Cash book

What it means

The cash book records cash received and paid in date order with a daily balance. Every entry rests on a cash document or an eKasa receipt.

The balance can never go negative, not even for a day. A negative till means either a missing receipt or a payment booked before the money actually left.

The cash book captures every movement of cash, not just takings: a deposit to the bank, an ATM withdrawal, an advance to an employee for a purchase. eKasa, by contrast, records only sales to customers. Every transfer between the till and the bank therefore appears twice, in the book and on the bank statement, and the two must agree.

How it works in practice

The balance is verified physically during the stocktake, at least at year end. Any difference is posted as a shortage or surplus and pinned to the person responsible.

The law caps cash payments between businesses. Exceeding the limit is an offence even where the transaction is otherwise impeccable and properly booked.

A company that pays cash in euros and in a foreign currency keeps a separate cash account for each currency. The foreign currency till is translated at the exchange rate, and revaluing it at the balance sheet date produces an FX difference that has to be posted even though nothing happened to the cash.

What to watch out for

A large till balance is a red flag in a tax audit: it suggests the cash does not physically exist and is covering withdrawals by an owner.

Unsettled cash advances to employees are another common problem. Cash handed out for a purchase or a trip with no receipt coming back stays in the books as a receivable from the employee, and an audit asks whether it is a disguised payment. The settlement deadline is set by internal policy and, for business trips, by the travel allowances act as well.