Finance and Banking
A cash handling procedure for cannabis dispensary teams
DispensaryVA Editorial TeamPublished
cash handlingdispensary operationscannabis accountinginternal controls
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Finance and Banking
Cash handling is easiest to audit when each handoff has an owner, a count, and a record. The procedure should tell staff what to do when the count agrees and what to do when it does not.
The opening employee and reviewer should record the business date, location, drawer identifier, starting amount, and their names. Keep the opening count separate from sales activity. If a drawer starts short or over, record the variance before the first transaction.
Use one form for each drawer or register. Do not combine several drawers into a single line because the combined total can hide the source of a difference.
When cash moves between a drawer, safe, deposit bag, or another authorized location, record the time, amount, source, destination, and two people involved when policy requires a second count. The receiving person should count the cash before signing.
The record should identify the deposit bag or other control number. A control number makes it possible to connect the store record to the bank receipt without relying on memory.
At close, compare the cash count with the point-of-sale report and the documented transfers. Record the expected amount, counted amount, and variance. The person who counts should sign the form, and the reviewer should sign after checking the source reports.
The daily closeout checklist can hold the end-of-day handoff, while the dispensary banking guide provides broader finance context. Keep the cash procedure focused on the physical and recorded movement of money.
Do not change a report to make a drawer balance. Preserve the original count, note the difference, and route it to the authorized reviewer. The follow-up should state whether the cause was a counting error, a missing transfer record, a transaction correction, or an unresolved exception.
Repeated variances deserve a process review. Check whether the same drawer, shift, transaction type, or handoff produces the difference. A pattern can point to a training or control problem, but one unexplained count should not be turned into an unsupported accusation.
Before the deposit leaves the store, match the bag number to the closeout record and retain the receipt with the business-date packet. The reviewer should be able to trace the amount from the point-of-sale report to the count, the bag, and the bank record.
Tax treatment and record retention require professional review. The IRS guidance on Internal Revenue Code section 280E is a primary reference for the federal rule, but it does not replace advice for a particular business.
An authorized manager or other person named in the written control procedure should review it. The reviewer should see the original count and source reports.
Start with the documented count, transfers, corrections, and source reports. Expand the review when the evidence points to a wider problem.
Include the opening count, transaction report, transfer records, close count, variance notes, deposit control number, and bank receipt when available.