The Basics

Most call it a cash drawer, others call it a till, a cash register or a cash box.

A cash drawer is a box with a locked drawer inside. A spring-based mechanism opens the drawer.

Working with Printers

Standard cash drawers do not require power and must be connected to a receipt printer to open automatically. If you don’t want to use a printer, you will have to open it manually using the key in the lock.

Cash drawers come with a RJ11/RJ12 cable that connects to the back of the receipt printer. When the staff press “Open cash drawer,” “No sale,” or “Cash payment” on the point-of-sale screen, the software sends a signal to the printer which triggers the cash drawer opening (even if no receipt is printed, which is a setting you set in your POS software).

There are other types of connectivity that legacy systems use (RS232, Serial/USB), but these are not compatible with tablet, cloud-based systems so we don’t have them available for purchase online.

Functionality & Design

Opening: Front opening (for under the counter) and top opening (flip-top) are the two main types of cash drawers available for purchase.

Colour: Tills usually come in black, grey or white.

Material: Most cash drawers are made of steel and plastic.

Inserts: The cash drawer insert is a plastic-made tray which is placed inside the drawer to fit coins and notes in adequate sections. Typical inserts for UK merchants have 4 Flat note clips, 8 upright note clips & 8 coin slots.

Quality

There are different quality levels of cash drawers. The price is not necessarily the best indicator of this as distributors tend to overprice their cash drawers.

At StoreKit, we generally recommend our generic StoreKit Medium Cash Drawer or equivalent, which is an affordable cash drawer with 1 year warranty and low rates of failures/returns. It is suitable for most merchants.

High-durability cash drawers are available at a premium, but are not typically readily in stock. Get in touch to discuss our options.

Security

Putting your cash drawer under the counter is the standard best practice. You can do this using brackets that fit the size of your cash drawer.

Tip: At night, place your cash drawer open and empty in the display window of your shop to discourage thieves!

Who can open the cash drawer?

Anyone who has the key or any of the people you give that authorization to in the permission settings of your point-of-sale software can open your cash drawer.

Alternatives

99% of cash drawers are “dumb devices” that are simply built to open and close thousands of times; for most businesses, that’s all you want them to do. However, there are other types of cash drawers which can be used for more complex needs:

• Bluetooth cash drawers: These models can connect to the point-of-sale directly and do not require a printer. Ask your software company about compatibility, as it all depends on their ability to integrate with a Bluetooth cash drawer.
• All-In-One cash drawers: These devices typically combine a cash drawer with a receipt printer among other peripherals in a more attractive shell. For example, the Star mPOP and Elo PayPoint. Before purchasing, have a look and make sure the drawer space is large enough for the needs of your business.
• Intelligent: More heavy duty and far more expensive, you can find “Intelligent” cash drawers combining features such as:
  • Counting cash in real-time for payment received
  • Receiving and handling cash/change from/to the customer automatically, avoiding physical contact between the staff and cash, which is both safer and more hygienic
  • Managing your end-of-day process

Accessories

Replacement Keys: You’ll probably only realise a spare set of keys would be handy when it’s too late.

Additional Inserts: Buying an additional insert for your cash drawer can help with cash management and speeding up shift changes if you’re cashing up between servers.

Mounting Brackets: Most drawers will have mounting bracket options, typically designed to help mounting the drawer underneath your counter-top.