Top 12 Cashier Skills to Put on Your Resume

A compelling resume is vital for landing a cashier position, showcasing not just your experience but also your relevant skills. Highlighting the top cashier skills on your resume can set you apart from other candidates by demonstrating your ability to efficiently handle transactions and provide exceptional customer service.

Cashier Skills

1. POS Systems
2. Cash Handling
3. Customer Service
4. Time Management
5. Square
6. QuickBooks
7. Inventory Management
8. Microsoft Excel
9. Conflict Resolution
10. Touchscreen Navigation
11. Barcode Scanning
12. SAP Retail

1. POS Systems

POS Systems, or Point of Sale Systems, are digital platforms used by cashiers to process sales transactions, manage inventory, and track customer purchases in retail settings.

Why It's Important

POS (Point of Sale) systems matter because they speed up transactions, keep counts tidy, and surface sales data instantly—leading to smoother lines and happier customers.

How to Improve POS Systems Skills

Sharpen your POS skills so the register never slows you down:

1. Master core workflows: discounts, returns, exchanges, price overrides, split tenders, tips, gift cards, and EBT when applicable.
2. Use shortcuts: hotkeys, quick buttons, and favorites for high-volume items.
3. Recover from errors: voids, reprints, offline mode, duplicate charge checks, and receipt lookups.
4. Know the hardware: pair and troubleshoot scanners, card readers, printers, and cash drawers.
5. Keep inventory aligned: correct item lookups, barcodes, variants, and tax rules at checkout.
6. Protect the till: sign-ins, permissions, blind counts, cash drops, and basic PCI awareness.
7. Drill for speed: scan-bag-pay routines, bagging order, and clear counter setup.
8. Stay current: read release notes, practice in training mode, and keep quick-reference guides handy.

How to Display POS Systems Skills on Your Resume

2. Cash Handling

Cash handling refers to the process of managing and processing cash transactions, including receiving, recording, and safeguarding cash payments, as performed by a cashier.

Why It's Important

Cash handling must be precise. Accuracy builds trust, reduces loss, and keeps the drawer balanced to the penny.

How to Improve Cash Handling Skills

Make every bill count:

1. Standardize procedures: count-in/count-out, starting tills, and a consistent change-making method.
2. Use POS cash tools: denomination counts, cash management modules, and cash drop prompts.
3. Audit routinely: blind counts, spot checks, and clear variance documentation.
4. Limit exposure: keep minimal cash in the drawer; drop large bills promptly with dual control.
5. Detect counterfeits: know bill security features and use detection tools where provided.
6. Reconcile daily: close out shifts immediately and resolve discrepancies before leaving.

How to Display Cash Handling Skills on Your Resume

3. Customer Service

Customer service for a cashier involves courteously handling transactions, answering questions, resolving issues, and making the checkout straightforward and kind.

Why It's Important

Great service turns a quick purchase into a repeat visit. It anchors a store’s reputation and keeps lines calm when the rush hits.

How to Improve Customer Service Skills

Small habits, big effect:

1. Warm greeting and eye contact—set the tone right away.
2. Listen fully before responding; repeat back key details to confirm.
3. Use plain language, not jargon. Short, clear answers beat long speeches.
4. Empathize and, when needed, apologize without defensiveness.
5. Offer options: refunds, exchanges, or store policies—framed as solutions.
6. Move fast, stay accurate: reduce wait time without cutting corners.
7. Know your products: basics on pricing, promos, and where items live.
8. De-escalate and call a manager early if boundaries or policies require it.

How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume

4. Time Management

Time management for a cashier means prioritizing tasks and keeping the line moving while handling side duties without getting tangled.

Why It's Important

Lines shrink, stress drops, and the whole front end hums when time is managed well.

How to Improve Time Management Skills

Trim the wasted minutes:

1. Prioritize with a simple urgent/important lens; protect peak times for scanning, not side work.
2. Batch tasks: during lulls, restock smalls, tidy, prep bags, and print labels in one sweep.
3. Keep the station clean: a tidy counter speeds every transaction.
4. Coordinate with teammates to open lanes, call for backup, or switch roles quickly.
5. Prep in advance: change rolls, receipt paper, and supplies before the rush.
6. Self-care: rest, hydrate, and stretch—focus suffers when you don’t.

How to Display Time Management Skills on Your Resume

5. Square

Square is a point-of-sale and payments platform that lets cashiers accept cards, contactless payments, and manage items from a phone, tablet, or terminal.

Why It's Important

It’s quick to learn, flexible with hardware, and tracks sales and customers in one place—useful in busy retail and pop-up setups alike.

How to Improve Square Skills

Make Square work harder for you:

1. Customize checkout with favorites, categories, and smart layouts.
2. Connect hardware: printers, drawers, scanners, and reliable card readers.
3. Use employee tools for permissions, timecards, and individual sales tracking.
4. Enable digital receipts and feedback to catch service gaps fast.
5. Track inventory with alerts, variants, and low-stock reminders.
6. Configure taxes, tips, and offline mode before the rush starts.
7. Train regularly on updates, refunds, exchanges, and disputed charges.

How to Display Square Skills on Your Resume

6. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is accounting software for tracking sales, expenses, and daily transactions. For many stores, POS data flows into QuickBooks for reconciliation and reporting.

