Counting and Depositing Collected Cash

Physical cash is the hardest money to account for honestly, so Muin makes it a process: two people count it, a second person approves the count, the bank deposit is matched, and only then does it become recorded contributions.

When you’d use this

Jumu’ah collection was counted in the office and needs recording.
The Sunday service plate and the donation box were counted together.
An event took cash at the door.
The counted total does not match the deposit slip and you need that on the record.

See every session

Go to Nonprofit > Giving > Cash Collection.
Tabs follow the stages: All, Awaiting Approval, In Transit, Awaiting Reconciliation, Reconciled, Flagged.
The list shows Count date, Source, Total counted, Pending action and Status.

Sources name where the money came from: Jumu’ah, Sunday Service, Mass, Event, Box / Pickup, or Other.

If the list says it is showing the most recent sessions of a larger total, use the stage tabs to narrow it rather than scrolling.

The stages

Status	Pending action	Meaning
Counted	Awaiting approval	Two people counted it; it needs a second person to approve
In Transit	Awaiting deposit	Approved, on its way to the bank
Deposited	Awaiting reconciliation	At the bank, waiting to be matched
Reconciled	Complete	Matched, and contributions are recorded
Flagged	Flagged: cancelled	A discrepancy was raised; no contributions were recorded

Work one session

Open a session and the header tells you the source and the total, with the count date and the fund underneath. The summary names Total counted, Fund, Counted by (both counters) and Envelopes. A Next step section says what the session is waiting for.

Your actions depend on the stage:

Stage	Actions
Counted	Approve, Return for recount, Flag discrepancy
In Transit	Mark deposited, Return for recount, Flag discrepancy
Deposited	Confirm reconciliation, Flag discrepancy
Reconciled or Flagged	None. These are end states

Each action tells you its consequence before you confirm:

Return for recount sends the session back. Its status returns to counted and any approval is cleared.
Flag discrepancy cancels the session. No contributions are recorded. A reason is required, so there is an audit trail: write what did not add up.
Confirm reconciliation records a contribution for each envelope and matches the linked bank deposit. This is the step that recognizes the money, and it cannot be undone.

Confirm reconciliation stays disabled until a matching bank deposit is linked. Once the bank feed shows the deposit it links automatically, and the button becomes available. You are not meant to confirm before the bank agrees with you.

Two people, and then a second pair of eyes

A session cannot be created by one person. Muin requires at least two counters on every count, and both names appear on the session as Counted by. That is the two-person rule, enforced where the count happens.

Approval is a separate question, and it follows your organization’s approval settings under Settings > Approvals > cash counts rather than a fixed rule. Depending on how you set it:

Approving a session you counted yourself may be allowed, allowed with a written note, or blocked.
A two-signature band leaves the session in Counted after the first approval, waiting for the second.
Where the approver cannot also be the payer, the deposit and reconcile steps are refused for the person who approved.

When a rule stops you, Muin opens a dialog that names the rule and links to the setting that governs it.

What it affects

Nothing is a contribution until the session is reconciled. A counted, approved, deposited session is a record of cash, not income.
Reconciling creates one contribution per envelope, so the envelope detail is what determines whose giving history is credited.
Flagging cancels the session outright. It does not record a smaller amount, if the real total differs, return it for recount instead.
The fund on the session is where the contributions land, so the fund balance and the giving reports move at reconciliation, not at the count.
A reconciled session is matched against a bank transaction, which is what makes the deposit appear reconciled in finance rather than as an unexplained credit.

When it goes wrong

What you see	What it means	What to do
Couldn’t load cash sessions	The list failed to load	Press Retry. Check your connection if it repeats.
No cash sessions yet	Nothing has been counted	Sessions are created at the count, by two counters.
Nothing in this stage	That tab is genuinely empty	Switch to All.
Couldn’t load this session	That one session failed to open	Go back to the list and open it again.
Confirm reconciliation is disabled	No bank deposit is linked yet	The tooltip says it: once the bank feed shows the deposit it links automatically, then you can confirm.
Failed to approve session.	The approval did not land	Try again. If it repeats, check whether your settings allow you to approve this one.
Failed to mark deposited.	The deposit step failed	Try again.
Failed to reconcile session.	Reconciliation failed	Try again. Confirm the bank deposit is still linked.
Failed to flag session.	The flag did not save	Try again. A reason is required.
Failed to return for recount.	The return failed	Try again.
A dialog asks you to write why you are approving this	You counted it yourself, and your settings allow that with a note	Write it. The note stays on the record.
Approving is refused outright	Your settings block approving a session you counted	Have somebody else approve it.
The deposit or reconcile action is refused	Your organization separates the approver from the payer	A different person completes those steps.
The counted total does not match the deposit slip	Exactly the case this process exists for	Return for recount if you think the count was wrong; Flag discrepancy if the money is genuinely missing. Do not reconcile a total you do not believe.
You flagged a session by mistake	Flagging cancels it and cannot be undone	Create a new session from a fresh count. The flagged one stays on the record with your reason.

Next step

Reconciled cash becomes contributions. See Reconciliation for how it meets the bank feed, and Aid requests for the money going back out.