Accounting Principles, 11th Edition

Feature Story

Minding the Money in Moose Jaw

If you're ever looking for a cappuccino in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, stop by Stephanie's Gourmet Coffee and More, located on Main Street. Staff there serve, on average, 650 cups of coffee a day, including both regular and specialty coffees, not to mention soups, Italian sandwiches, and a wide assortment of gourmet cheesecakes.

“We've got high school students who come here, and students from the community college,” says owner/manager Stephanie Mintenko, who has run the place since opening it in 1995. “We have customers who are retired, and others who are working people and have only 30 minutes for lunch. We have to be pretty quick.”

That means that the cashiers have to be efficient. Like most businesses where purchases are low-cost and high-volume, cash control has to be simple.

“We have an electronic cash register, but it's not the fancy new kind where you just punch in the item,” explains Ms. Mintenko. “You have to punch in the prices.” The machine does keep track of sales in several categories, however. Cashiers punch a button to indicate whether each item is a beverage, a meal, or other type of item. An internal tape in the machine keeps a record of all transactions. The customer receives a receipt only upon request.

There is only ...