Shift Shortage Management - hmislk/hmis GitHub Wiki

Shift Shortage Management

Path: Menu > Financial Transaction Manager > Shift Management

Overview

A shift shortage is a record of a cash shortfall in a cashier's drawer — the difference between the expected cash and the physical cash on hand. The system allows cashiers to record shortages at any time during their shift, and supervisors or the cashier themselves can later settle (pay back) the shortage amount. If a shortage was recorded by mistake, it can be cancelled while the shift is still active.

When to Use

  • A cashier's cash count comes up short and the difference needs to be officially recorded.
  • A shortage was recorded in error and needs to be reversed.
  • A supervisor needs to settle a cashier's outstanding shortage after the shift has closed.
  • A manager wants to view or list all outstanding or historical shortage records.

1. Recording a Shortage from the Menu

Use this method to record a shortage at any point during your shift, independent of the handover process.

  1. Open Financial Transaction Manager from the main menu.
  2. Click the Shift Management tab on the left panel.
  3. Click Record Shift Shortage.
  4. The Record Shift Shortage page opens.
  5. Enter the shortage amount (cash) in the Shortage Amount (Cash) field.
  6. Optionally enter a note in the Comments field explaining the reason.
  7. Click Record Shortage.
  8. A confirmation page prints automatically showing the shortage bill number and amount.

The shortage is immediately deducted from your drawer balance.

2. Recording a Shortage During Handover

When creating a handover, the system detects any discrepancy between the denominations you have counted and the expected cash automatically. You can also manually trigger a shortage bill from the handover page.

  1. Open Financial Transaction Manager from the main menu.
  2. Click the Shift Management tab and then Handover Current Shift.
  3. Count the cash in your drawer by entering the quantity of each denomination on the right side of the page, then click Update.
  4. The system calculates the difference between the collected cash and the counted cash.
  5. If there is a shortfall, click the Record Shortage button (highlighted in red/orange) on the handover summary panel.
  6. Confirm the prompt — the system creates a shortage bill for the difference and returns you to the handover page.
  7. The shortage row now appears in the handover summary table, reducing the net cash to handover accordingly.

Tip: The Record Shortage button on the handover page auto-fills the amount from the denomination count discrepancy. You do not need to type the value manually.

3. Viewing and Searching Shortage Bills

Use the Shortage Bill Search to find shortage bills — current or historical, outstanding, settled, or cancelled.

  1. Open Financial Transaction Manager from the main menu.
  2. Click the Shift Management tab.
  3. Click Shift Shortage Bill Search.
  4. Set the From Date and To Date for the search period.
  5. Click the appropriate search button:
    • Search My Bills — shows only your own shortage bills. Available to all cashier users.
    • Search All Users — shows shortage bills for all cashiers in the selected period. This button is only visible to users with the ViewAllShiftShortageBills privilege (typically supervisors and managers).
  6. The results table shows matching shortage bills with their bill number, cashier, date, amount, and status badge:
    • Outstanding (yellow) — not yet settled or cancelled.
    • Settled (green) — fully paid.
    • Cancelled (red) — reversed.
  7. Click the bill number in the Bill No column to open the Shift Shortage Summary page for that bill.

Note: The Manage Bill (wallet) action button is only available for bills you created yourself. Supervisors viewing all users' bills can view any bill but can only manage their own.

4. Viewing a Single Shortage Bill

The Shift Shortage Summary page shows the full details of one shortage bill and provides all available actions for it.

It displays:

  • Shortage Amount — the original recorded amount.
  • Settled So Far — how much has been paid back.
  • Outstanding — the remaining balance.
  • Recorded By — the cashier who created the bill.
  • Status badge (Outstanding, Settled, or Cancelled) in the page header.
  • A Shift Shortage Bill Preview that can be printed.

From this page you can Cancel the shortage (if it is within the current active shift) or Settle it (if the shift has closed).

5. Cancelling a Shortage (Within the Current Shift)

Cancellation is only available if the shortage was created in the same shift that is currently active and has not yet been settled. This is the correct action when a shortage was entered by mistake.

  1. Open the Shift Shortage Summary page for the bill (see Section 3 and 4 above).
  2. A Cancel This Shortage panel appears at the bottom of the page with a red border.
  3. Enter a reason in the text box (required).
  4. Click Cancel This Shortage.
  5. Confirm the browser prompt.
  6. The system creates a reversal, the bill is marked Cancelled, and the drawer balance is restored.
  7. A Shift Shortage Bill Cancelled confirmation page appears, which you can print.

Important: Cancellation is not available after the shift is closed or if the shortage has already been settled. In those cases, use the settlement process instead.

6. Settling a Shortage (After the Shift)

Settlement is used when the shortage is genuine and the cashier needs to pay back the missing amount. This is typically done by a supervisor after the shift has ended.

  1. Open the Shift Shortage Summary page for the bill (see Section 3 and 4 above).
  2. Click Settle This Shortage in the top-right of the page header.
    • This button is only visible if the shortage is Outstanding and the shift is no longer active.
  3. The Settle Shift Shortage page opens showing the bill number, total shortage, and outstanding balance.
  4. Enter the Settlement Amount (Cash) — this can be a partial or full payment.
  5. Optionally add a Comments note.
  6. Click Confirm Settlement.
  7. A settlement print page appears. You can print the settlement receipt.
  8. If the full amount is settled, the shortage bill is marked Settled. Partial settlements leave the bill Outstanding with a reduced balance.

Partial settlements are allowed. Each settlement creates a separate settlement record and reduces the outstanding balance.

How Shortage Rows Appear in the Handover Summary

When creating a handover, the main summary table shows a Floats / Shortage Bill row for each group of shortage transactions. Understanding how these rows are grouped helps cashiers and supervisors interpret the handover screen correctly.

Grouping rule

The system groups shortage transactions by calendar day. All shortage and cancellation payments that belong to the same calendar day are combined into one row, and the row shows the net cash value for that day.

Scenarios

No shortages recorded during the shift No shortage row appears in the handover table at all.

Shortage recorded and cancelled on the same day Both the original shortage and its cancellation fall on the same calendar day, so they are combined into a single row. Even if the net value is 0.00, the row is still shown — it is not automatically hidden. This is intentional: you can click the View Details eye icon on that row to see the individual transactions (the original shortage and the cancellation) for audit purposes.

Date Type Cash Collected
07 May 2026 Floats / Shortage Bill 0.00

Shortage recorded on one day, cancelled on a different day Because the two transactions fall on different calendar days, they appear as two separate rows, each showing the value for that day. For example, a −2.10 shortage on 07 May and a +2.10 cancellation on 17 May produce:

Date Type Cash Collected
07 May 2026 Floats / Shortage Bill −2.10
17 May 2026 Floats / Shortage Bill +2.10

The net effect on the handover total is still zero, but the individual rows remain visible for audit trail purposes. Click the View Details eye icon on either row to see the underlying transaction.

Multiple unrelated shortages on different days Each day with shortage activity produces its own row. Rows are not merged across different calendar days even if they share the same cashier.

Why the 0.00 row is not removed

The row is preserved even when the net is zero so that the cashier and supervisor can always trace back what happened. Clicking View Details on the row opens a full list of every fund-transfer or shortage transaction that makes up that figure, providing a complete audit trail.

Summary of Statuses

Status Meaning
Outstanding Shortage recorded but not yet settled or cancelled. Appears in the handover summary.
Settled Full amount has been paid back through one or more settlement transactions.
Cancelled Reversed within the same shift. The drawer deduction has been reversed.

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