Why It's Important

Accurate records, faster closes, and fewer errors—cashiers who understand the basics make the handoff to bookkeeping clean.

How to Improve QuickBooks Skills

Keep the books tidy from the register forward:

1. Automate feeds to reduce manual entry and typos.
2. Integrate POS so daily sales summaries post consistently.
3. Use built-in payments for simplified matching and fewer mismatches.
4. Leverage templates and keyboard shortcuts for speed.
5. Reconcile on schedule and investigate variances promptly.
6. Apply user roles and audit trails for accountability.
7. Update and back up to protect data and stay current.

How to Display QuickBooks Skills on Your Resume

7. Inventory Management

Inventory management, in the context of a cashier, involves tracking and controlling the quantity of goods available for sale, ensuring items are properly stocked and recorded at checkout.

Why It's Important

Right stock, right time. Fewer stockouts, less overstock, and faster checkouts when items scan cleanly.

How to Improve Inventory Management Skills

Get the counts right where it starts—the register:

1. Use POS-integrated inventory for real-time updates and clean item lookups.
2. Run cycle counts and spot checks; correct discrepancies immediately.
3. Maintain barcode hygiene: correct labels, fix mismatches, and avoid manual entry when possible.
4. Follow strong receiving procedures so items enter the system accurately.
5. Communicate low-stock alerts, damaged goods, and shrink indicators quickly.
6. Apply forecasting and reorder points to keep shelves steady.

How to Display Inventory Management Skills on Your Resume

8. Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet tool used to organize data, run calculations, and analyze trends—handy for tracking sales, reconciling drawers, and simple inventory lists.

Why It's Important

It makes numbers clear. Fast summaries, quick checks, and clean reports save time.

How to Improve Microsoft Excel Skills

Build a lean toolkit:

1. Core formulas: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, IF, and lookups like VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP.
2. Data validation and AutoFill to prevent mistakes and speed entry.
3. Tables and filters for tidy, sortable data.
4. PivotTables to summarize sales, tenders, and shifts.
5. Charts for quick trend snapshots.
6. Shortcuts and formatting to work faster and keep sheets readable.

How to Display Microsoft Excel Skills on Your Resume

9. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution, for a cashier, means calmly addressing complaints or disagreements and guiding the interaction toward a fair, policy-aligned outcome.

Why It's Important

Handled well, a tense moment becomes loyalty. Handled poorly, it becomes lost business.

How to Improve Conflict Resolution Skills

Keep cool and steer the conversation:

• Stay composed and breathe—tone sets the temperature.
• Listen without interrupting; reflect back what you heard.
• Show empathy and acknowledge frustration.
• State options clearly using simple, neutral language.
• Know the policies and your limits; escalate when required.
• Follow up with a brief check—resolution lands better when confirmed.
• Document notable incidents for team learning.

How to Display Conflict Resolution Skills on Your Resume

10. Touchscreen Navigation

Touchscreen navigation for a cashier is the tap-and-swipe interface on a POS used to ring items, take payment, and complete transactions.

Why It's Important

Fast taps, fewer errors. Intuitive screens help new staff ramp quickly and veterans fly.

How to Improve Touchscreen Navigation Skills

Make every tap count:

1. Simplify screens with big, clear buttons and fewer steps for common actions.
2. Prioritize layout: place high-frequency tasks and items front and center.
3. Use visual cues—icons, colors, and concise labels to reduce hunting.
4. Enable feedback sounds or haptics so taps feel confirmed.
5. Consider accessibility: contrast, font size, and reach for different hand sizes.
6. Keep software updated and the screen clean; recalibrate if touches drift.
7. Train with scenarios like voids, exchanges, and multi-tender payments.

How to Display Touchscreen Navigation Skills on Your Resume

11. Barcode Scanning

Barcode scanning is the process of reading a product’s code so the POS can instantly fetch price and details for checkout and inventory tracking.

Why It's Important

It boosts speed, cuts pricing errors, and keeps inventory records cleaner.

How to Improve Barcode Scanning Skills

Scan smooth, scan once:

1. Clean the code and lens to remove smudges and dust.
2. Align correctly: hold the beam perpendicular to the bars.
3. Steady the product or use a stand for consistent reads.
4. Mind the distance—use the scanner’s optimal range.
5. Use quality scanners suited to your environment and barcode types.
6. Train on edge cases: damaged codes, curved surfaces, shiny packaging.
7. Update firmware and POS settings; enable continuous or hands-free modes when helpful.
8. Have a fallback: PLUs or manual entry with a price check process.

How to Display Barcode Scanning Skills on Your Resume

12. SAP Retail

SAP Retail is an integrated retail system that supports store operations, inventory, and sales. For cashiers, it streamlines checkout, payments, and transaction accuracy.

Why It's Important

It unifies pricing, inventory, and transactions, which reduces errors at the lane and speeds service.

How to Improve SAP Retail Skills

Make complex tools feel simple at the register:

1. Role-specific training focused on cashier transactions and common exceptions.
2. Tailor the interface so frequently used actions are prominent and steps are trimmed.
3. Ensure tight payment integration for quick, error-free tenders.
4. Leverage real-time inventory so availability answers are reliable.
5. Standardize transaction types for returns, exchanges, coupons, and promos.
6. Use quick keys and favorites to cut navigation time.
7. Collect frontline feedback and iterate layouts and flows.

How to Display SAP Retail Skills on Your Resume