What happens when ...

For each action at the till, one table: what changes in the invoice and IRD, the customer's account or the cash, stock, the cash drawer record and loyalty or gift cards. An empty area means nothing changes there.

Retail POS Concepts
6 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

On this page

You save a cash bill
You save a bill paid by bank, card or wallet
You sell on credit
You pay with a gift card
You sell a gift card
You put a bill on hold (Draft)
You return goods
You exchange goods
You reprint a bill
You add petty cash, accept it, hand over
A morning at one till, in numbers
Questions customers ask

Read the table of the action you are about to do.

You save a cash bill

What happens when you save a bill paid in cash

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	A sales invoice with the bill's number. Queued to the IRD when the company follows the IRD rules
Customer or cash	The customer (walk-in or named) is debited the total; the cash receipt that follows clears it
Stock	The goods leave the branch's default warehouse
Cash drawer record	The cash taken, less the change, counts in the hand over
Loyalty and gift cards	A named customer earns points

You save a bill paid by bank, card or wallet

What happens when you save a bill paid by bank or wallet

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	As a cash bill
Customer or cash	The receipt that follows goes to the bank you chose, not to the cash account; a bank charge, if chosen, becomes a journal
Stock	As a cash bill
Cash drawer record	Nothing: only cash counts in the hand over
Loyalty and gift cards	As a cash bill

You sell on credit

What happens when you save a credit sale

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	A sales invoice for the whole total, due the same day
Customer or cash	The whole total is debited to the customer; only what was paid is received. The rest stays on their account until a receipt in Accounting
Stock	The goods leave the branch's default warehouse
Cash drawer record	Only the cash paid now
Loyalty and gift cards	Points on the total, for a named customer

You pay with a gift card

What happens when you pay with a gift card

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	As any bill
Customer or cash	The part paid by the card is cleared by an entry against the gift card account, not a receipt
Stock	The goods leave stock
Cash drawer record	Nothing for the card part
Loyalty and gift cards	The card's balance goes down by the amount used

You sell a gift card

What happens when you sell a gift card

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	A sales invoice for the card; IRD-ready like any bill
Customer or cash	Cash or bank receipt for the price paid. The value of the card is held in the gift card account until the card is spent
Stock	Nothing
Cash drawer record	The cash taken counts
Loyalty and gift cards	The card is sold and can be used; its expiry starts

You put a bill on hold (Draft)

What happens when you hold a bill

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	Nothing
Customer or cash	Nothing
Stock	Nothing
Cash drawer record	Nothing
Loyalty and gift cards	Nothing. Only the lines are kept, for 30 minutes

You return goods

What happens when you save a sales return

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	A sales return against the bill; a credit note to the IRD when it follows the rules
Customer or cash	Cash: the amount is paid out and a payment voucher follows. Non-Cash: the amount stays as credit on the customer
Stock	The returned goods go back into the warehouse
Cash drawer record	A cash refund lowers the cash to hand over
Loyalty and gift cards	Points earned on the returned amount are taken back. Points spent and gift card used are not restored

You exchange goods

What happens when you save a sales replacement

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	A normal sales invoice for the new goods
Customer or cash	The earlier Non-Cash return's credit pays part of it; the rest is paid as usual; a bigger return gives cash back
Stock	The new goods leave stock
Cash drawer record	Only real cash
Loyalty and gift cards	Points on the new total for a named customer

You reprint a bill

What happens when you reprint

Area	Change
Invoice and IRD	Nothing changes in the books or the IRD. The receipt says copy of original with a count
Customer or cash	Nothing
Stock	Nothing
Cash drawer record	Nothing
Loyalty and gift cards	Nothing

You add petty cash, accept it, hand over

What happens with the cash screens

Action	Change
Petty cash saved	A float for the till for today. Nothing in Accounting
Accept at the till	You take responsibility for the cash. Nothing in Accounting
Accept and close on the hand over	The count is compared with the cash sales; excess or less is recorded; the cash goes to the person named. Nothing in Accounting

A morning at one till, in numbers

Worked example: which actions count in the drawer

A cashier accepts a float of Rs 2,000 and then does the things below. The last column is what the cash drawer record holds after each action. VAT is 13% (the rate set up for this example).

Action	What changes in the books	Cash drawer record
Accept the float	Nothing	2,000
A cash bill of 1,130 (goods 1,000 and VAT 130); the customer gives 1,200	A sales invoice of 1,130; the receipt follows	3,130: the 1,200 given less the 70 change
A bill of 2,000 paid by card	A sales invoice of 2,000; the receipt goes to the card's bank	3,130: only cash counts
A gift card sold for 900 in cash	A sales invoice for the card; its value is held until the card is spent	4,030
A held bill (Draft)	Nothing	4,030
A Cash return of one item (500 and VAT 65)	A sales return of 565; a payment voucher follows	3,465
A reprint	Nothing	3,465
Accept and close on the hand over	Nothing	The closing amount is 3,465: 2,000 + 1,130 + 900 - 565

The hand over compares the count with that figure. An excess or less is recorded on the hand over, not in Accounting.

Questions customers ask

Which actions put something in Accounting?

Saving a bill (a replacement is a bill too), selling a gift card and saving a return. The payments follow a moment later as receipts, a payment voucher for a cash refund, a debit note for a gift card and a journal for a bank charge. Holding a bill, reprinting, the petty cash, Accept and the hand over put nothing in Accounting.

Does holding a bill keep the goods for the customer?

No. A held bill is only its lines, kept for 30 minutes. Stock, the invoice and the cash are not touched until the bill is saved (Put a bill on hold and recall it).

Does a reprint count as a second sale?

No. Nothing changes in the books, the stock or the IRD. The receipt is stamped as a copy of the original (Print the receipt and reprint a bill).