The cashier
The cashier is the person behind the counter who uses the Te Lo Llevo POS (point-of-sale till). They open the session in the morning, ring up each sale during the shift and close the till at the end of the day. This section describes every step of their work and the rules that govern it.
The Te Lo Llevo POS is the merchant's in-store selling tool: it handles products,
payments, receipts, inventory and the cash drawer in one place. The cashier is the
primary actor of this tool — the person who touches it every day. Their role within the
merchant team (OWNER, MANAGER or STAFF) determines
which actions they can perform without asking for authorisation.
Who the cashier is
The cashier might be the bar owner tending the counter themselves, the shift manager of a greengrocer's or a shop assistant taking payments from walk-in customers. What they all have in common is that they operate the POS directly and are responsible for making sure every sale is correctly recorded and every payment is accurate.
The profile
Any member of a merchant's team who is authorised to open a session on the POS.
They may hold the role STAFF, MANAGER or OWNER.
Their role determines which operations they can perform on their own and which
require someone with higher permissions.
Their context
The cashier works at the merchant's counter. In front of them is a screen running the POS, a receipt printer and, if the merchant has it configured, a cash drawer. The goal of every interaction is straightforward: add the products, charge the customer and hand them their receipt.
Role matters
The POS enforces the merchant's role hierarchy at all times. Knowing one's own role
avoids interruptions during service: if an operation requires MANAGER and
the cashier only has STAFF, the system will request authorisation from a
manager or owner. The table below summarises what each role can do at the POS.
| Action | STAFF |
MANAGER |
OWNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open and close a session | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ring up a sale (cash / card / split) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apply discount ≤ 10% / ≤ €10 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apply discount ≤ 50% | No | Yes | Yes |
| Discounts / comps above 50% | No | No | Yes |
| Open the cash drawer without a sale ("no sale") | No | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory adjustments (shrinkage, breakage, etc.) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Process refunds / void a receipt | No | No | Yes |
| View reports (X / Z) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Opening the shift
Before ringing up any sale, the cashier must open a till session. The session records who worked at each terminal, when the shift started and how much cash was in the drawer at the beginning. Without an open session, the POS does not allow sales to be processed.
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Log into the terminal
The cashier enters their credentials on the POS. The system identifies them and loads their role profile. If the merchant has more than one terminal registered, the cashier selects the terminal assigned to their position.
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Open the till session
The cashier taps "Open session" and enters the opening cash float: the amount of cash in the drawer at the start of the shift. This amount is recorded and serves as the reference point for the end-of-day reconciliation.
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Confirm and begin
After confirming the opening float, the session is open. The POS displays the sales panel and the cashier can start serving customers.
Each terminal can only have one active session at a time. If the previous shift's cashier did not close their session correctly, the manager or owner must close it before the new cashier can open theirs.
Ringing up a sale
The POS sale flow is designed to be fast and error-free. Each item added to the sale updates the running total in real time, VAT included. At the end, the cashier chooses how the customer pays and the system closes the sale, decrements stock and prints the receipt.
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Add products
The cashier searches for items by name, category or barcode (if a scanner is configured) and adds them to the current sale. They can adjust the quantity of each line with the plus and minus buttons or by typing the number directly.
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Select modifiers
If a product has modifiers (for example, "Size" with options Small / Medium / Large, or "Extras" with options Double cheese, Gluten-free), the POS shows the relevant selector. Single-choice modifiers require one option to be selected; multi-choice modifiers allow several to be ticked. Each option may carry a price delta that is added to the line.
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Apply a discount (if applicable)
If the customer is entitled to a discount, the cashier applies it before payment. The discount can be a percentage or a fixed amount. The POS checks the cashier's role: if the discount exceeds their role's limit, it requests authorisation from a manager or owner. A reason is always required.
