Guides
Keeping the books in a florist business: what to record and when
A florist's books need daily till and waste notes, weekly stem costs, and monthly sales tax set aside before the busy wedding season starts.
What to take away
- Log the till count, card batch total and cash drop nightly in one POS report. Square for Retail, Clover, Shopify POS and Floranext produce end-of-day summaries.
- Record stem waste daily with a count and a reason. Shrinkage is a cost line, not a feeling.
- Book each wedding deposit with the signed contract and delivery window on the day it lands.
- Move sales tax to a separate account when the sale is rung, not at filing time.
- Keep tax records three years under the IRS rule and four years for employment tax.
Daily records: till counts, card batches and waste
The till count, card batch total and cash drop go into one log every night, slow Tuesday included. Write the opening float, the closing float and who closed.
Waste goes on the same sheet. When a bucket of roses comes off the cooler shelf, write the stem count and the reason: age, cold damage, or a stem broken in handling. A shop that logs waste daily prices next week's arrangements against real loss.
Add a delivery log for every run: driver, route, departure time, promised window, and a signature or photo at the door. That log settles a disputed window when a customer calls. The radius you set fixes the drop count, and how to set a flower delivery radius explains the freshness trade-off behind it.
Weekly records: stem costs, payroll and delivery runs
Update stem cost per bunch, by variety, when the supplier invoice lands rather than at month end. Note the supplier, the unit and any freight billed separately. For a public reference on price movement, USDA AMS market news publishes current flower availability and pricing.
Divide weekly fuel, van time and courier fees by the number of drops for a cost per delivery, then compare it with what you charge.
Record payroll hours, rate, withholding and the deposit date on your own cycle. Pay a contractor $600 or more in a year and a Form 1099-NEC is due.
Monthly records: reconciliation, counts and export tests
Reconcile POS totals against the bank deposit each month. A gap bigger than a rounding error is a question to answer before you file.
Count vases, ribbons, cards and cooler supplies monthly, then compare the count to purchases. A shortfall points to waste or theft before it becomes a year-end surprise. IRS Publication 334 sets out how cost of goods sold is reported.
Test the POS export before you renew. If it cannot handle split payments or delivery windows, you will keep a shadow spreadsheet. The florist operations and workflow guide covers the handoffs that break first.
Yearly records: federal forms, state returns and retention
Sole proprietors report shop income on Form 1040 Schedule C. W-2 forms for employees and 1099-NEC forms for contractors are due to recipients and the IRS by January 31. Form 941 covers payroll withholding each quarter, and Form 940 covers federal unemployment once a year.
State sales tax returns go to your state department of revenue, on a filing schedule set by taxable volume: monthly, quarterly or annually.
The IRS record-keeping page gives three years after filing as the general rule and four years for employment tax. A claim on a bad debt or worthless security can push it to seven.
Canadian shops collect GST/HST instead, and the CRA generally asks for six years.
A month-end closing sequence
Month-end closing sequence
- Close the POS day and save the end-of-day report.
- Match card batches and cash drops to the bank deposit.
- Enter supplier invoices, freight included.
- Post payroll and note the withholding deposit date.
- File or schedule the next state sales tax return.
Where the cost lines sit and what proves them
Each cost line needs a record behind it, not a memory of it.
Where the cost lines sit
| Cost line | Record that proves it | When to check |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, insurance, software | Lease, policy, subscription invoice | At renewal |
| Stems and hardgoods | Supplier invoices, monthly count sheet | Weekly and monthly |
| Designers and installers | Timesheets and job sheets | Each event |
| Cold storage and van refrigeration | Service invoices, warranty terms | Quarterly reserve |
Quiet months hide a replacement bill, so a quarterly reserve check keeps that line visible. The florist finance and software guide covers what to test before you commit to a POS or a ledger.
Transaction records, from sale to year end
Transaction records
| Transaction | What to record | When |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in bouquet sale | Till entry, tender type, tax collected | Same day |
| Wedding or event deposit | Signed contract, deposit, event date, delivery window | On receipt |
| Supplier stem order | Invoice, variety, unit cost, freight | On delivery |
| Seasonal wages | Hours, rate, withholding, deposit date | Each pay period |
| Import shipment | Commercial invoice, CBP entry summary, duty paid | On clearance |
| Delivery run | Driver log, route, window, signature or photo | Each drop |
| Month close | POS report matched to the bank deposit | Monthly |
| Year-end package | W-2 and 1099-NEC copies, Schedule C figures | By the IRS deadline |
