What is a settlement date?

The settlement date is the date on which all sales and payments for a given period are totalled and recorded in the till system. In other words, it is the date on which you “close the day” for your transactions and get the accounts ready for bookkeeping or further processing, for example in an accounting system.

For a restaurant or café, the settlement date may be set to the end of a working day – typically at closing time. At that point all the day's sales are added up and the daily report is generated. This practice ensures that all sales, cash holdings and any discrepancies are recorded correctly on the day they occurred.

Example:

A café closes at 10 pm every evening. When the employee closes the till, the till day is ended in the POS system, and the system records the settlement date as the date the transactions belong to. Sales, payment methods and any discrepancies are then sent to the finance department or accountant. The next morning a new till day starts with a new settlement date.

Why is it important to know the term?

When you work with a POS system like Flexybox, it is important to understand what the settlement date means for correct settlement and accounting. Without a fixed settlement date, you risk parts of your sales being recorded in the wrong periods, which can lead to incorrect reports, a skewed overview and problems with VAT settlement and bookkeeping, for example. It also matters for reconciliation, where you compare the cash holding with the POS system's calculations.

How is it used in Flexybox?

In the Flexybox till system, a settlement date is set as the basis for correctly totalling sales and payments. When an employee ends a shift or closes the till, Flexybox automatically records the settlement date based on when the count takes place. This way the system ensures that all data belongs to the right day and is ready for settlement in both internal reports and transfer to the bookkeeping system.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can change the settlement date manually if an error occurs or you want to adjust it, but this is only recommended for experienced users, as it affects the accounts.

No, the settlement date is when the day's activity is totalled, while the payment date is when the money is actually received or transferred.

Yes, a new settlement date is normally created every day when the till is closed. This brings structure to the accounts and makes sales reporting easier.

Yes, in Flexybox you can pull reports showing sales and payments broken down by settlement date, giving you a clear historical overview.