italy. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  14. ↑ "When in Italy, Keep That Receipt!". Roderickconwaymorris.com. April 10, 1992. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ Wingfield, Nick (April 22, 2013). "Tablets transforming the cash register". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ "Cash Drawers". PCS Technology Ltd. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  17. ↑ "IBM Self Checkout Systems". IBM.
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