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Add a tip (optional)
Before moving to payment, the cashier can register a tip. The presets are 0%, 3%, 5%, 10% or a custom amount. The tip is added after tax and does not form part of the VAT base. A tip never blocks checkout: if the customer does not want to tip, the cashier simply confirms 0%.
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Choose the payment method
The cashier selects how the customer pays:
CASH CARD SPLITWith cash, the cashier enters the amount tendered by the customer and the system calculates the change. With card, the payment is recorded and the card terminal processes the charge. With split, the cashier specifies how much the customer is paying in cash and how much by card.
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Print the receipt
Once payment is confirmed, the POS generates the receipt with a sequential invoice number, the product lines, modifiers, VAT breakdown, total, payment method and the merchant's details (including customised header and footer, if configured). The cash drawer opens automatically for cash or split payments.
On the Te Lo Llevo POS, product prices already include VAT. The receipt shows a breakdown by VAT rate (4%, 10%, 21% or exempt) so the customer can see exactly how much tax they are paying. The cashier does not need to calculate anything — the system does it automatically.
Age-restricted sales
Certain products — mainly alcoholic drinks and tobacco — are subject to Spanish age-restriction legislation (Ley 28/2005 and applicable regional law). The POS identifies these items and, at the point of payment, requires the cashier to confirm a formal declaration before the sale can be completed.
When a sale includes an age-restricted item (alcohol or tobacco), the POS shows a confirmation modal that the cashier must accept before they can proceed to payment. The declaration reads: "The customer is over 18. ID has been checked if they appear to be under 25." The cashier confirms by tapping "I confirm". If the customer is under age or the cashier has any doubt, they must decline the sale.
How the process works
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The product enters the sale
The cashier adds an age-restricted item (for example, a can of beer or a packet of cigarettes). The POS marks the line with a visual age-restriction indicator.
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The modal appears on moving to payment
Before showing payment options, the POS displays the attestation modal. The cashier cannot proceed without responding.
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Request ID if the customer appears to be under 25
If the customer appears to be under 25, the cashier must ask for their identity document and verify they are over 18. The POS does not capture, store or record any data from the document — the declaration is solely a confirmation from the cashier; no personal information about the customer is collected.
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Confirm or cancel
If the customer is over 18 (verified or evident), the cashier confirms the modal and the sale continues normally. If the minimum age cannot be confirmed, the cashier taps "Cancel" and removes the restricted item from the sale.
The process is a declaration by the cashier, not a record of the customer. The POS does not store the customer's name, ID number or any other buyer data. The only record is that the sale was confirmed as valid by the cashier at that moment.
Refunds and cancellations
Refunds on the POS require the OWNER role. This means that if a customer
wants to return something and the shift cashier holds the STAFF or
MANAGER role, they must call the owner to authorise and process the refund.
Full refund
A full refund is equivalent to voiding the sale. The POS locates the original receipt by its invoice number, reverses the full payment and returns the units to inventory. The original receipt is marked as fully refunded and is not deleted — fiscal regulations require all records to be retained.
Partial refund
If the customer returns only some items from a receipt, the cashier (with OWNER
role) selects which lines are being returned and in what quantity. The POS calculates
the refund amount proportionally, recalculates VAT pro-rata and adjusts the cash drawer.
The returned units go back to inventory.
Both the original receipt and the refund record are stored permanently. This is a fiscal requirement: merchants must be able to demonstrate a complete audit trail for every transaction. The cashier or owner can reprint any receipt at any time.
Cash drawer adjustment after a refund
If the original payment was in cash, the refund removes money from the drawer. If it was by card, the refund is processed by the same means. If it was a split payment, the system applies the appropriate proportional logic. All movements are recorded in the cash drawer log.
Closing the shift
At the end of the shift, the cashier (or manager) closes the till session. This process involves counting the cash in the drawer, comparing it with what the system expects, recording the difference and generating the day's Z report.
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Initiate the session close
The cashier taps "Close session" on the POS. The system calculates the expected cash in the drawer: opening float + cash payments received − change given out − cash refunds − payouts made from the drawer.
