How to stop cash shortages at your petrol pump.

• Counting mistakes at handover, especially in a rush.
• Wrong change given to customers.
• UPI or card payments counted as cash, or a UPI payment that never actually arrived.
• Credit fills not written down, so they look like unpaid cash sales.
• Test fuel not recorded, so the meter shows sales nobody paid for.
• Shared nozzles with no clear handover, so nobody owns the difference.
• And sometimes, theft.

1. Balance per handover, not per day. A difference found the same shift belongs to someone. Found the next morning, it belongs to no one.
2. Collect by tender. Record cash, card, UPI and credit separately for every attendant.
3. Count note by note. A denomination count at handover removes most counting errors.
4. Check UPI per QR code and match card and UPI against the settlement report.
5. Write every credit fill against the customer and vehicle at the time.
6. Record test fuel in a 5-litre test register.
7. Have a clear, written policy on shortages — tolerance, who decides, and how much can be recovered — and apply it the same way to everyone.

Deducting a confirmed shortage from an attendant's wages is common practice, but it has limits: deductions must be lawful, reasonable and recorded, and total deductions are capped (Indian wage law caps total deductions at 50% of wages in most cases). Always show the attendant the reason. Check the rules that apply in your state with your advisor.