Petty Cash Calculator
A petty cash calculator helps businesses track small cash expenses, maintain a petty cash register, and reconcile the fund at the end of each period. Enter your starting balance and expense entries in the tool on the left for an instant running total, or use the Reconciliation Helper tab to get AI-powered reconciliation analysis for your petty cash sheet.
What Is Petty Cash?
Petty cash is a small amount of money kept on hand by a business to cover minor day-to-day expenses that are too small or inconvenient to process through normal payment channels. Common examples include office supplies, postage stamps, delivery tips, small repairs, coffee for meetings, and taxi fares. Most petty cash funds range between $50 and $500 depending on the size and needs of the business.
Unlike major business expenses that go through formal purchase orders and vendor invoices, petty cash is managed informally through a designated custodian who maintains a petty cash box or register, collects receipts for every disbursement, and reconciles the fund at regular intervals. The fund is replenished by submitting a reimbursement request to accounting once the balance falls below a set threshold.
For businesses tracking their overall budget, our free AI budget generator and accounting AI solver can complement your petty cash management with broader financial planning support. When you need to count and verify the bills inside your petty cash box, our bill counter calculator provides instant denomination totals and strap breakdowns for paper currency.
How the Petty Cash Calculator Works
Setting Up Your Starting Balance
The starting balance is the total amount of cash placed into the petty cash fund at the beginning of the period. This is typically the full face value of the fund — for example, $200 or $500. Enter this amount in the Starting Balance field on the Instant Calculator tab. The calculator will use this figure as the baseline against which all expense entries are deducted to show your remaining balance in real time.
Adding Expense Entries
For each petty cash disbursement, add an entry using the date, description, and amount fields. Click the Add Entry button to add as many expense lines as needed. The description field should match the information on your petty cash voucher or receipt — for example, "Office supplies — staples and paper clips" or "Delivery tip — lunch order." Each entry updates the running total automatically so you can see how much of the fund remains at any moment.
Understanding the Results
When you click Calculate Petty Cash, the tool displays your starting balance, total expenses across all entries, and the remaining balance. It also generates a formatted expense log with each line item. If total expenses exceed the starting balance, the tool flags an over-budget condition so you know the fund needs immediate replenishment. For reconciliation — matching your cash on hand against your receipts to confirm the fund balances — switch to the Reconciliation Helper tab and enter your fund amount, physical cash remaining, and total voucher value.
Petty Cash Tracking Best Practices
How to Set Up a Petty Cash System
Setting up a petty cash system begins with determining the appropriate fund size. Review your historical small expense patterns over the past three to six months and set the fund at an amount that covers roughly two to four weeks of typical small expenses without requiring constant replenishment. Designate a single custodian who is responsible for the box, the log, and all vouchers. Write a simple policy document stating the maximum per-transaction limit (commonly $25 to $50), which expense categories are allowed, and the replenishment threshold.
Open a dedicated envelope or lockbox for the fund. Keep all unspent cash, receipts, and your petty cash sheet in this box at all times so the custodian can quickly account for the fund's contents at any moment.
Petty Cash Vouchers Explained
A petty cash voucher is a simple form completed at the time of each disbursement. It records the date, the amount given out, a description of the purpose, the name of the person who received the cash, and ideally an account code for categorizing the expense in the general ledger. The voucher and the corresponding receipt are kept together in the petty cash box. At any point, the sum of all vouchers plus the remaining physical cash should equal the fund's starting balance. Vouchers are used to support the reconciliation process and create an audit trail for accounting purposes. You can also use our profit and loss statement generator to categorize petty cash expenses in your financial reporting.
How Often to Reconcile Petty Cash
Most small businesses reconcile petty cash once per month, typically at month-end when other financial records are being closed. However, businesses with higher transaction volumes or smaller fund sizes may need weekly reconciliation. Petty cash should also be reconciled whenever the fund falls below its replenishment threshold, whenever the custodian changes, and at year-end for audit purposes. Regular reconciliation prevents small discrepancies from accumulating into significant unexplained losses.
How to Reconcile Petty Cash
Petty cash reconciliation is the process of confirming that the physical cash remaining in the box plus the total of all vouchers equals the original fund amount. Here is the standard step-by-step reconciliation process:
- Count all physical cash — Remove all bills and coins from the petty cash box and count the total. Record this as your "cash on hand" figure.
- Total all vouchers and receipts — Add up the amounts on every voucher or receipt in the box. This is your "total disbursements" or "total vouchers" figure.
- Check the equation — Cash on hand + total vouchers should equal the fund amount. For example: $73.50 cash + $126.50 in receipts = $200 fund. If they match, the fund is balanced.
- Identify discrepancies — If the totals do not match, the difference is either a shortage (missing cash with no corresponding receipt) or an overage (more cash than expected). Investigate before replenishing.
- Complete the replenishment request — Submit a reimbursement request to accounting for the total voucher amount. Accounting issues a check or transfers funds equal to the total disbursements to restore the fund to its original balance.
- Record the entry — Accounting records the individual expense line items from the vouchers to the appropriate ledger accounts and records the replenishment as a credit to the checking account and debits to the relevant expense accounts.
Petty Cash Log Template Overview
A petty cash log — also called a petty cash sheet or petty cash register — is a running record of all transactions in the fund. A complete petty cash log includes the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The date of the expense or disbursement |
| Voucher No. | Sequential number for tracking each voucher |
| Description | Brief description of the purpose of the expense |
| Received By | Name of the employee who received the cash |
| Amount Out | Amount disbursed from the fund |
| Amount In | Replenishment amount when fund is refilled |
| Balance | Running balance after each transaction |
| Account Code | General ledger account for categorizing the expense |
Common Petty Cash Expenses
Petty cash is intended for small, incidental business expenses that are impractical to process through standard accounts payable. The most common petty cash expense categories include:
- Office supplies — Pens, notebooks, tape, envelopes, paper clips, and other consumables purchased at retail rather than through a vendor.
