Cash Trays:
Understanding Cash Trays 💵🏦

Managing physical cash is one of the most critical parts of restaurant operations. To help you maintain perfect accuracy and accountability, NX Restaurant utilizes Cash Trays.

This article explains what Cash Trays are and how they help your team manage money securely.

What is a Cash Tray? 🤔

Think of a Cash Drawer as the physical metal box connected to your printer, and a Cash Tray as the specific session of money moving through that box.

Cash Trays allow you to track every penny that enters or leaves a drawer during a specific period (like a shift). Instead of just knowing how much cash the restaurant took in, you know exactly which drawer—and which employees—are responsible for the balance.

How Accountability Works 🛡️

1. Enabling the Requirement

For a Cash Tray to work, a physical drawer must be configured in the NX Portal to Require Cash Tray.

The Rule: If this is turned on, the POS will block any cash payments on that station unless a tray is open and the employee is assigned to it. This prevents "anonymous" cash drops.

2. Employee Assignments

A Cash Tray isn't limited to just one person. You can assign one or more employees to a single tray. This is perfect for a busy bar or a counter-service station where multiple team members share the same till.

What Does a Tray Track? 📈

Throughout the shift, NX automatically records the following against the active tray:

Starting Balance: The "bank" put into the drawer at the start of the shift.
Cash Payments: Every cash transaction performed by assigned staff.
Paid Outs: Any cash taken out of the drawer for supplies or non-order expenses.
Tips Paid Out: If your venue is configured to pay out tips from the drawer (rather than having servers retain them), these "Tips Out" are subtracted from the tray's expected cash.

Closing and Reporting ✅

Once the shift is over, an employee with the Cash Tray: Close permission will count the physical cash and close the tray session.

Closing the tray generates a Cash Tray Report, which is the ultimate tool for managers. This report highlights:

Expected vs. Actual: What the system thinks should be there vs. what was actually counted.
Over/Short: A clear dollar amount showing if the drawer was "up" or "down."
Net Cash: The final amount to be deposited or moved to the safe.

More Info? ℹ️

Need Help? 💡

Why can't I take a cash payment?

You are likely not assigned to an active tray! Ask a manager to open a tray for your station and add your name to the "Assigned Employees" list.

Can I delete a transaction from a tray?

No. To maintain a secure audit trail, all transactions are permanent once finalized. If a mistake was made, use a Paid In or Paid Out to correct the balance and leave a note for the manager.

Still have questions about cash management?

Check out our next article: [How to Open and Assign a Cash Tray] or reach out to your NX Partner for a training session! 🆘✨

Cash Trays: Understanding Cash Trays 💵🏦