While it's best to avoid paying cash for products and services, most restaurants find they're unavoidable at times. The best way to control cash payments and keep them to a minimum is to set up a separate petty cash fund for cash paid-outs and NOT take cash out of the day's sales receipts.

These forms will help you set up and administer a petty cash fund.

Petty Cash Reimbursement Form

Keep the petty cash fund in a box in the safe. When payments are made from the fund, the invoice or receipt should always go into the box with a petty cash voucher attached (see below). The total of the remaining cash plus the total of the invoices and receipts should always equal the opening petty cash balance.

For example, if you set up a $300 petty cash fund, the cash and the total of the invoices and receipts should always total $300.00. If it's less than this someone is stealing, sloppy or both.

Use the Petty Cash Reimbursement Form to reimburse the petty cash fund and record the expenses to the correct cost code.

Petty Cash Voucher

Also included in this download is a Petty Cash Voucher. This manager should use this form to describe the nature of the expense or purchase and both the payee and manager should sign it. Staple the invoice or receipt to the Petty Cash Voucher and place it in the petty cash box until the fund is reimbursed.