A sample page of the actual document
A correct cash-up catches theft, miscounts and till faults at the end of each shift, before they compound and become impossible to trace back to a person or a day. Done the same way every day it gives you the contemporaneous till records HMRC expects, and builds a variance history that tells a one-off mistake apart from a steady leak.
HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 (Record keeping for VAT): 6-year retention; defines the Z-read as the end-of-day breakdown of daily gross takings by VAT rate. HMRC Compliance Handbook CH15200 (6-year VAT period) and CH15300. GOV.UK Self Assessment / business records guidance: 5-year retention for non-VAT sole traders, running from the 31 January submission deadline. Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk) plus Acas guidance: 3-year tipping record and the 4-week deadline to respond to a worker's request. Card terminal settlement and acquirer batch reconciliation per UK acquirer guidance (e.g. Worldpay, Takepayments). Overnight cash limits set by the safe's insurance cash rating (EN 1143-1), per UK money-insurance policy conditions.
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What’s on it
Everything that matters, nothing that does not. Here is the full list, exactly as it appears on the template.
Good to know
The Z-read permanently resets the till and cannot be undone. The classic mistake is running it by accident mid-shift: every sale after that lands in the next day's figures, leaving a gap that is genuinely hard to unpick. Run the Z-read only once trading is fully closed for the session, and always before you count the cash, so the report and the drawer cover exactly the same takings.
Source: HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 (Record keeping for VAT): 6-year retention; defines the Z-read as the end-of-day breakdown of daily gross takings by VAT rate. HMRC Compliance Handbook CH15200 (6-year VAT period) and CH15300. GOV.UK Self Assessment / business records guidance: 5-year retention for non-VAT sole traders, running from the 31 January submission deadline. Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk) plus Acas guidance: 3-year tipping record and the 4-week deadline to respond to a worker's request. Card terminal settlement and acquirer batch reconciliation per UK acquirer guidance (e.g. Worldpay, Takepayments). Overnight cash limits set by the safe's insurance cash rating (EN 1143-1), per UK money-insurance policy conditions.
Good to know
A correct cash-up catches theft, miscounts and till faults at the end of each shift, before they compound and become impossible to trace back to a person or a day. Done the same way every day it gives you the contemporaneous till records HMRC expects, and builds a variance history that tells a one-off mistake apart from a steady leak.
The Z-read permanently resets the till and cannot be undone. The classic mistake is running it by accident mid-shift: every sale after that lands in the next day's figures, leaving a gap that is genuinely hard to unpick. Run the Z-read only once trading is fully closed for the session, and always before you count the cash, so the report and the drawer cover exactly the same takings.
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This checklist stops the two failures that close kitchens: food sitting in the danger zone (8 to 63 degrees C) long enough for bacteria to multiply, and staff working from memory instead of a record an Environmental Health Officer can read back. A weak opening compromises food before the first order; a rushed close lets fridges drift, pests settle, and yesterday's record go unsigned.
A proper opening check, done before the first customer or the first food is touched, is your strongest defence against a poor Food Hygiene Rating, a customer falling ill, or an enforcement notice. The Environmental Health Officer scores how well you manage safety every day, not just on inspection day, so a signed daily record that proves you check temperatures, allergens and sickness exclusion is what protects the rating and the business.
A closing checklist stops the overnight failures that trigger enforcement notices, voided insurance claims, and food poisoning: fridges drifting above 8C unnoticed, hot food cooled too slowly, gas left on, fire exits blocked, and cash left out. These are the specific things an EHO inspector or an insurer's loss adjuster looks for, and the closing record is the proof you did them.