How to Hire a Cashier

Why hire a cashier? 

Hiring a friendly, trustworthy cashier improves accuracy, reduces fraud and leads to shorter lines and delighted customers. The right cashier will leave a good impression on your customers, process payments quickly and efficiently and deal with difficult situations calmly and professionally. A great cashier:

• Processes cash, credit and debit card transactions as well as refunds, exchanges, gift cards and coupons quickly and accurately
• Answers inquiries and builds rapport with customers in person and over the phone, increasing customer satisfaction and sales
• Maintains a clean, organized checkout area to improve customer shopping experience
• Balances cash register transactions at the end of every shift and produces accurate transaction reports
• Uses upselling and cross-selling techniques to boost sales

What are the levels of cashiers? 

Cashiers start out as entry-level employees, but there’s room for growth based on experience, years at the job and overall performance. General cashiers also hold managerial or supervisory cashier positions at certain retailers. Here are the common levels of cashiers. 

• Entry-level/associate cashier: Entry-level or associate cashier positions are the most common cashier roles. Associate cashiers are responsible for ringing up purchases via price scanners or manual entry, itemizing purchases and collecting cash, credit and debit card and check payments. 
• Lead/head cashier: Like associate cashiers, lead or head cashiers collect payments and run cash registers and credit card swipe machines. In addition, a lead cashier is also responsible for ensuring the register or cash drawer is balanced at the end of the day and creating daily or nightly tally reports. 
• Supervisor cashier: A supervisor cashier has the same responsibilities as a lead cashier, and they also oversee associate cashiers and trainees. Supervisor cashiers audit daily reports and handle various matters, such as overrides and voided charges. 

Where to find cashiers

To find the right cashier for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies. 

• Promote from within: Promoting from within is a great way to show loyalty to your staff members by helping them move up within the company. For example, if you run a convenience store, you could offer the promotion to an employee who currently stocks the shelves. One of the best benefits to hiring from within is that you’re already familiar with how your employees perform. 
• Hand out flyers to customers: When looking to hire a cashier, handing out flyers to customers who frequent your business is a good way to network with local residents who are familiar with your products and services. They may actually be looking for a job for themselves or can refer potential candidates. 
• Post your cashier position online: Try posting your cashier position on Indeed to find and attract quality cashier candidates. 

What are the levels of cashiers? 

Cashiers start out as entry-level employees, but there’s room for growth based on experience, years at the job and overall performance. General cashiers also hold managerial or supervisory cashier positions at certain retailers. Here are the common levels of cashiers. 

• Entry-level/associate cashier: Entry-level or associate cashier positions are the most common cashier roles. Associate cashiers are responsible for ringing up purchases via price scanners or manual entry, itemizing purchases and collecting cash, credit and debit card and check payments. 
• Lead/head cashier: Like associate cashiers, lead or head cashiers collect payments and run cash registers and credit card swipe machines. In addition, a lead cashier is also responsible for ensuring the register or cash drawer is balanced at the end of the day and creating daily or nightly tally reports. 
• Supervisor cashier: A supervisor cashier has the same responsibilities as a lead cashier, and they also oversee associate cashiers and trainees. Supervisor cashiers audit daily reports and handle various matters, such as overrides and voided charges. 

Writing a cashier job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified cashier candidates. A cashier job description should include a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your cashier job description, consider some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on cashier jobs, according to Indeed data. 

• Cashier
• Retail sales associate
• Customer service associate
• Customer service
• Store clerk
• Retail clerk
• Transaction
• Retail
• Teen
• Cashier customer service
• Hiring immediately
• Sales associate
• 16 year old
• Fast food

Interviewing cashier candidates

An exceptional cashier will be confident answering questions about handling money, dealing with conflict and providing excellent customer service. Find the right cashier for your company by asking targeted interview questions that will reveal a candidate’s knowledge, skills and personality traits.

Topics for cashier interview questions:

• Previous experience in a customer-facing retail role
• Money-handling best practices
• Conflict management techniques
• Principles of good customer service
• Selling strategies and tactics

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of cashier interview questions for examples (with sample answers).