End-of-day closeout checklist for service businesses (10 minutes a night)

Short answer: Every night, in this order: close open tickets, finalize tips, count cash against the system, close the card batch, review the day's voids and refunds, then check tomorrow's appointments. Doing it daily catches mistakes while everyone still remembers.

The 8-step checklist

1. Close open tickets: no client should leave with their ticket still open.
2. Finalize tips: record cash tips to the right staff member.
3. Count cash: subtract the starting float and compare with cash in the system.
4. Match card totals: POS card total equals terminal total.
5. Close the batch: send card transactions to settle so deposits arrive on time.
6. Review voids and refunds: every void, refund and large discount should have a reason.
7. Read the daily report: revenue, client count, revenue by staff member.
8. Prepare for tomorrow: check appointments, who's working, and who needs a confirmation call.

Numbers worth a nightly look

• Service revenue, retail and gift cards sold.
• Booked clients versus walk-ins.
• Average ticket.
• No-shows.

When numbers don't match

• Cash short: look for cash tickets switched to card or voided after payment.
• Terminal shows more card than POS: someone typed a charge directly into the terminal.
• POS shows more card than terminal: a ticket was marked card but paid cash, or the card was declined.

Permissions and an activity log make the cause easy to find. Kashela requires a manager for voids and refunds, logs who did what, and includes a daily report with one-tap batch close. Read what batch closing is.