Cash integrity

Is staff stealing money from the till?

That question keeps owners awake. Sometimes the answer is yes. Often the first signal is a short till, odd voids, or a gut feel after a busy shift. Handle it like operations — document, verify, then act — not like a TV crime show.

Short answer

Treat “staff stealing money from the till” as a hypothesis until process and evidence say otherwise. Lock down shared drawers and cash counts first. Then look for recurring POS events (voids, no-sales, cash refunds) that line up with camera footage of the drawer. Only then decide whether this is training, process failure, or misconduct.

Confirm you’re looking at cash integrity, not noise

• Is the shortage random across the week, or clustered by shift / person / time?
• Are voids and no-sales rising when sales look flat?
• Is the float counted the same way every open and close?

If the drawer is shared and counting is casual, fix that before accusing anyone. Start with why is my till always short.

Practical next steps (ops, not amateur PI)

• Assign drawer ownership where staffing allows.
• Log exceptions. Every void and no-sale should have a brief reason — culture of notes beats culture of silence.
• Review clips with context. Pull the exact timestamp for the odd POS event and watch that window only. You’re checking the drawer moment, not stalking a shift.
• Talk to HR / Fair Work guidance before you terminate or accuse in writing if you’re in Australia — process matters as much as the clip.

Related: signs of employee theft and how to catch employee theft.

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