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Money & Planning

Starting Cash & Change Planner

Will your cash box make it through the first few sales? Count the bills and coins you plan to bring, then test the prices and bills customers might hand you.

US dollars; one bill received per sale. This checks the sales you enter, in their listed order. It cannot predict customer payments or promise that your float will be enough all day.

1. Starting cash

Sample values are shown below, not a recommended float. Enter your own counts (0–200 pieces per denomination).

Starting total: $0.00

2. Test early sales

For example, 7.50, 20 means a $7.50 sale paid with one $20 bill. Include tax and discounts in the final price. Accepted single bills: $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. Up to 30 sales; 2,000 characters.

Your change test

Run the test to see each sale and the remaining cash.

How to test a starting cash float

  1. Count the bills and coins you plan to bring. The displayed starting total is the cash tied up in your box.
  2. List a few plausible first sales, including the final amount due and a single bill paid. Change is worked out in the order you enter.
  3. If a sale cannot be completed, add useful small denominations, try a different price or payment scenario, and run the test again.

What the test checks

The received bill is placed in the drawer before change is made. For every sale, the tool searches the pieces actually available and uses a combination with the fewest pieces; ties prefer larger denominations. The drawer then carries forward to the next sale. A failed sale is not recorded as completed. The result is specific to these transactions and to this change-giving strategy.

What it does not estimate

It does not assume customer payment patterns, card sales, tips, sales tax rates or a preferred minimum reserve. If there are no pennies in your box, enter zero for 1¢ and use the final cash prices that apply to your sale; no cash-rounding rule is applied automatically. The US Mint says existing pennies remain legal tender even after circulating production ended.

Starting cash FAQ

Does this calculate how much cash I should bring?

It totals the denominations you enter and tests that starting mix against your sample sales. It does not predict what bills customers will bring.

Are the prices before or after tax?

Enter the final amount actually charged for each cash sale, after tax and discounts.

What if I do not have pennies?

Set the 1¢ count to zero and enter your actual final cash prices. The tool does not assume a rounding policy.

Does the received bill become available for change?

Yes. It goes into the drawer before the tool tries to make exact change.

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