Checklist template

Front desk cash and payment controls for hotels

A ready-to-use checklist with 112 items in 6 sections, covering Floats, Card handling, Adjustments and rebates, Paid-outs, Reports, Deposits. Use it as-is in Bindy, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 112 Items
  • 92 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 122 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Floats 18 items

  1. Front desk floats issued at the property Number
  2. Floats counted by the auditor during the visit Number
  3. Total shortage or overage found across the floats counted (dollars) Number
  4. Each float is assigned in writing to one named employee Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The signed float agreement of each cashier sampled is on file Yes / No 1 pt
  6. No float contains an IOU, a personal check or a note for money owed Yes / No 1 pt
  7. No float contains foreign currency, unless the property offers currency exchange Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Floats not in use are locked in individual safe deposit boxes or a drop safe compartment, each with its own key or code Yes / No 1 pt
  9. A cashier does not hold the key or code to another cashier's float Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Float keys do not leave the property with the employee, or the property's written exception names who may take one Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Surprise float counts by the accounting department or a manager took place within the period set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Date of the most recent surprise float count Date
  13. Surprise counts on file are signed by both the counter and the cashier Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Shortages or overages above the limit set by company policy were reported to the controller in writing Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The float of an employee who left the company was counted and returned on or before the last day worked Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Change orders are exchanged with the general cashier one for one, with both parties counting Yes / No 1 pt
  17. The total of floats issued agrees with the house bank record held by accounting Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Result of the float counts carried out during the visit Rating
    • Every float exact 5 pts
    • Small differences within the company tolerance 3 pts
    • Differences above tolerance or unexplained items in a float 1 pt

2. Card handling 20 items

  1. Chip and tap terminals face the guest, who presents the card without handing it over Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Card details taken by phone are keyed straight into the terminal or the property system, not written down first Yes / No 1 pt
  3. A search of the desk, drawers and notice boards found no paper carrying a full card number Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Folios, registration cards and reports printed at the desk show only the last four digits of the card Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Paper credit card authorization forms are not accepted, or are received only through the secure channel company policy names Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Authorization forms still held on paper are locked up, with access limited to the persons named in the policy Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Card data older than the retention period set by company policy has been destroyed by cross-cut shredding or a certified service Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Portable card terminals are locked away or taken off the counter when the desk is left unattended Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Terminals are inspected for tampering or added devices on the schedule set by company policy, with a signed log Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Date of the last terminal tamper inspection on the log Date
  11. Manual entry of a card number is restricted to the user levels company policy names Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Card refunds sampled from the last 7 days each trace to an original charge on the same folio Yes / No 1 pt
  13. No card refund sampled was posted by the employee who took the original payment without a second person's approval Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Pre-authorizations for departed guests are released or settled at check-out, with none left open on the report sampled Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Declined or expired cards on the in-house credit report were followed up with the guest the same day Yes / No 1 pt
  16. A payment card left behind by a guest is logged and locked in the safe, not kept in a drawer at the desk Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Card refunds posted in the last 7 days Number
  18. Each front desk employee sampled has completed the card data security training within the period set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  19. Agents log in to the property system with their own user name; no shared or generic cashier log-in is in use Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Protection of card data at the front desk Rating
    • No exposure found 5 pts
    • Minor lapses corrected on the spot 3 pts
    • Card numbers on paper or shared log-ins found 1 pt

3. Adjustments and rebates 20 items

  1. Adjustments and rebates posted in the last 7 days Number
  2. Total value of those adjustments and rebates (dollars) Number
  3. Every adjustment sampled from the last 7 days carries a reason code Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Every adjustment sampled has a comment that explains what happened to the guest Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Adjustments above the agent limit set by company policy show approval by a supervisor or manager Yes / No 1 pt
  6. The approver of each adjustment sampled is a different person from the one who posted it Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Adjustment limits by user level are set in the property system, not left to judgment Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Room rate changes after check-in show the name of the person who authorized them Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Complimentary rooms are posted with an authorization form signed by the general manager or the person company policy names Yes / No 1 pt
  10. House-use rooms on last night's report each have a recorded reason and approver Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No adjustment sampled was posted to the folio of an employee, a relative or the poster's own stay Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Adjustments posted after the guest's departure are approved by accounting Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Transfers of charges between folios sampled show a reason, and the receiving folio belongs to the party paying Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Voids of cash postings are approved by a supervisor at the time of the void Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Corrections posted on the same day are reviewed with the next-day adjustments, not excluded from the report Yes / No 1 pt
  16. No-show charges waived in the last 7 days show who approved the waiver Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Early departure and late cancellation fees waived in the last 7 days show who approved the waiver Yes / No 1 pt
  18. The daily adjustment report is signed by the front office manager Yes / No 1 pt
  19. The controller or general manager reviews adjustment totals by employee each month Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Support for the adjustments sampled Rating
    • Every one coded, explained and approved 5 pts
    • Some comments or approvals missing 3 pts
    • Many unsupported or self-approved 1 pt

