Cashiers ring up sales and receive payments for merchandise.

Businesses of all types and sizes hire cashiers to ring up sales. Most cashiers total bills, receive cash, make change, fill out charge forms, and give receipts.

Most cashiers are assigned to a register at the beginning of their shift. They are given drawers with banks of money. They count their banks to be sure they contain the correct amount of money.

They also count the drawers' contents at the end of their shift and compare the totals with their sales data. They total charge forms, return slips, and other non-cash items. Shortages of large amounts of money could cause a cashier to be fired.

Cashiers accept payments of cash, checks, credit cards, or debit cards. They must know the store's policy for each type of payment. They may ask customers for identification or call for authorization when completing sales with checks or credit cards.

Cashiers issue receipts and count out change when sales are complete. They may also wrap or bag the purchased items.

Most cashiers also handle returns and exchanges. They check the merchandise to be sure it is in good condition. They also check receipts to verify where and when purchases were made.

Cashiers who work in stores with scanners pass each product's barcode over the scanner. The computer enters the item and its price from the barcode. In other businesses they enter codes into computers, and the name of each item and its price appears. They must learn the codes for many items.

Cashiers may have other duties depending on a business. In grocery stores they weigh produce. In convenience stores they must know how to operate other types of machines. Many answer customers' questions or restock merchandise.

In large establishments, head cashiers oversee the work of other cashiers. They may also issue cash drawers.