How to Make Change, Keep Your Cash Safe and Take Credit Cards

A garage sale is a great way to clean out closets, garage and storage spaces so you can get rid of clothing, tools, sports equipment and other items you no longer use. Garage sales often involve a lot of work, so you may want to enlist the help of one or more friends or family members. Not only can sales be fun, but they can also allow you to meet new people while putting some extra cash in your pocket. When your sale is in progress, make sure you use proper cash handling procedures. The last thing you want is to lose all of your profits because they weren’t properly stored in a safe location. For your own convenience and that of your customers consider taking credit card payments. This way you can reduce the need to make change while also limiting the amount of cash that’s needed on hand.

How to Make Change

On the day prior to the sale, make sure you have enough change to begin the day. While the amount can vary by locations, most seasoned garage sale operators begin with a minimum of $40 in change, broken down into $5 in quarters, $15 in singles and $20 in fives. If you are interested in keeping track of your total profits from the sale, make a note of the amount of change you use for starting the garage sale. Simplify making change by marking inexpensive items in multiples of 25 cents. Use a calculator for totaling a customer's purchases and subtracting the total from the cash they hand you, so you know the amount of change due before opening your change supply. Consider rounding totals down to the nearest dollar to simplify the change-making process. Similarly, consider rounding down to eliminate making change for larger bills. If a customer hands you two $20 bills for a $22 purchase, round the total down to $20. Your customer feels like he is getting an even bigger bargain, and you do not have to worry about making change.

How to Keep Your Cash Safe

Keep your cash safe in a locking cash box like a drawer safe. Start the day with your change sorted into the compartments of the cash tray. As you take in more large bills, lift the front of the tray and slide them underneath it. If your garage sale is very successful, take the box inside the house occasionally, remove the large bills from under the tray and store the cash safely inside. Watch the cash box at all times while also keeping an eye on your merchandise. Another option for keeping cash safe is to use a carpenter's apron with pockets to hold the money. When the flow of customers slows, take time to empty the pockets, storing the cash you do not need for change in a safe location. If you take large bills, protect yourself from counterfeit money using a detection pen.

How to Take Credit Cards

You can also protect your profits by taking credit cards. Services such as Square and PayPal make the process easy. Through PayPal, your customers can pay using their cellphone to transfer cash to your account, and you can check your account to ensure the funds are transferred before completing the sale. PayPal also offers a card reader that connects to your cellphone so you can slide the customer's credit card and complete the transaction. The funds are deposited into your PayPal account where you can use them for purchases or transfer them to your bank account. As of 2016, the fee for a PayPal transaction is 30 cents plus 2.9 percent of the total transaction, so you might want to set a limit for the minimum amount you want to accept using a card.[1] Square also offers a card reader that does not charge a per transaction fee if you slide the card. However, it does charge 2.75 percent of the total swiped transaction. Square deposits the funds to your bank within three days.[2]

Increase your profits by advertising your garage sale on free sites such as Craigslist. Some communities have Facebook pages specifically for advertising such sales. Let your customers know you take credit card payments in your advertisement so they don't have to waste time stopping at the bank.