- Postage and shipping — Stamps, small parcel shipping fees, and overnight envelope costs that are paid in cash at the post office or courier counter.
- Small repairs and maintenance — Light bulbs, batteries, cleaning supplies, or a minor hardware store purchase to fix something in the office.
- Meals and refreshments — Coffee or snacks for a team meeting, a working lunch purchased with cash, or a small catering order for a client visit.
- Transportation — Cab or rideshare fare, bus tickets, parking meters, or tolls paid in cash for local business travel.
- Miscellaneous — Flowers for an employee, a gift card for a contest prize, or any other approved small expense that does not fit neatly into a larger category. Use our cash counter calculator to quickly count physical cash before logging disbursements.
Petty Cash Policies and Controls
Setting Spending Limits
Every petty cash policy should include a per-transaction limit to prevent the fund from being used for expenses that should go through normal purchasing channels. A common limit is $25 to $50 per transaction. Any single expense above the limit must be processed through accounts payable, even if the individual is willing to wait for reimbursement. Clear spending limits reduce the risk of policy abuse and keep the petty cash register manageable. You can use the accounting AI solver to model appropriate fund sizes and spending thresholds for your specific business context.
Who Should Manage Petty Cash
Petty cash should be managed by a single designated custodian — typically an office manager, receptionist, or administrative assistant — who is responsible for the fund at all times. The custodian should never be the same person who approves replenishments or reconciles the fund in the general ledger, as this separation of duties is a fundamental internal control. If the custodian is absent, a specific backup custodian should be designated in the policy to prevent unauthorized access.
Replenishment Process
The petty cash fund is replenished when the balance falls below a predetermined threshold — typically 25 to 30 percent of the fund total. The custodian submits all collected vouchers and receipts to accounting along with a completed replenishment request form. Accounting reviews the receipts, approves the expense amounts, issues a check payable to "Petty Cash," and the custodian cashes the check to restore the fund to its original balance. The replenishment amount should always equal the total of the submitted vouchers so the fund balance returns to its starting amount.
Petty Cash Calculator Examples
Example 1 — $200 Fund, 8 Expenses Over 2 Weeks
A small office maintains a $200 petty cash fund. Over two weeks, the custodian makes the following disbursements: office supplies $14.50, postage $8.00, coffee for client meeting $22.75, parking $6.00, printer cartridge $18.99, delivery tip $5.00, sticky notes and markers $11.25, and a replacement power strip $24.99. Total expenses: $111.48. Remaining balance: $88.52. The fund is above the $50 replenishment threshold, so no replenishment is needed yet. The custodian logs all eight entries in the petty cash calculator and files the receipts in the petty cash box.
Example 2 — $500 Fund, Monthly Reconciliation
A mid-size company has a $500 petty cash fund reconciled monthly. At month-end, the custodian counts $87.35 in physical cash and has $412.65 in receipts. The reconciliation check: $87.35 + $412.65 = $500.00. The fund balances exactly. The custodian submits the $412.65 in receipts to accounting for reimbursement. Accounting categorizes the expenses across office supplies ($145.20), meals and entertainment ($98.50), transportation ($89.75), and miscellaneous ($79.20), issues a $412.65 replenishment check, and the custodian cashes it to restore the fund to $500. Use the Reconciliation Helper tab in the calculator above to replicate this process for your own fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the typical petty cash fund amount?
Most small businesses maintain a petty cash fund between $50 and $200. Medium-sized businesses often keep $200 to $500 on hand. The right amount depends on the volume and value of small cash expenses over a typical two-to-four-week period. The goal is to have enough cash to avoid frequent replenishments without keeping so much cash on hand that it creates a security risk or accounting complexity.
How often should petty cash be replenished?
Petty cash should be replenished when the balance falls to about 25 to 30 percent of the fund total. For a $200 fund, that means replenishing when the balance drops below $50 to $60. Some businesses replenish on a fixed schedule such as monthly or bi-weekly regardless of the balance. The replenishment frequency depends on the pace of small cash expenses at your business.
What is a petty cash voucher?
A petty cash voucher is a written record created at the time of each cash disbursement. It documents the date, amount, description of the expense, and the name of the person who received the money. Vouchers serve as the audit trail for petty cash transactions and are used alongside receipts to reconcile the fund. The total of all outstanding vouchers plus the remaining physical cash should always equal the fund balance.
Who is responsible for petty cash?
A designated petty cash custodian — typically an office manager, receptionist, or administrative staff member — is responsible for the fund. The custodian controls access to the cash box, collects receipts for every disbursement, maintains the petty cash log, and initiates replenishment requests. To maintain proper internal controls, the custodian should not be the same person who approves the replenishments or posts the journal entries to the general ledger.
How do you reconcile petty cash?
To reconcile petty cash, count all physical cash remaining in the box and total all vouchers and receipts. Add the two figures together — they should equal your original fund amount. If they do not match, you have either a shortage (missing cash) or an overage (unexplained extra cash). Investigate the discrepancy before replenishing. Once reconciled, submit the vouchers to accounting as a replenishment request. You can use the Reconciliation Helper tab in the calculator above to get AI-powered guidance through the reconciliation process.