Petty cash software for restaurants that spend cash every day
A restaurant spends small amounts of cash all day, and most of it is never written down. ArfaPOS records every expense next to sales, so the drawer and the books agree at night.
Expenses from the counter or phone
Record each payout with a category, amount and payment method the moment it happens. All plans.
PIN-protected expense entries
Expense PIN security stops a cashier from quietly adding or changing an entry at closing time.
Till open and close per cashier
Each cashier opens and closes their own till, so a shortage points at one shift, not the whole day.
Payroll and salary advances
On Business, salary advances taken from cash go into payroll and come off the next salary.
Double-entry accounts
Business adds payment accounts for cash, bank and mobile wallets, journal entries, a balance sheet and profit and loss.
Where small cash goes in a restaurant
A busy restaurant pays out cash a dozen times a day. The LPG cylinder runs out in the middle of dinner. The cook needs dhaniya and podina. Ice for the drinks fridge. A rickshaw to the sabzi mandi. The plumber who came to fix the sink. Each of these is small, but together they can reach tens of thousands of rupees a month, and they usually come straight out of the sales drawer with a verbal note or a scrap of paper.
This is where most cash mismatches start. The drawer is short by Rs 2,000 and the cashier says it went on ice and gas. Maybe it did. Without a record, there is no way to know. Petty cash software gives these payments a proper place. If you are new to the term, our glossary explains petty cash and the float method.
How a petty cash float works
- Set a fixed float, for example Rs 20,000, kept separate from the sales drawer.
- Every time cash is paid out, record it in ArfaPOS as an expense with its category and the reason.
- At any point, the cash left plus the recorded spends should equal the float.
- When the float runs low, top it up by exactly the amount spent, so it returns to Rs 20,000.
- Review the expense report by category each week to see what keeps coming up.
A worked example: one week of petty cash
A café in Islamabad starts the week with a Rs 20,000 float. Here is what was recorded:
| Spend | Amount (Rs) |
|---|---|
| LPG cylinder refill | 3,800 |
| Plumber for the kitchen sink | 2,500 |
| Cleaning supplies | 1,350 |
| Ice | 1,200 |
| Staff tea and biscuits | 900 |
| Rickshaw to the market | 600 |
| Dhaniya, podina and lemons | 450 |
| Total recorded | 10,800 |
The float started at Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,800 was recorded, so Rs 9,200 should be left. The manager counts Rs 8,700. The Rs 500 difference is small, but it is now a specific question to ask today, about a specific week, instead of a vague feeling at month end. Usually the answer is a forgotten entry, such as a second rickshaw fare. Sometimes it is not.
To bring the float back to Rs 20,000, you top it up by the Rs 10,800 recorded. The Rs 500 gap is recorded separately as a shortage, so it does not quietly disappear into the next week.
Petty cash and the end of day
When expenses are recorded properly, closing the counter becomes simple. Each cashier's till close shows what they should hold, with sales split by cash, JazzCash, EasyPaisa, card and bank so only the cash part is counted against the drawer. Recorded expenses tell you what went out. The difference should be in the drawer. Our guide on end-of-day cash reconciliation covers the full nightly check.
Rules that keep petty cash honest
- Never pay petty cash from the sales drawer. Keep the float separate so each has its own count.
- Set a limit per payment. Anything above, say, Rs 5,000 goes through as a normal expense approved by the owner.
- Record at the time, not at night. Entries made from memory at closing are where amounts go missing. The manager can add an expense from the tablet or phone on the spot.
- Keep the parchi or receipt where you get one, and note it in the entry.
- Look at the weekly list. If ice costs Rs 1,200 a week in winter, ask why.
Part of a wider finance picture
Expense tracking with categories, tax rates and PIN security is on every ArfaPOS plan. Supplier payments go to supplier ledgers on Growth and Business. On Business, salary advances go through payroll, and double-entry accounting keeps separate payment accounts for cash, bank and mobile wallets, with journal entries, a balance sheet and profit and loss. That means the monthly profit you see already includes the small spends that usually get lost. Owners with more than one outlet can compare spending branch by branch, which is covered on the multi-branch restaurant management page.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between petty cash and expenses?
Petty cash is for small, frequent cash payments from a fixed float, like ice or a rickshaw fare. Expenses also cover larger or regular costs like rent and utility bills. In ArfaPOS both are recorded as expenses with categories, so you can report on them separately.
How big should my petty cash float be?
Look at a normal week's small spends and set the float a little above that. Many small restaurants find Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 enough, but your number depends on your volume.
Can I stop staff from editing expense entries?
Yes. Expense entries can be protected with a PIN, and on Growth and Business role permissions and audit logs control and record who changed what.
Can I record salary advances?
On the Business plan, payroll tracks salary advances, allowances and deductions, so an advance taken from cash is recovered from the next salary.
Which plan do I need for expense tracking?
Expense tracking is on every plan, starting with Starter at Rs 4,999 a month. Payroll and double-entry accounting are on Business.
Related solutions
Restaurant POS software
ArfaPOS gives your cashier a fast billing screen that keeps working when the internet goes, and gives you an admin portal to control the store. Orders reach the kitchen on a screen, stock deducts by recipe, and every day closes with numbers you can check.
Multi-branch restaurant management
When you open a second or third branch, you can no longer stand at every counter. ArfaPOS puts every outlet under one login, so you can see which branch is doing well and which one needs a visit.
Restaurant inventory software
Most restaurants know how much chicken they bought. Few know how much they should have left. ArfaPOS links every menu item to its recipe, so stock moves with sales and the gap shows up early.
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