Z-Out Transactions
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A Z-Out transaction is a Point of Sale transaction that closes out the current Point of Sale session on the system. Also known as an end of day transaction, it is usually performed at the end of each day.
When you perform a Z-Out transaction on a Point of Sale system, the Point of Sale session closes and the Point of Sale system prints out totals for all completed transactions. You can then use the totals to balance the cash drawer. A summary or detail receipt then prints, summarizing the cash drawer activity for the session. Point of Sale transactions are not exported through General Ledger Export until the session has been closed.
NOTE When performing a Z-Out transaction, FTD Mercury automatically performs an X-Out transaction first.
Point of Sale Session Scenarios for Z-Out Transactions
Typically, you perform a Z-Out at the end of the day. However, you may need to close the session early because you want to empty the cash drawer for a bank deposit, or you may want to close the session the morning of the next day. Some florists even want to keep the session open for several days at a time, and then want to Z-Out at the end of the week. FTD Mercury provides flexibility for closing the Point of Sale session so the sales are recorded on the day you want them to be based on your business. When you close a session using a Z-Out, you are able to specify the date of the Z-Out session.
Typical Point of Sale Session Scenario
Point of Sale sessions always begin with setting the opening balance. You can ether do this when you close the previous session, or you can do this when you open the register at the beginning of a day. In either case, when you set the opening balance, you are performing a transaction which records the amount of money the cash drawer had when you opened the session.
Over the course of the day, as your customers place orders, pay you, you pay for things, etc., the Point of Sale session is recording each transaction. If you want to see everything up to that point, but not close the session, you can perform an X-Out transaction (by clicking the X-Out/Z-Out button in the Point of Sale window).
At the end of the day, after you have finished with all of your orders and no longer will be accepting any payments through the cash drawer, you Z-Out the drawer. You then get a summary of all transactions performed during the day (the Z-Out amount). This is what FTD Mercury has recorded as the total amount that should be in the drawer. You can then count the drawer (with or without the Money Counter), and record the amount of cash and checks/other payments in the drawer. You can then see whether your count is right on, over, or under the anticipated amount.
Once you have solved any overages or underages (usually by recording a missing transaction), you can then finish the Z-Out and close the session. At this point, you can also specify the opening balance for the next session. Afterward, you can prepare your bank deposit.
Alternative Z-Out Scenario #1
It is possible that your Point of Sale sessions may not follow the typical situation. One example of this is if you close your session before the end of the day using a Z-Out transaction. This can happen if your bookkeeper performs the Z-Out and leaves with the bank deposit at 4:00 P.M. and your shop stays open until 5:00 P.M. You may still get orders in that last hour of the day.
When your bookkeeper closes the Point of Sale session, she will enter an opening balance for the next session and begin the new session. The session starts immediately, and any subsequent transactions will be included in the new session, even if it spans multiple calendar days. In reports and accounting, FTD Mercury records transactions by the Point of Sale session in which they occur.
Alternative Z-Out Scenario #2
Another alternative scenario is if you want to have a Point of Sale session last multiple days. When you perform a Z-Out, you set the date to the current date. For accounting purposes (in the Balance Wizard and associated reports), FTD Mercury records the sales as have occurred on the Z-Out date. However, the orders can still be looked up via Ticket Search by the date they were placed.
As a further variation, if you have left the Point of Sale session open multiple days, you can also Z-Out for each day (breaking the single session into multiple sessions). When you perform the ZOut, set the date to the earliest date, and then set the opening balance to the next date. Repeat for each date you want to use as a session (always Z-Out from the earliest possible date to the latest). For each day you Z-Out when splitting a single session into multiple Point of Sale sessions, all sales from the opening balance to 11:59:59 P.M. are recorded on the Z-Out date. You will have a large overage on the first date, but you can continue and set the new opening balance, and then repeat subsequent days.
