Catch ATM discrepancies before customers complain

Download or print the full transaction journal from the ATM for the period you're reconciling. This should show every single withdrawal, deposit, and failed transaction that happened. Quick sanity check - compare the journal's timestamp with your current time. If they don't match, the ATM clock needs fixing, and that's a red flag for your audit trail. Here's what you're looking for: - Total withdrawals dispensed - Failed or reversed transactions - Any error codes or jam events - Cash retract events (where a customer didn't grab their cash in time) Tip: If the journal shows more than a handful of retracts, that ATM might have a slow dispense issue worth reporting to your service team.

Open the ATM safe and count every cassette. Then compare what's physically sitting in front of you to what the system says should be there. Don't forget the reject cassette - bills that got kicked out during dispensing still count toward your total. Your formula is simple: Expected Balance = Starting Cash - Dispensed + Deposits + Retracted Small variances under $20 are pretty common and usually come from the machine miscounting worn or sticky bills. Anything bigger than that needs a closer look. In our experience, most large variances trace back to cassette loading mistakes - someone put $20s where $10s should go, and the system counted at the wrong denomination.

If there's a variance, it's time to dig into the transaction log and figure out what happened. Here are the most common causes you'll run into: - Bill jams where cash got retracted back into the machine - Customer disputes (they say they didn't receive their money) - Counterfeit bill detection rejects - Cassette misloads during the last replenishment For each variance, write down the likely cause and what evidence supports it. Attach transaction receipts or note the camera footage timestamps if you need them. Warning: Don't just write "unknown" and move on. Auditors will flag unexplained variances, and a pattern of those can trigger a full branch review. Even your best guess with supporting details is better than leaving it blank.

Sign the ATM reconciliation form and file it with your daily records. If the variance is over your threshold (typically $50 at most branches), you need to escalate to your ATM supervisor before you sign off - don't close this out on your own. Make sure camera footage stays available for at least 30 days. If a customer dispute comes in next week, that footage is often the only way to prove what actually happened at the machine. Tip: Take a photo of the signed form before filing it. Paper gets lost more often than you'd think, and having a backup on file has saved more than a few people during surprise audits.