What is the shift balance, and how is it useful to me?
A shift balance is a report which displays a breakdown of all transactions processed during a shift which you can use to balance off against your expected takings via cash, card etc.
This is useful if you are looking to reduce human error and discourage fraudulent behaviour by having a paper trail which provides accountability.
Opting in to use Shift Balance
Note: The shift balance report comes as a component of the financial reports module. You must have this module enabled to begin using the shift balance.
The shift balance is an opt-in feature, meaning that you will have to manually enable this feature on your property. To opt-in, follow these steps:
On the right-hand side menu, go to Reports > Financial Reports.
Scroll down to a section titled 'Shift Balance'. Here you will be met with the option to opt-in to use the shift balance. Press the button labelled Opt-in.
Note: You will need to contact us if at later date you decide to opt-out of the shift balance system.
Using the Shift Balance
Now that you are opted-in, the diary will now enforce restrictions imposed by the shift balance system. The primary restriction to keep in mind is that if a user has not started their shift, they will not be able to process any payments or refunds on the system. They may still attach existing payments or refunds, but they can't create new ones or delete existing ones.
There are several ways to start a shift:
Go to Reports > Financial Reports. Scroll down to the Shift Balance section and press the Start Shift button. You can also end the shift from here.
On the Dashboard, open the user options dropdown by clicking on your username, and select the Start Shift option. You can also end the shift from here.
When adding payments or refunds, you will be prompted to start a shift to proceed, as shown in the above GIF.
Once you have entered a shift, you can freely manage payments and refunds on the system. Any creation or removal of payments and refunds will be recorded in the shift balance report which will be generated once you end your shift. You may also preview the report while the shift is ongoing. The shift balance report will be familiar if you have been using the Cashflow report.
Shift balance reports are stored in our system and can be viewed at any time under the Shift Balance History part of the shift balance section on the financial reports page.
You will know if you are on shift by checking if the On Shift badge is shown beside your name. If a shift has been ongoing for longer than 8 hours, you will be reminded of the shift in case you have forgotten about it.
That's it for shift balance. Feel free to enquire about any questions you may have.