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What are the Duties of a Cashier?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

The duties of a cashier may vary from store to store. The term cashier is very broad and can encompass those who operate registers at retail or grocery stores, to those who occasionally handle money as part of a business. This means duties of a cashier will range, but there are some potential expected responsibilities including ringing up sales, taking returns, issuing receipts, counting out change, and running registers or any other equipment needed to process incoming payments.

A number of cashier jobs involve ringing up sales. In many grocery and retail stores this could mean using a handheld or counter scanner to scan each item so its price is accurately reflected. Sometimes items aren’t immediately available for scanning, such as food in a fast food restaurant. The duties of the a cashier might then involve hitting buttons that signify the type of food purchased, this is the case in many fast food establishments, or simply putting in the price of the items that are being purchased. In lots of mom and pop retail establishments this method may be used instead of any form of scanning method.

Cashiers run and confirm credit cards.
Cashiers run and confirm credit cards.

People may also need to take returns, which could mean ringing up a sale in a backward manner so that the cash drawer will open to give out money back. Alternately, returns don’t always result in money back, and the duties of a cashier could include filling out receipts for store credit or making exchanges. Not all cashiers are permitted to do returns, and this responsibility may need to be given to supervisory staff or management.

A cashier uses a handheld barcode scanner to check the price on an item.
A cashier uses a handheld barcode scanner to check the price on an item.

Counting out change accurately is one of the very important duties of a cashier. Some registers assess sale and tell people exactly what to give back in change. Others don’t do this and people must be able to appropriately calculate change on the spot and make certain this exact amount is given. It is very easy to over or undercount, which can make it look like the cashier is not accurate or is taking money from the register. Since people want to avoid this appearance, they need to get skilled at simple math and how to count out change.

A cashier makes change for a customer.
A cashier makes change for a customer.

With change, cashiers will also need to issue receipts for purchases. Many people depend on getting these so they can keep track of expenses. Usually, giving a receipt is just a matter of remembering to do so, but sometimes receipts won’t print and a cashier could have to replace receipt paper or take other steps.

Another of the duties of a cashier is to know how to operate all equipment that takes money and know the protocol for accepting different forms of payment. This could mean cashiers have to understand how to process an ATM or charge purchase. Learning how and what kinds of checks to accept is another responsibility.

Cashiers check to make sure money from customers is not counterfeit.
Cashiers check to make sure money from customers is not counterfeit.

To these common duties of a cashier there may be added a number of additional elements. Some cashiers are responsible for bookkeeping and need to make sure that all purchases add accurately to totals in the cash drawer at the end of each day or each shift. A few cashiers even go to the bank and make deposits of store money after their shifts.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon151542

I think there should be a union for cashiers. There are no limits or guidelines to which employers have to follow. Which leave it wide open for unreasonable work loads at minimum wage.

sunshine31

Oasis11- The duties of a receptionist are similar to that of a customer service counter. The receptionist duties include greeting the customer and asking how you could help them.

Sometimes in service oriented business the receptionist is instructed to offer a beverage such as coffee or water. This is common practice in high end salons.

oasis11

Icecream17-The duties of customer service with in a department store not only include making sure the customer found everything they needed, but offering gift wrap as a special service during the holidays.

Sometimes the customer service counter processes customer returns. It is important to try to offer a substitute item so that the store still saves the sale.

Also, customers really want a no hassle return with a friendly face. The customer service duties also include maintaining a sense of calm when there is a dispute. This is important because it is tempting to lose your temper and engage in an argument with a customer which is a losing situation. These are the main duties of a customer service counter.

icecream17

Suntan12-The job description of a cashier is the ability to stand for long period of times and ring up customers when they are ready to checkout.

Sometimes the job duties of a cashier include credit solicitations and reward card solicitations. Often cashiers are given instant credit goals and sign up goals for rewards cards.

For example, when I go to Pet Supermarket, the cashier always asks if I have a V.I.P. card which offers a free bag of dog or cat food upon the purchase of the 10th bag.

Many companies offer the frequent buyer incentives in order to develop repeat business from existing clientele.

Cashier job openings are highest at the fourth quarter. Retailers often have 50 to 70% of total sales revenue to produce during that time frame. Some seasonal cashiers are even offer permanent positions after the holidays if their performance is good.

suntan12

Anon52054-Usually cashier's earn minimum wage, so depending on your state that should give you an idea of how much they earn. Job duties of a cashier include processing transactions with customers.

Often a cashier has to physically separate the monetary bills that he or she if offered so that she will not get confused when giving back the proper change.

Cashiers are also trained to do one thing at a time. There are some customers that actually try to confuse the cashier in order to have her give back too much change.

These scammers are con artists that usually take advantage of busy seasons when people are already a bit disoriented.

The main responsibility of a cashier is really to balance their till and perform excellent customer service. Usually a cashier is the last person that a customer sees so, this person will leave a lasting impression regarding the business.

anon52054

how much do you get paid in a month?

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    • Cashiers run and confirm credit cards.
      By: Andrey Bandurenko
      Cashiers run and confirm credit cards.
    • A cashier uses a handheld barcode scanner to check the price on an item.
      By: mrkob
      A cashier uses a handheld barcode scanner to check the price on an item.
    • A cashier makes change for a customer.
      By: Lisa F. Young
      A cashier makes change for a customer.
    • Cashiers check to make sure money from customers is not counterfeit.
      By: Yuri Tuchkov
      Cashiers check to make sure money from customers is not counterfeit.
    • Taking money, distributing proper change and handing out receipts are just some duties performed by cashiers.
      By: Kadmy
      Taking money, distributing proper change and handing out receipts are just some duties performed by cashiers.
    • A head cashier may handle returns and exchanges and help deal with disgruntled customers.
      By: michaeljung
      A head cashier may handle returns and exchanges and help deal with disgruntled customers.
    • In a small restaurant, a cashier may not only run the register but also serve drinks and food.
      By: bst2012
      In a small restaurant, a cashier may not only run the register but also serve drinks and food.