Ways to run a petty cash tin, compared
Most petty cash tins are run on a notebook, or on nothing. Before you pay for any app, here's what each option is actually built for, what it costs, and when you'd be better off with something other than us.
The short version
- A few withdrawals a month, one person handles the cash: a notebook or our free template is enough.
- You're replacing cash with company cards: use a card tool like Pleo or Expensify. They're built for that and we aren't.
- Several staff share one tin and nobody wants another login: that's the gap PettyCashing fills.
Side by side
Prices as listed on each vendor's own page on 8 October 2026, in the vendor's own currency, before tax. They change; follow the links to check.
| Option | What it costs | Built for | Who it suits better than us |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebook or spreadsheet | Free | Anyone | A tin used a few times a month by one person. Nothing forces a name or a receipt on each entry, so gaps show up at month end. |
| Our printable template | Free | Paper users | Anyone happy with paper. It has the columns an accountant wants. |
| Accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, Zoho Books) | Already part of your subscription | Your books | It can hold petty cash as an account, and it's where the totals should end up. It isn't built for staff at the counter to log $4.50 of milk. |
| Pleo | Start £8 a month, 1 user. Build £14 and Optimise £18 per user a month, billed yearly, 3 users minimum. | Company cards and expense claims | Businesses moving staff spending onto cards. |
| Expensify | Collect AU$8 (US$5) per member a month. Control from AU$30 (US$18) per member a month on an annual plan. | Employee expense reports and cards | Staff who each pay and claim back, with approvals. |
| Petty Cash Book (Petty-T) | Free download; subscription $5.99 a month or $79.99 a year (App Store listing) | Cash advanced to individual staff, settled by an accounts team | Companies that hand each person a cash float and settle per person. |
| PettyCashing | A$9.99 a month or A$99 a year per business, any number of staff. 30 days free, no card needed. | One physical tin shared by staff | — |
Per person or per business
Card and expense tools charge for each person who uses them. A cafe with 8 casual staff taking cash from one tin would pay for 8 members on those plans. PettyCashing charges one flat price per business, and staff don't need an account: they scan a QR code on the tin and enter their PIN.
What PettyCashing doesn't do
- No company cards and no reimbursements to staff bank accounts.
- No direct sync with Xero or MYOB yet. Your accountant gets a monthly email with every receipt and a CSV to import.
- Prices are in Australian dollars.
Try it on your own tin
PettyCashing puts a QR code on your cash tin. Staff scan it, log what they took and snap the receipt, so you always know what should be in the tin, even when you're not in the shop.