# cash up

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/cash-up
Updated: 2026-10-22

## Definition

to count all the money in a shop's cash machine at the end of the day. You do this to make sure the total matches the sales records.

For teachers: to count the total amount of money taken in a retail or hospitality business at the end of a trading period. The verb is primarily intransitive but may take 'the till' or 'the takings' as a direct object.

## Examples

- The shop assistant stays late every night to cash up.
- After the last customer left the restaurant, the manager began cashing up the till to prepare for tomorrow.
- The supervisor noticed a significant shortfall while cashing up, prompting an immediate review of the afternoon's transactions and staff logs.

## Pitfalls

- Not "I need to cash up this check at the bank." but "I need to cash this check at the bank." — Learners often add 'up' when they simply mean to exchange a check for money at a bank.

## Usage notes

- This phrase is most common in British English within retail and hospitality environments.
- Teaching tip: Explain that this is a specific workplace task; it differs from 'cashing in' which means to profit from a situation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.