TRenninger
New member
I'm new to owning a self serve car wash. I'm curious on how y'all keep track of sales. Do you count quarters that are in vaults as sales or the cash in change machine?
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Counting $$$
- Thread starter TRenninger
- Start date
Counting the change machine is inaccurate big time as people don't spend all the change they get, and you also get people that get change and leave. Only count what quarters you find in the bays and vacs.
MEP001
Well-known member
I just put all the quarters that I can into the changer and count the bills that come out plus the leftover coins. It's accurate enough as far as sales. If you start and end the year, quarter, month, however you track it, with the same amount of quarters in the changer it's perfectly accurate. If you're buying quarters because of walk-off, you have to account for that.
Overachiever
Active member
I'm pretty much in the same boat as the OP. Just bought a car wash last month.
Do you use QuickBooks? Do you just keep a petty cash account and keep replenishing as walk-off happens? I wasn't quite sure how to track the money you put back into the machines to offset the walk-off.
Eric H
Well-known member
I count all the money (bills and coins) in the vaults (bays, vacs, frag/shampoo machine, etc) and use that as the weekly sales total. Count the Bill changer money separately, but do not include in any sales (dollar in = dollar out). I replenish the coin level in the changers to a level that I think is acceptable based on how busy I expect to be the following week and deposit the balance.
BTW: If you have vending machines (and you should!) be sure to track that separately for sales tax. The State Tax auditor found that one for me
BTW: If you have vending machines (and you should!) be sure to track that separately for sales tax. The State Tax auditor found that one for me
2Biz
Thread Killer!
mjwalsh
6 bay SS w/laundromat
I concur with both Eric & 2Biz's approach. I can especially relate to Eric ... since we were audited awhile back by an extremely aggressive 
state sales tax auditor on the applicable specific sales tax items etc. It is still better than the sales tax being on all the gross receipts.
Just to add on the changer ... that in our case we are glad we chose Standard (not sure on the other brands) because the 600EF audit features are so comprehensive. It helps to be able to automatically bring the data into an Access database like we do via a serial port. Those familiar with databases ... know that generating whatever report once the data is in the records & fields ... is really not that difficult. To be fair to the other changer companies (&/or other Standard models) & how credit card software tracks the sometimes needed pertinent information ... I am not that familiar ... maybe someone else can chime in.
mike walsh www.kingkoin.com
state sales tax auditor on the applicable specific sales tax items etc. It is still better than the sales tax being on all the gross receipts.Just to add on the changer ... that in our case we are glad we chose Standard (not sure on the other brands) because the 600EF audit features are so comprehensive. It helps to be able to automatically bring the data into an Access database like we do via a serial port. Those familiar with databases ... know that generating whatever report once the data is in the records & fields ... is really not that difficult. To be fair to the other changer companies (&/or other Standard models) & how credit card software tracks the sometimes needed pertinent information ... I am not that familiar ... maybe someone else can chime in.
mike walsh www.kingkoin.com
I know a guy who deposited everything the car wash brought in (the bay sales and changer cash). He would then order the change back from the bank and put it in the changer. I thought he was really stupid. Now he is selling the wash, and his Income looks abnormally big. On the expense sheet that the broker has, "change orders" is listed as an expense with a comment saying "change used for car wash - not really an expense"... Now I'm thinking he's not so stupid... Most buyers would figure this out after looking into tax returns, but still.... I know the NOI is the same, but when a moron appraiser uses GIMs to verify value....
I did that for a few years but then got tired of it and quit. I never found a discrepancy when I was doing it, have you guys ever found a problem?
I.B. Washincars
Car Washer Emeritus
I do as well, but use a clipboard hanging on a nail.
I.B. Washincars
Car Washer Emeritus
Absolutely! I'm only 60 miles away from you and have had it happen many times, although it has been quite a while since the last time. You are playing with a zippo and dynamite by not auditing your changers.
I utilize coin counters for each piece of equipment (bays, vacs, vend, automatic, air fresh) to verify coins and the counters in the bill changers to verify bills. I collect practically every day at each location.
Using an audit sheet, verify cash in the changers vs the counters.
Then take counter readings from bays and collect the coin. Start counting the quarters and stop at the amount equal to the amount of bills taken from changers. Take these quarters and replenish the changers of coin. (this is basically an even swap bills for coin. You should be at the amount of coin in changers that you started with.)
Count the rest of the qtrs for the bays. Verify against the readings taken at time of collection against all the coins collected and counted from the bays.
Collect vac coins and take readings and the same for all other collection areas. Verify collection amounts to readings.
Sales taxes are dependent on your location. Some places have taxes on vending items and not wash sales. Check with you accountant or call you states Revenue dept.
I use QuickBooks. It keeps track of sales, expenses, taxes, etc.
I have an audit trail for all the monies just in case my uncle sam wants to verify my receipts. It is also back up records for when I decide to sell the carwash.
Are you talking about stringing or mechanical error?
Same way here, I do keep auto and self serve income separated, with vending and vac revenue considered SS income. I may occasionally do a closer analysis a couple times per year by counting each individual service for a month or so.
I do keep my monthly totals as accurate as possible by ensuring I make a final cash deposit on the last business day of the month. That essentially keeps my monthly checking account statement (more) accurately reflecting that month's income.
I.B. Washincars
Car Washer Emeritus
Stringing, harness tampering, and mechanical error. I've had them all at one time or another. I have an alarm system attatched that will turn the changer off if it sees an abnormal amt. of coins dispensed in too short of a a time period. Monitoring "coins out" works great since it is a catch-all. No matter how the changer is being cheated it will shut it down.
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
1. I use Quick books.
2. Vending income accounted for seperately because there is sales tax on this but not wash income.
3. Quarters from vaults and Vacs not counted regularly but audited periodicaly to match counters.
4. Quarters are usualy dumped into changers and only bills are counted and matched to changer counters. Few discrepancies.
5. If you need to "Buy" quarters as I do, say $500.00 at a time the amount of bills removed from changers recorded is reduced by $500.00 and those quarters are added to changers. So, I agree with MEP and disagree with the earlier post. Over time the net $ removed from changers (Less any exchange for bills used for more quarters is an accurate sale amount (Plus of course Bills removed from other acceptors, credit cards and surplus coins if any.)
2. Vending income accounted for seperately because there is sales tax on this but not wash income.
3. Quarters from vaults and Vacs not counted regularly but audited periodicaly to match counters.
4. Quarters are usualy dumped into changers and only bills are counted and matched to changer counters. Few discrepancies.
5. If you need to "Buy" quarters as I do, say $500.00 at a time the amount of bills removed from changers recorded is reduced by $500.00 and those quarters are added to changers. So, I agree with MEP and disagree with the earlier post. Over time the net $ removed from changers (Less any exchange for bills used for more quarters is an accurate sale amount (Plus of course Bills removed from other acceptors, credit cards and surplus coins if any.)
