Hey there! As a fellow data geek passionate about the intersection of technology, business, and language, I wanted to dive deep into the curious history and terminology behind the word "till." Get ready for a winding journey across centuries and continents!
Etymology: The origins of "till"
Let‘s start at the linguistic roots of "till." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known usage of "till" to mean a cash box or drawer dates all the way back to 1588. It comes from the Middle English "til" meaning compartment or drawer.
This built on even earlier Old French roots – "tille" was an early 1300s French word for a compartment or section on medieval ships used for storage. The verb "till" in French similarly referred to storing items in these compartments.
So the primordial meaning of "till" was a literal storage drawer or box. But when did it become associated specifically with money?
Early cash "tills" before registers
In the 1700s and 1800s, shops commonly kept money in locked wooden drawers or iron boxes, known as "tills." An 1803 newspaper from the Isle of Man described a break-in where "the till was rifled of its contents."
So the use of "till" to describe money boxes and cash drawers prevailed in English by the 1800s as retail shops proliferated. Back then, a "till" was a purely manual affair with no calculation aids. Shopkeepers had to tally transactions and count drawer contents manually.
One 1797 text even described the theft of a "till and the contents, amounting to thirty pounds and upwards." So already the till was a key target for burglars!
The cash register revolution
Things changed with the invention of the mechanical cash register in the 1880s. Forward-thinking American saloon owner James Ritty first patented a machine registering cash transactions in 1883.
According to the Smithsonian, Ritty‘s inspiration struck after he observed unused steamship ticket devices printing transaction records. Within 6 years, Ritty‘s company produced over 30,000 registers for stores across America.
Now shop owners could rapidly tally sales and reduce bookkeeping hassles. But crucially, these registers still contained lockable cash drawers – the "till."
As electricity spread in stores, cash registers incorporated electric motors, buttons, and calculators. Electronic computerized registers emerged in the 1960s and 1970s.
But remarkably, the centuries-old word "till" stuck around as the embedded cash drawer housed in increasingly high-tech registers.
Till vs. Register: Why the difference between UK and US?
Fun fact: "till" remains the favored term in British English, while Americans predominantly say "cash register." Why the divergence?
It may come down British English retaining older definitions vs. American English favoring newer specific terms.
In the UK, "till" simply carried over its centuries-old meaning as a cash drawer or box. But American English coined "register" in the late 1800s to describe the newfangled registering machines.
As Smithsonian Magazine notes, Americans emphasized the bookkeeping and tallying functions of registers. So "cash register" gained prominence referring to the entire machine across the Atlantic.
Other theories suggest:
- UK English preserves more antiquated terms
- American English is more innovative and descriptive in word choice
- "Register" likened to file registers or stock registers in business
But despite the different regional terminology, both terms refer to the same counter-top devices housing secured cash drawers and transaction processing capabilities.
Inside the modern till: Features and functions
Nowadays, the typical till found in stores and food service outlets contains a sophisticated array of features:
- Bill and coin compartments organized by denomination
- Scanners to read barcodes on merchandise
- Touchscreen interfaces displaying item names, prices, and totals
- Card readers for processing credit/debit payments
- Receipt printers providing transaction records
- Built-in reporting on sales, taxes collected, discounts etc.
- Connectivity to synchronize transaction data with business software
- Cash drawer locking mechanisms and alarms
Far cry from the simple locked boxes of yore!
Top till manufacturers including Casio, UNIC, and Sharp offer a range of register models with different capabilities. The most full-featured models serve large retailers with constant traffic. More streamlined versions suit small shops and cafes.
Prices range widely too – from around $400 for a basic single-station register to $2000+ for a feature-packed networked system.
Here‘s a comparison table of common till features by price range:
| Feature | Basic Tills | Mid-range | Advanced Tills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Range | $400-$800 | $800-$1500 | $1500+ |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Receipt Printer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cash Drawer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Card Reader | Optional addon | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode Scanner | Optional addon | Yes | Yes |
| Invoicing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reporting | Limited | Advanced | Very robust |
| # Registers Supported | 1 | 1-5 | Unlimited |
| Remote Access | No | Yes | Yes |
So higher priced tills pack more features for large and complex retail settings.
The unsung heroes: Till operators
We can‘t talk about tills without mentioning the attendants who skillfully operate them – cashiers! Sitting on the frontline, cashiers play a remarkably diverse role:
- Providing friendly greetings and service with a smile
- Quickly scanning and bagging items
- Looking up produce codes and item names
- Checking prices and validating totals
- Receiving cash payments, making change, and thanking customers
- Processing credit cards and ensuring transaction security
- Issuing receipts and answering questions
- Accounting for their till‘s contents before and after shifts
- Following proper cashier balancing procedures
- Notifying managers of discrepancies at shift changes
In many ways, cashiers are the face of the business – so hiring reliable and personable candidates for the till is a must.
I don‘t know about you, but I‘ve gained a whole new appreciation for these till all-stars after learning more about their critical duties!
Securing the till: Safety considerations
Handling significant cash volume makes tills vulnerable to crimes like robbery. What safety measures do retailers implement for their tills?
- Mounting security cameras above registers to deter theft
- Enforcing cash exposure limits per register (only allowing small amounts of cash)
- Using locking cash drawers and alarm systems when drawers are closed
- Balancing out and reconciling tills at every shift change
- Varying bank deposit timing and dropoff routes
- Conducting random till cash counts and audits
- Restricting register and cash drawer access to authorized employees only
- Storing minimal cash in tills overnight
- Bolting registers with tamper-resistant fixtures
Proper security controls minimize the inherent risks with cash. And technology like bait money marked with GPS trackers helps catch criminals if robberies occur.
Going mobile: The POS revolution
Point of sale technology keeps evolving away from traditional registers. Many businesses now opt for mobile POS solutions running on tablets or smartphones.
Some benefits of mobile POS:
- Sleek and minimal hardware – no bulky register required
- Portability to serve customers anywhere in the store
- Easy integration with inventory management and ecommerce systems
- Flexible payment options like tap-to-pay or mobile wallets
- Fewer mentions of "tills" or "registers" in favor of POS
With mobile POS, the software and transactions take center stage versus the physical till.
But while the underlying technology shifts, the need for secured cash management remains. Mobile POS drawers are designed for portability with features like folding trays.
So in a sense, the conceptual "till" lives on in mobile POS devices even if the traditional register fades away!
Key terminology
Let‘s recap some key terminology around tills:
- Till – A drawer, box, or compartment used to store cash in businesses
- Cash register – Counter-top machines used to tally transactions
- POS – Broader point of sale system including payments and software
- Cash drawer – Metal compartment within a register for storing cash
- Float – Starting cash inside a till for making change
The story continues…
Who knew the humble shop cash drawer had such a long and fascinating history? From medieval French ship compartments to sleek mobile POS tablets, the till has certainly evolved over centuries. But it remains an essential fixture for commerce and cash management.
Next time you‘re in a store, take a moment to appreciate not just the register itself, but also the operator behind it! They truly are the conductors orchestrating complex retail symphonies.
Let me know if you have any other questions about the etymology and history of tills. This was a fun dive into an everyday object we often take for granted. Talk soon!
