My work place has a petty cash drawer.

42 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 25,2024 at 2:10AM UTC

   Tell your boss immediately. I have worked with Petty cash before and it was for business expenses with documented receipts. Feels very odd that people can borrow money from it.

2. AnonymousApril 25,2024 at 2:16AM UTC

   Tell your boss. Furthermore, if your boss wants to have it, THEY should be responsible. I've been in charge of petty cash- locked box in my locked office- not a free-for-all. Receipts required and paid cash AFTER purchase fir reimbursement, not an IOU on a piece of scratch paper.

   Someone can take cash and put another person's name for all you know.

3. AnonymousApril 25,2024 at 3:04AM UTC

   Definitely tell your boss, lock the box/drawer and absolutely no more borrowing. It's not a bank, it's supposed for office use only. I used to be responsible for a petty cash box in a small office back in the day and that's how we handled it.

4. AnonymousApril 25,2024 at 3:52AM UTC

   Tell your boss and suggest the company take a nice pause with regards to this perks. Anyone who complained just explain the the honor system was no longer working and the company isn't prepared to handout free money.

5. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 12:10PM UTC

   200$ is not nothing !! tell your boss right away , lest the blame comes on YOU.

6. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 1:04PM UTC

   Yes you should report this to your Boss, along with a new proposal/policy for handling the petty cash - Ultimately you're responsible for what happens.

7. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 1:13PM UTC

   This is not the normal use for a petty cash drawer.
   If you are responsible for the drawer, you should set up the policy for what it is used for, and if someone needs to borrow $20 for gas until payday, that's your call. You have to document what goes in and comes out. It should be balanced at the end of the month or every payday (whichever makes the most sense). If $200 is missing, how much is in there? Every petty cash drawer I have had only had $200 in it, and was used for business expenses like stamps and incidentals.

8. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 4:06PM UTC

   depends on the type of business. Ours has $2,000 when it's been replenished.

9. GirlBossanova934974April 26,2024 at 1:22PM UTC

   In my 40 years of experience, I don't recall the company petty cash box being used to float short term payday loans for employees. I am a current business owner. Making payday loans to your employees should only be done on an emergency basis if one feels inclined to do it. The problem is that employees feel you are the ultimate source to bail them out OR to pay for things they should have saved up their pay for. I have been asked to front money for washing machines when they broke down. That is what it can come to. I would shut down the bank and be done with it.

10. Jean NaanApril 26,2024 at 2:22PM UTC

    In my last job we had a petty cash and we too often loaned money. We kept the lock box under lock and key and only one person had the key. This procedure eliminated forgetfulness and petty thievery. To speak directly to your problem, I would tell the boss and then offer to institute the policy as I mentioned. Good luck!

11. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 2:26PM UTC

    While I admire the "good faith" method your company has it's time to get rid of it and move to not provide loans to employees. Unfortunately, there are people who are just not right and it's time to let that antiquated system go moving forward.

12. KatApril 26,2024 at 2:41PM UTC

    I'm surprised your boss wasn't included in the initial "who took the money" email. Most certainly your boss should be informed. This petty cash/temp loan thing need to stop immediately. Clearly the "honor system" is not working anymore. The person who stole the money has no intention of admitting it or repaying it. Have everyone pay in an equal share of what's been lost and discontinue the program. If you are going to use petty cash in the future, it should only be used for last minute items that are business related (like buying more coffee or stamps). The drawer should be locked at all times. Receipts and documentation (emails) would be required, plus a standard timeline (1-2 weeks) to repay the fund.

13. MislynApril 26,2024 at 4:02PM UTC

    Ive never heard of a place having a petty cash drawer but i worked somewhere where my boss had rental properties and people would pay him cash for rents. The cash went in a drawer and he would ask for cash every now and then and I would give it to him out of that money. He never had any idea how much money was in there and there were never any records. I always knew what was in there because I would count it because we had a cleaning lady that would rummage through my desk and belongings when she was cleaning on the weekends. (Just being nosey I didn’t trust her one bit)Someone could have easily helped themselves and taken hundreds or even a thousand bucks and he would have never known. I would have been the only one to know that it was even missing.

14. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 5:59PM UTC

    This sound a little far fetched to me. Why would someone leave hundreds or thousands of dollars in a place where other could help themselves to it? Something is just not right about this.

15. MislynApril 28,2024 at 8:21PM UTC

    Okay anonymous Probably because my Boss was the biggest idiot in the world. He didn’t know how to keep track of anything. Basic accounting was not his thing. He could count cash but as far as reading a spreadsheet or a financial report forget it. I’m sure everyone that works for him knows he’s and unorganized idiot stuff got stolen from there all the time. Why because he was to stupid to keep track of things. I’m sure every employee has stollen at least one thing from there because he would never know. Like I said he would come to me and get cash he never had me keeping track of what he would take and we didn’t keep track of how much was coming in. He basically used that as his fun money instead of making a deposit to the bank. I don’t come at me like I’m the idiot I’m just telling you some business owners don’t know how to run a business and the petty cash drawer is probably a common thing for small businesses. Because your supposed to be able to trust your employees correct. Most of them are usually family anyway.

