thread Close Drawer VS. End Drawer in Payments Troubleshooting

Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

Corrpac — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 20:51:45 GMT

Hello, we've implemented Square as a cash transaction management system with our business. Can anyone direct me to a previous thread, FAQ, or explain to me the difference between "End Cash Drawer" vs. "Close Cash Drawer". I'm seeing both in our dashboard history, and I'm not sure how to conduct the best practices moving forward with this integration.

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

isabelle — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 20:42:32 GMT

Hey @Corrpac!

Thanks for your post. I realize how this can be confusing.

Ending the cash drawer means you're ending the session for that period of time or shift. The ending of the cash drawer is what helps the system produce an expected amount in the drawer, based on your cash sales during that session.

The close cash drawer option just means it's giving you an opportunity to put in the actual amount of cash in the drawer if it differs from the expected amount.

In other words:

End Cash Drawer gives you the opportunity to end a cash drawer session and provides you with an expected amount.

Close Cash Drawer is the amount you counted yourself and can enter to ensure accurate reporting and view in comparison to the expected amount.

Please reply back here with any additional questions, as I know this can be confusing!

Drawer descriptions cash management POS iPad

UrbanShaveSD — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 04:18:55 GMT

Anyone know what the different types of drawers descriptions mean?

Re: Drawer descriptions cash management POS iPad

JustinC — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 21:18:06 GMT

Hey @UrbanShaveSD !! Glad to hear from you 🙂

Isabelle explains the difference btwn closed drawers and ended drawers on this thread (Opened drawers are pretty self explanatory).

Check it out and let us know if you have any questions.

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

ExpressionsCoop — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 14:25:26 GMT

Isabelle_ explanation is helpful but I'm still confused. I see how to End the drawer from the Square Register. How do you Close a drawer, and when/why?

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

_Violet — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 14:57:15 GMT

Hi @ExpressionsCoop - I may be able to provide some clarification here.

The "ending" drawer option would be best if you have split shifts throughout the day. Say an employee started the cash drawer in the morning but is now needing to clock out and the end of their shift, before your business is closed for the day. They can end the drawer they started to record only what was done in that time period. Then, the next employee on for the upcoming shift would start a new drawer.

"Closing" the drawer would be more suitable if you are finished conducting business for the day. You would use this option at your close of day instead.

I hope this information is helpful but please do let us know if you have any additional questions. Always happy to help! 😊

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

ExpressionsCoop — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:03:26 GMT

Thanks, _alanah, for your reply. One thing that confuses me is where does it say "Close" on Square Register? What I've just discovered is that you can Close an open drawer on the Dashboard. When you click Close, it prompts you for the ending amount. But, I do not see a Close option on Square Register. Your scenario (use case) is helpful. Now, can you be more specific about where/how in Square Register you would do these two different tasks?

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

_Violet — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 14:05:33 GMT

Hi there, @ExpressionsCoop 👋

You may need to enable the Cash Management feature on your Register first.

Then, you should see the options to begin/end a drawer.

It looks like you're using Retail Plus, so you'll enable this setting from your Dashboard under the Devices page. From here, you'll click on your Register and there should be a section for "cash management" under the device's settings.

I hope this information is helpful but please do let us know if you have any additional questions. Always happy to help! 😊

Re: How do i close out each shifts sales? It does not work when i "end drawer".

homesbyjonesllc — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 18:53:11 GMT

Is there a way to end the drawer for an individual employee instead of ending it for the entire day? I have an employee that works 7am-12pm but the another that comes in later in the day. Want to make sure each employee is accountable for their own sales

Re: How do i close out each shifts sales? It does not work when i "end drawer".

Ellie_ — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 23:28:10 GMT

Hi there @homesbyjonesllc,

That is a great question! We moved your question to a thread that may answer your question, specifically @_Violet's answer! Please let us know if you have any follow up questions.

Re: Close Drawer VS. End Drawer

Micah1 — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 13:55:09 GMT

I started using Square a month ago and it works great. Some of my cash drawers are listed as closed and some are listed as ended. Can I just leave them that way? Does it have any effect on sales reporting?