The legal minimum according
to the Bookkeeping Act

The balancing is a calculation exercise that shows the relationship between the daily turnover and the counted cash. Note that the exercise may turn unnecessarily complicated if the cash register is used for advances, buying goods and personal withdrawals.

How to balance the cash

Use two registers: The cash register where the daily cash turnover is kept and one petty cash box from where you pay the business' bills etc.

The petty cash box is used for paying small bills. You may, for instance, start with NOK 2 000 in petty cash. When you pay the small bills with cash from the box, the contents consisting of cash and receipts (vouchers) will always equal NOK 2 000.

Receipts

Make sure you always receive receipts for all your expenses. If for some reason you do not have a receipt, write an explanation indicating what the money is used for and other information necessary for the accounting.

The petty cash box must be balanced at least every accounting period to make sure the vouchers are accounted in the correct period. If the petty cash box contains NOK 10 and receipts for NOK 1 990, you must withdraw exactly NOK 1 990 (from your bank account). The money is placed in the petty cash box and the receipts/vouchers are attached to the withdrawal voucher. The withdrawal voucher is placed in the vouchers' file.

Remember to get your company's name on receipts amounting to more than NOK 40 000 and on receipts for goods bought for further sale.

Make it a rule that all personal withdrawals and advances to the employees are paid from the bank account. Keep the cash payments at a minimum by asking for monthly invoices on running expenses such as petrol, office accessories, foodstuff, computer accessories, etc.

Register all sales in the cash register

Register all sales immediately. If you operate as a hairdresser, run a business serving foodstuff or run an accommodation business, there are additional rules as to how the sales must be specified.

Businesses obliged to bookkeeping and selling from non-fixed locations or just handle sporadic cash sales that do not exceed three times the basic value of the public pension scheme during one accounting year, are not obliged to register sales in cash registers. Instead, such businesses may either register sales in a hardback book (register) with pre-numbered pages, or by keeping copies of pre-numbered, dated receipts or sales documents. Casual sales to for instance the audience at a sports event or a concert may be documented by a single daily sum from each sales person. It is not necessary to give the customers receipts.

Cash sales are deposited in the bank

Cash received by sales are deposited in the bank regularly, preferably on a daily basis. The bank may offer night safe arrangements.

Count and balance the cash register every day

Produce a daily report from the cash register and count the petty cash. The daily report (called Z-report) must be dated, signed and the time of writing the report must be identified. In most instances the business starts the daily business with a fixed sum, for instance NOK 3000 in petty cash.

The balancing will for instance look like this:

The balancing of the cash is registered in a form. Use one form for each day. The forms are dated and signed by the persons who counted the cash.

The daily report from the cash register and the bank transfer payments together with a copy of the night safe receipt are attached to the form. The forms are filed consecutively in the correct folder and correct section of the folder. Use a front page indicating cash.

If the profit/deficit exceeds NOK 50 frequently, you must re-evaluate the procedures with the employees. Remember that expenses are paid from the petty cash box. The margin for errors is reduced if the cash register calculates the change. Significant differences between calculated and real amount of cash must be registered in an account.

Further information:

• Regnskapsloven (The Accounting Act - in Norwegian)
  
• Sample Cash Register Daily Report