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Count the actual cash
The cashier physically counts the money in the drawer and enters the amount in the POS. The system shows the difference between the expected and the counted cash in real time.
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Review the reconciliation
A difference of zero means the till balances perfectly. A positive difference means a surplus (the drawer has more money than expected); a negative difference means a shortfall (cash is missing). The manager or owner must investigate the reason for any significant discrepancy.
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Generate the Z report
The cashier confirms the close and the POS generates the Z report: the definitive end-of-day summary, sequentially numbered, immutable and stored. The Z report includes total sales by VAT rate, refunds, payments by tender type, opening float, counted cash and the discrepancy. Unlike the X report (which is a mid-shift snapshot that is not stored), the Z report can only be generated once per session.
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Final cash settlement
After the Z report, the cashier removes the cash from the drawer to hand it over following the merchant's procedure (safe, handover to the manager, etc.) and leaves the opening float for the next shift.
| Report | When generated | Stored | Resets counters | Numbered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X report | Any time during the shift (mid-shift snapshot) | No | No | No |
| Z report | When the session is closed (end of day) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What needs a manager
A cashier with STAFF role can handle the vast majority of the day's work:
open a session, ring up sales, give small discounts and print receipts. However, certain
operations are reserved by the system for higher roles. Knowing them in advance avoids
service interruptions.
Needs MANAGER
- Applying discounts between 10% and 50% (or between €10 and the manager cap).
- Opening the cash drawer without a sale attached ("no sale").
- Making inventory adjustments (shrinkage, breakage, recount, goods received, etc.).
Needs OWNER
- Processing refunds or voiding a receipt (partial or full).
- Applying discounts above 50% or comping an entire sale.
- Accessing sensitive merchant or POS settings.
Any discount applied on the POS — regardless of role — requires selecting a reason from the list. This ensures that the audit trail reflects the context of every out-of-the-ordinary operation.
For a deeper look at POS mechanics (inventory, reports, hardware, the invoice sequence and legal compliance), see the The POS in depth chapter.
A day in the life of the cashier
It is 9:00 on an August morning in an ice-cream parlour in Los Alcázares. Laura opens the POS, enters her credentials and starts the till session. The system asks for the opening float: she counts the notes and coins in the drawer — €150, exactly what yesterday's shift left — and confirms. The session is open and the first customer is already at the door.
The first order of the day: two scoops of pistachio ice cream (option "Cone" or "Cup" — they choose a cup) and a bottle of water. Laura adds all three lines, selects the "Cup" modifier for the ice cream and confirms. Total: €5.20 VAT included. The customer pays by card. Laura selects CARD, the card terminal processes the payment and the receipt prints in two seconds. First customer: done.
Mid-morning a group of tourists comes in. One of them orders a beer. Laura adds it to the sale and when she taps "Charge", the POS shows the age-verification modal. The customer is clearly an adult; Laura taps "I confirm" without needing to check ID. The group pays in cash: they hand over a €20 note for a €3.80 sale. Laura enters €20 in the cash-received field, the system calculates the change — €16.20 — and the drawer opens automatically. Laura hands over the change and the receipt.
At 12:30 a customer returns with an ice cream they bought earlier that had a defective
container. They want a refund. Laura does not have OWNER role, so she
calls Javier, the manager. Javier logs in with his credentials, looks up the original
receipt by its number, confirms the refund for the item and the system returns the
amount to the drawer. Laura resumes her shift.
At 14:00, before the afternoon shift begins, Laura closes the session. She counts the drawer: €187.40. The system expected €187.40. Difference: €0.00. The till balances perfectly. Laura generates the Z report, removes the excess cash following the parlour's procedure and leaves €150 as the float for the afternoon opening. A shift with no incidents.
Add items correctly, select modifiers, verify age when the POS asks for it and close the session with the cash balanced. A methodical cashier is the best guarantee that the day's till holds no surprises.