Bookkeep petty cash

Set up accounts

Reconcile your petty cash account

Correct a difference between the Wave balance and petty cash balance

Create a transfer

Set up accounts

If you manage a standard amount of cash, like a cash register float, you need to create two accounts in the Chart of Accounts to keep track of this cash.

1. On the left-side menu, select Accounting > Chart of Accounts.
2. Under Cash and Bank, select Add a new account.
3. In the pop-up box, name the account. For this example, it's Cash Box.
4. Click Save.
5. Click the Expenses tab, and under Operating Expenses, select Add a new account.
6. In the pop-up box, name the account Cash Short/Over. This account will keep track of the difference between the cash box and the counted cash when you make a deposit.

Reconcile your petty cash account

To maintain accuracy in your cash box transactions, reconcile your cash box account frequently with your cash records, such as receipts, invoices, or cash logs. Learn to reconcile your accounts.

Correct a difference between the Wave balance and petty cash balance

When dealing with cash, it’s common to have small differences in the change that’s been made. Using a Short/Over account lets you keep an eye on how much these calculation errors are costing your business.

1. On the Reconciliation page, within your reconciliation period, click Add transaction.
• Add a withdrawal if the amount you counted is less than the amount showing in your Wave balance (short).
• Add a deposit if the amount you counted is more than the amount showing in your Wave reconciliation (over).
2. Change the date of the transaction to the date that you counted the physical cash.
3. The Account is your Cash Box account.
4. In the Category dropdown, if the amount counted is short of the total in Wave (a withdrawal), select Cash Short/Over. If the amount counted is over the total in Wave (a deposit), select Refund for Cash Short/Over.

Create a transfer

Once you have made a cash deposit in the real world, you need to create a transfer to account for the movement from the cash box to your bank account. To create a transfer, read How to create a transfer between two accounts.