Every way of getting paid at a stall costs something. Cash needs a float, time to count and carries the risk of wrong change or a fake note. Card and phone payments are fast, but the reader takes a percentage and sometimes a monthly or per-device charge. To keep this from eating your margin you need three habits: bring the right float, know what you keep per sale with each payment method, and count up every day at close.
How much float to bring
The float is the money you open with so you can give change. It is not sales: it arrives with you and leaves with you. Too little and you lose sales or round down in the customer's favour. Too much and you have cash sitting idle that you have to guard.
The amount comes from your own records, not a rule of thumb. For a week or two, note how many people pay cash in the first hour and which note they hand you. That tells you how much change you need before your own sales start supplying smaller notes and coins.
Your prices also decide the float. A $4.50 coffee means handing back coins all morning. Prices in whole dollars mean mostly notes. The guide to pricing street food covers when a round price helps you and when it costs you margin.
What each way of getting paid costs
- Cash: no percentage, but hidden costs: trips to the bank for change, time spent counting, and money lost on wrong change.
- Card and contactless: the reader takes a percentage of each sale, and some providers add a fixed fee per transaction, a monthly fee or the price of the device. Use the rates in your own agreement.
- Bank transfer or QR payments: depending on your bank and account type there may be a fee. Check your terms rather than assuming it is free.
The fee comes out of your margin. If you charge $4.50 and the reader keeps part of it, less than $4.50 reaches you while the drink costs you exactly the same. The guide to payment fees in your price shows how to build them into the price.
Keep stall money separate
The cash box is not your wallet. If you pay for parking or lunch out of the takings, at the end of the day you know neither what you sold nor what you made. Card payouts landing in your personal account cause the same problem.
The simple version: one cash box or money belt for the stall only, and one account for business payouts only. If you take money for yourself, write it down as a drawing. The guide on separating business and personal money walks you through it.
Counting up at close
At close, count three things separately:
- What you sold: your tally of items (tick sheet, tokens, till roll, whatever you use) times the price.
- What came in by each method: the card reader's report, any transfers, and the cash in the box minus the float you opened with.
- The difference: sales counted minus money received. Write it down every day, even when it is zero.
A small, steady difference is usually wrong change. A difference that grows, or shows up only on certain days, means looking at who takes payment and how sales are recorded.
Worked example: a coffee cart
You run a coffee cart on weekday mornings. Your average drink is $4.50, and you have worked out that a drink costs you $1.10 in coffee, milk, cup, lid, sleeve and the share of your time. That leaves $3.40 per drink before payment fees.
The float. Your notes show about 10 cash customers in the first hour: 6 pay with a $5 note, 3 with a $10 and 1 with a $20.
- Change for the $5s: 6 × $0.50 = $3.00
- Change for the $10s: 3 × $5.50 = $16.50
- Change for the $20: $15.50
- Total: 3.00 + 16.50 + 15.50 = $35.00
You bring $50 to leave room: $20 in $5 notes, $20 in $1s and $10 in coins.
The morning. You sold 150 drinks: 150 × 4.50 = $675.
| Method | Drinks | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Card and contactless | 120 | $540 |
| Cash | 30 | $135 |
| Total | 150 | $675 |
The card fee. Say, as an example only, your reader charges 2.5% per sale. Use the rate in your own agreement.
- Fee for the morning: 540 × 0.025 = $13.50
- Per card drink: 4.50 × 0.025 = $0.1125, about $0.11
- What you keep per card drink: 3.40 − 0.11 = $3.29
If your provider also charges a fixed amount per transaction, add it per drink: on a $4.50 sale even a small fixed fee changes the picture.
The count. The box should hold the float plus cash sales: 50 + 135 = $185. You count $181.50. You are $3.50 short. The card report shows 120 transactions for $540, so the gap is in the cash, almost certainly change. You write it down.
The month. Over 22 mornings at about $13.50 a morning, the card fee comes to 22 × 13.50 = $297 a month. That is worth knowing when you decide whether card-only, cash-only or both suits your corner.
What these numbers are for
With the daily difference written down, two weeks tell you whether your cash handling can be trusted. With the fee per drink, you know what each payment method leaves you. With the first-hour notes, you adjust the float without guessing. All of it feeds into how many sales you need each day, which the street food and market stall guide walks through. To check the margin left after the fee, use the markup and margin calculator.
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator, enter what a drink costs you and your card fee as the channel commission; it shows what you keep per card sale and what price would hold your margin.
Frequently asked questions
How much float should a food stall start with?
Enough to give change to your cash customers in the first hour, before your own sales bring in smaller notes and coins. Work it out from a week or two of noting who pays cash at opening and with what.
Should I stop taking cash and go card only?
Only if your own records show you would not lose sales that are worth more than the time and risk cash costs you. Some customers only carry cash, so count how many before you decide.
My drawer is short most days. What should I check first?
Write the difference down every day. A small, steady shortfall usually means change given wrongly; a growing one or one that appears on certain days means checking who handles the money and how sales are counted.
Do I add the card fee to my price?
Work out what you keep per sale after the fee first. If that leaves too little, the price needs to cover the fee, and the payment fees guide shows how to build it in.