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Till Close Labor Cost Calculator

Estimates the payroll hours and dollars your team spends counting drawers and reconciling the till each year, and what a faster close would save, for owners and store managers.

Your numbers

Results update as you type.

Your estimate

Hours spent closing per year...
Payroll cost of closing per year...
Hours saved at your target reduction...
Payroll saved per year...

Estimates only. Assumptions are listed below, and you can change every input.

Closing the till is a daily chore that rarely shows up in a budget. A twelve minute count here, a twenty minute reconciliation there, repeated across every drawer and every day, turns into hundreds of paid hours a year that nobody scheduled and nobody reviews. It also tends to happen at the end of the shift, when overtime and tired mistakes are most likely.

The calculator totals the minutes spent on drawer counts and end-of-day reconciliation each day, multiplies by days open and your loaded hourly rate, and reports annual hours and cost. The savings figures apply the time reduction percentage you enter, so treat them as a target rather than a promise: time your current close, change something, time it again, and put the real difference in.

How to use this tool

  1. Add up how many drawer counts happen across all registers on a typical day, then time a few counts and the end-of-day reconciliation.
  2. Enter your loaded hourly rate and days open to see the annual hours and payroll cost of closing the till.
  3. Set the time reduction to what you have measured or what you want to test, and read the hours and dollars saved.

What the math assumes

  • Every drawer count takes the same number of minutes, and reconciliation takes the same time every day regardless of sales volume.
  • The hourly rate is fully loaded and applies to everyone who counts; use a blended rate if managers and cashiers both take part.
  • Savings assume the time reduction you enter applies evenly to counting and reconciliation; the 30% default is a placeholder to change, not a measured benchmark.
  • No value is assigned to fewer counting errors, earlier staff departures or overtime avoided, so the savings figure is on the conservative side.
  • Recount time after a variance is not included; add it to the reconciliation minutes if it happens often.

Frequently asked questions

Should I count the cashier time or only the manager time?

Both. The cashier who counts a drawer is on the clock, and so is the manager who reconciles it. Use a blended hourly rate if the two are paid very differently, or run the calculator twice.

How do I know what time reduction to enter?

Measure it. Time your current close for a week, change the process, then time it again for a week. The default is only there so the savings fields are not blank.

Does the cost include the time to chase down a short drawer?

No. If recounts and investigations happen regularly, estimate the average minutes per day they take and add them to the reconciliation minutes.

More free tools from TillClosr

  • Cash Over/Short Annual Loss Calculator: Estimates what small cash shortages across every drawer close add up to per month and per year, and how much extra revenue it takes to earn that money back, for store and restaurant operators.
  • Starting Cash Bank Float Calculator: Sizes the starting cash bank for each drawer from expected cash transactions and typical change given, with a suggested bill and coin breakdown, for anyone who preps drawers before a shift.

Close Every Drawer Right The First Time

Cash drawer counts and end-of-day till reconciliation.

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