16. AnonymousMay 21,2024 at 2:07AM UTC

    I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like she has a major vendetta against this guy to call him stupid. He owns his own business and that’s not something many stupid people do. And to have that amount of cash laying around he must be doing something right. He obviously must trust you with the cash if he’s leaving you in charge of it but, by your comment I know for a fact I wouldn’t. Just you saying you didn’t trust the cleaning lady makes me think you should have been keeping track and keeping him informed on the amount on a regular basis just to keep you in the clear. You don’t control money without keeping a log if you can’t trust the other workers. Just my 2 cents.

17. AnonymousApril 26,2024 at 4:48PM UTC

    I would speak to your manager and let them know that you do not want the fiduciary responsibility to manage this because given the 200 missing it is no longer being used as a trust system. Ask them to take it over or be sure to document what you have said in your own words above in writing so that you are not held to repay the amount shown. It would seem that this practice might have existed for some reason and perhaps that reason has gone away? If it still have some other reason for it then be sure that a finance person or your manager takes it on in a way that there is no room for this type of theft.

18. Liz MilneApril 27,2024 at 12:03AM UTC

    Who is responsible for the cash if the auditors walk through the door right now?

    If it's you (and even if it's not, the auditors will hit the roof at such an open and unsafe system!), *immediately* put a stop to people coming in and helping themselves: lock the box up, they come to you and sign a chit saying how much they've borrowed and when it will be returned.

    Or move the box out of your office and into your manager/ boss's office instead, so you're out of the sh*t splat when it hits the fan...

19. Shelly KatzeffApril 27,2024 at 1:33PM UTC

    If you are the one responsible for monitoring the petty cash drawer, then you should get to the bottom of the missing money. However, if it is not your job, then I would keep quiet because, frankly, you are stepping in an area where you do not belong. Additionally, I do not believe that auditors will become involved in a 'petty cash' issue.

20. AnonymousApril 27,2024 at 8:48PM UTC

    How do you know it was only one person? It could be mulitple of people. Some one takes $20 but writes the IOU for $15. They are doing this because they know no one monitors the withdrawls.

    Time to end the petty cash box. Your company isn’t a bank.

21. Kris WolframApril 28,2024 at 12:31AM UTC

    Maybe send out another email saying

    you are hoping the person(s) who took the money will return it by xx no questions asked. If no one comes

    forward you will need to make changes and develop a policy. I would definitely let your boss know.

22. Tamara GApril 28,2024 at 12:16PM UTC

    The moment I saw “petty cash” I immediately thought of Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead ?

    I would definitely tell the boss and explain that you tried to give people the benefit of doubt and provide a solution for elimination the petty cash process, or improving it. Lastly, if you no longer want to be responsible, I would advise your boss as well.

23. Shavon JenkinsApril 28,2024 at 12:24PM UTC

    Since you have access to the cash, you should immediately inform management of the situation. By doing this, no one will question your loyalty and judgement.

24. AnonymousApril 28,2024 at 12:56PM UTC

    Petty cash boxes are unnecessary in today’s business environment. It has become your employees short term loan bank. I advise getting rid of it. Immediate cash needs are easily handled with a company credit card. Anything else is just a shortfall waiting to happen.

25. AnonymousApril 28,2024 at 1:29PM UTC

    My first question is why people are allowed to borrow from ot. The purpose of petty cash is for small rienbursments for workplace incidentals like having to buy copy paper when the office ran out. Secondly, what is your procedure for maintaining this box? Does it not have specific storage requirements, like being in a locked drawer? Lastly if it's in your office and you keep track of the deposits/withdrawals from it then that makes you responsible so you should go to your boss right away and let them know of what happened. You don't want to wait and have them come in to audi and the count be off. That could look as though you are colluding with the one who took the funds without the IOU.

26. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 4:01PM UTC

    Ultimately, the person in charge of petty cash will be the person who gets into trouble.
    Unless you have a double-signed piece of paper that proves someone else did take it.

27. Chrissy Regan SmytheApril 28,2024 at 1:32PM UTC

    We have a petty cash drawer because sometimes we need to tip our movers. It is NOT intended to be used by employees for personal reasons. EVER. They are not going to fess up if they didn't leave a note. I would go to your boss and let them know immediately money is missing. Otherwise, you may responsible for the missing funds. And don't feel bad. The person who took the money didn't feel bad about putting you in this situation. Their actions should have consequences.

28. Leader135412April 28,2024 at 1:54PM UTC

    Does your company have video cameras in the building? Tell your supervisor what's happened right away. And if you don't feel comfortable with the responsibility anymore, push back.

29. Dave & Louise SmithApril 28,2024 at 3:11PM UTC

    We own a med spa and deal with cash a lot.

    We have a cash safe that has a letter box types slot on the front for cash to go in, but not come out. We put all cash into that only one person has the key to get access to.

    We also have a cash drawer that has a maximum of $200 in it, but it is counted every day and all transactions are logged via our POS system.

