When you’re first starting your cash accountability process, it’s important to make it simple for yourself and your staff. At the All Systems Go phase, you’ve got a lot going on without a lot of help. Over time, you can finesse your systems and processes to make them more refined and professional, but in this stage, it’s all about taking action.

When we first started accounting for all the cash that came in the gym, we started with a cash box of $200 each night. As we made sales throughout the night and made change for customers, the cash box would accrue more cash and coins. At the end of every night, we counted the box and took out anything that was over $200 (be exact.) We then used a small card to note how much we were “depositing” to the office each night.

I kept all cash in a small safe in the office (this can also be a firesafe or lock box, but just know – it can be more easily stolen if it’s portable). At the end of the week, I would make a deposit at the bank with all the cash. If we needed cash for purchases, I would use the cash and then return the exact change and receipt. This is called “petty cash” and it’s perfectly legal as long as you’re accounting for the sale. Without this receipt, you may not be accounting for the sale (or if it’s accounted for in your class management software but you don’t have a receipt, this is taxed as you can’t show the expense). If you’re not interested in adding up receipts each month, we recommend not using petty cash as you put yourself at a liability for illegal accounting.

HERE is the small form we used. The front desk would put the cash/change in an envelope and complete this form and slide it under the locked door to the office each night as they closed up. Even if it’s 25 cents, get in the habit of doing this every night.