4. Paid-outs 15 items

  1. Paid-outs posted in the last 7 days Number
  2. Each paid-out sampled has a voucher with the date, amount, reason and room or account number Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The guest or the person receiving the cash signed each paid-out voucher sampled Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Paid-outs above the limit set by company policy were approved by a manager before the cash left the drawer Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Tip paid-outs to employees are signed by the employee who received the cash Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Tip paid-outs agree with the gratuity on the signed guest check or banquet check Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Cash advances to guests are refused, or made only within the written policy and charged to an approved card Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Petty cash purchases paid from a front desk float are supported by an original store receipt Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Paid-outs for guest refunds (vending losses, laundry damage) reference an incident or a guest complaint record Yes / No 1 pt
  10. No paid-out sampled was both posted and received by the same employee Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Refunds of cash deposits at check-out are signed by the guest Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Paid-out vouchers are numbered, and the sequence sampled had no missing number Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Vouchers travel with the cashier's deposit envelope to the general cashier each shift Yes / No 1 pt
  14. The paid-out total on each cashier report sampled equals the vouchers in the envelope Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Support for the paid-outs sampled Rating
    • All with signed vouchers and approvals 5 pts
    • Vouchers present with signatures missing 3 pts
    • Paid-outs without vouchers 1 pt

5. Reports 18 items

  1. Each cashier prints or saves a cashier closing report at the end of the shift Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The cashier report sampled agrees with the cash and card totals turned in Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Card settlement amounts on the bank statement are matched to the daily batch totals by accounting Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Differences between card batches and the property system are listed and passed to accounting the next morning Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The high-balance report is reviewed each night, and guests over their authorized limit are noted for follow-up Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Guests paying cash have a deposit covering the stay, or their room has charging privileges switched off Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The room rate variance report is reviewed each night and initialed Yes / No 1 pt
  8. The night audit compares the housekeeping status report with occupied rooms, and each discrepancy is investigated Yes / No 1 pt
  9. A room found occupied but vacant in the system during the last 30 days has a written explanation Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Open folios of departed guests are cleared or transferred to the ledger within the time set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Direct-bill transfers sampled are backed by a signed folio or an authorization from the company billed Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The cashier over-and-short log is kept by employee and reviewed by the front office manager each week Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Repeated shortages by the same employee led to a documented conversation or retraining Yes / No 1 pt
  14. User access rights in the property system were reviewed within the period set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  15. User accounts of employees who left the company have been disabled Yes / No 1 pt
  16. A cashier cannot reopen or change a closed shift report without a supervisor's override in the property system Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Departed-guest folios still open with a balance at the time of the visit Number
  18. Review of daily control reports Rating
    • Printed, reviewed and signed every day 5 pts
    • Printed but not always reviewed 3 pts
    • Not printed or not reviewed 1 pt

6. Deposits 21 items

  1. Each cashier counts the shift's receipts in the back office, away from guest view Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The deposit envelope states the cashier's name, date, shift and amounts by type of payment Yes / No 1 pt
  3. A second employee witnesses the drop and signs the drop log Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The drop log was complete for every shift of the last 7 days Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The drop safe is opened only by the general cashier with a second person present Yes / No 1 pt
  6. The contents of each envelope are verified against the cashier report by the general cashier Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The bank deposit is prepared by a person who does not post payments at the front desk Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Deposits go to the bank or are collected by the armored carrier on the schedule set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The armored carrier's pick-up receipts are on file for the last 30 days Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Validated bank deposit slips are matched to the daily revenue report by accounting Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Checks received are stamped "for deposit only" when they are accepted Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Cash held overnight does not exceed the limit set by the property's insurance or company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The safe combination was changed when the last employee who knew it left Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Date of the last safe combination change Date
  15. The door of the safe room or back office was found locked Yes / No 1 pt
  16. A working camera covers the drop safe and the counting area Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Advance deposits received by mail or phone are posted to the reservation the day they arrive Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Days of receipts on hand and not yet deposited at the time of the visit Number
  19. Name of the controller or general cashier Short text
  20. Overall control of front desk cash and payments Rating
    • Counts exact and every sample supported and approved 5 pts
    • Small differences or some approvals missing 3 pts
    • Unexplained differences, unsupported postings or exposed card data 1 pt
  21. Corrective actions required Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the Bindy template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In Bindy you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

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