    We also have 2 cameras on the reception area.

    DEFINITELY inform

    your boss, remove access to the cash and stop the loans immediately.

30. Damie WilsonApril 28,2024 at 3:23PM UTC

    Put the petty cash drawer near a camera or set up a camera in the room.
    Make it lock and key and put someone in charge of that key that is trust so anyone that wants an advance just has to ask.

31. AnonymousApril 28,2024 at 11:36PM UTC

    $200 is a lot of money. With gas at $5.00/gal where I am in So Cal...well you get the picture. The petty cash should be under lock and key, and one person with one backup responsible. Not a free for all. With receipts when paid back. Year ago, we had an employee who openly stole from our honor bar snack boxes, openly ordered school supplies for their kid, and even stole from other employees. My trust level in this person was ZERO and they weren't even allowed to collect cash for GS cookies. As soon as they left, the theft level went down to nothing.

32. KellyW43April 29,2024 at 2:42AM UTC

    Stop the borrowing from the Petty Cash drawer. Send out an email that due to the shortage, there will be no more borrowing from the petty cash.

    Move it to a different place and make sure it's locked up, so no one can get to it without your knowledge.

    Also, before doing all of this, let your boss know, so when everyone tries to go over your head, he will be in the know.

    $200 is a lot of money. It's sad one bad person spoils it for everyone else, but that's what happens. If you don't do this, the amount will climb, because the person who did it doesn't care and got away with it.

33. Nicole ColemanApril 29,2024 at 12:20PM UTC

    Go to HR immediately.

34. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 12:25PM UTC

    I would let HR know and also tell them you don’t want to responsable anymore , this is what usually happens one person ruins it for all ,get rid of the petty cash the honor system doesn’t work and I don’t think it ever really has there is always someone who just plain steals

35. LivApril 29,2024 at 12:34PM UTC

    Ah absolutely NOT. $200 IS a lot of money and it's slightly irritating to me how you're down playing the seriousness of the fact that there is at least one thief in this office! I would send out a second email this time CCing both the boss and HR in it. If that doesn't work, scrap the entire petty cash system.

36. Brenda MorrisApril 29,2024 at 12:58PM UTC

    Get rid of the drawer someone wants a free ride with no repercussions.

37. Shelly EdwardsApril 29,2024 at 1:06PM UTC

    Why isn’t the drawer locked up so people can only access it through you or your boss? This is a big liability. You should go to your boss with this issue, and then also discuss either getting rid of it or adding security measures to make sure people can’t steal from it.

38. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 3:58PM UTC

    yep.
    Ours is locked and only I have the key and one other person knows where it is in case I am out of the office.

39. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 1:07PM UTC

    I would report it right away. Delaying does nothing but put doubt in someone's mind. You've done your due diligence with the employees. Now start your investigation and get rid of whomever was dishonest.

40. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 1:58PM UTC

    IMO, first send out a note to all, if you have forgotten recently to add your IOU to the petty cash drawer please do by Friday. In order for us to continue to be able to use it when we're short it must stay balanced. It's currently not balanced. We all get in a hurry and I can see how this gets forgotten without malice. Totally get it. We will be revisiting this process if it continues to not be balanced, but would like to keep the process as it is as we are all to be held accountable to making sure it's balanced. If it's not, then there will be measures put in place to help us all.

41. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 3:50PM UTC

    I was going to post about this as well.
    I am also in charge of petty cash where I work. We don't use it as a cash advance though. You MUST have a receipt or sign a paper that I create personally, if someone needs something, I will give them cash to get what they need as long as it's job-related; but under no circumstances does anyone get away from it without having signed it, then I sign it. My problem is that the owner is always gone so sometimes I don't have petty cash which is a "him problem" not a "me" problem.

    I would send a second email, mark it urgent, and then note that if whoever owes petty cash does (at the very least) not come forward, nobody can use it anymore if it's not business-related.

    It's always one person that ruins it for everyone else. Is there anyone you "think" it could be? I learned to trust no one. Most people are good about money when it comes to their job. There is a chronic petty cash employee who needs hundreds of dollars at a time for warehouse boxes. He is always happy to benefit when someone does or sells him something, but he will always say he doesn't have the money on him!!! BUT.... ((eye roll)) he proceeds to "forget" about it. It's frustrating! He still owes me $50.00 from a YEAR ago because he asked if he could buy a deal that I bought off Amazon for Alexa in your car. You should never have to remind someone that they owe you money. I have 2 favorite quotes: 1. "Neither a borrower nor lender be" - Benjamin Franklin and 2. "If you loan someone money and then never see them again, it was totally worth it". I don't know who came up with that, but it's up now. It doesn't take long to figure out who is trustworthy and who isn't after you get to know your co-workers well enough to make good petty cash/life cash decisions based on proven and consistent bad behavior.
    I don't even know if this was understandable...I haven't had enough coffee.

42. AnonymousApril 29,2024 at 5:37PM UTC

    Definitely take it to the boss ASAP, before your reputation is ruined and you're out of a job.