Not every handoff means closing the drawer. If your afternoon person is taking over for your morning person, a shift change lets you transfer the drawer without running end-of-day reports, printing Z-tapes, or doing any of the closing-out ceremony. It’s a clean pass of the baton — the drawer stays open, business keeps moving.
How It Works #
Think of a shift change as a snapshot: the outgoing employee counts what’s in the drawer, TORO compares that to what should be there, and the drawer transfers to the incoming employee. No closing, no reopening. Just a documented handoff.
Starting the Shift Change #
Tap Shift Change from the main screen or find it in the Dashboard under Drawer Functions. If your store requires it, you’ll enter your PIN to verify who’s doing the count.
Counting the Cash #
This works the same way as an opening or closing count:
Bills ($1, $5, $10, $20) — enter the count of each denomination. Five $10 bills? Type 5, not 50. TORO handles the multiplication.
Large Bills ($50s and $100s) — enter the total dollar amount of all large bills combined. Two $100s and a $50? Type 250.
Coins — you’ll see fields for loose coins and rolled coins, broken out by denomination. Enter counts for loose, number of rolls for rolled. TORO knows the standard roll values.
The Comparison #
Once you’ve entered everything, TORO shows you three numbers:
- Your Count — what you just tallied
- Expected Cash — what should be in the drawer based on all the transactions since the last count
- Difference — the gap between the two
A zero difference is ideal. But if you’re a dollar or two off, don’t stress — it happens. That’s what the notes field is for.
Adding Notes #
If there’s a discrepancy, type a quick explanation. “Gave $5 change from personal wallet” or “Coin roll was short.” These notes get permanently attached to the shift change record and are visible to management when they review the day’s activity.
Completing the Handoff #
Tap OK to submit the count. The incoming employee can then confirm the total or do their own recount if they’d like. Once confirmed, the drawer officially belongs to the new employee and their shift begins.
Both employees should ideally be present for the handoff. It protects everyone — the outgoing person isn’t responsible for anything that happens after, and the incoming person knows exactly what they’re starting with.
What Makes This Different from Closing #
This is an important distinction. A shift change does not:
- Print end-of-day reports
- Run closing checklists
- Reset the drawer for a new business day
- Trigger any closing-related notifications
It’s purely a transfer of responsibility. The drawer stays in play, transactions keep flowing, and the day continues as normal.
Good to Know #
- You can do multiple shift changes in a single day. Morning to afternoon, afternoon to evening — each one gets tracked separately.
- Every shift change is logged with timestamps, employee names, counted totals, and any notes. Management can review these anytime.
- Depending on your store’s settings, manager access may be required to initiate or approve a shift change.
- The difference between expected and actual is recorded and feeds into your over/short tracking, so patterns become visible over time.
