A playful ghost
When I took over management of the bakery last November, I was told by several people that there was a ghost in the building. This particular spirit likes to play with my money.
I maintain several accounts: a deposit bag, two cash register tills (morning and afternoon shift), a downstairs (front of house) bank stocked with $250 in assorted coins and bills and an upstairs (office) bank with $350. Except for the deposit bag, each of these accounts are set at a very specific and constant value and through the daily accounting, I know to the penny what should be in the deposit bag.
Yesterday, I was finishing off the afternoon count. I started by counting out the downstairs and upstairs banks, counted the till back to its starting value and then processed that day's deposits from both shifts.
Everything counted out just fine -- I took some money from the afternoon till to buy some coins and bills from the upstairs bank so the next afternoon shift (today) would be able to make change.
Fine. Ready to head home and I count out the upstairs bank again just to make sure that the amount of coins and bills I purchased tallied out.
Hmmmm... I was short $10. Counted out both banks -- to the penny and $10 short. Counted the two tills -- to the penny. Counted out the deposit bag -- to the penny.
It is now a few minutes until 7:00PM, I am finished for the day and that damned ten bucks is now back again. Everything counts out to the penny. Sometimes it is over, sometimes it is under. This happens once or twice per month and with various people opening and closing so it is not just one or two employees playing with my head.
I have recounted things often enough so it is not an error on my part.
It is a very playful ghost...
Posted by DaveH at July 1, 2011 6:48 PM