Scratch-Off Shift Change Procedure

By the Lotto Proof team, who run their own liquor stores · Last updated October 15, 2026

A good scratch-off shift change ends with both cashiers agreeing on what sold. The outgoing and incoming cashiers count every scratcher book (also called a pack) together, account for any book that changed, close the register, balance the two, and sign off. Whatever happens after that belongs to the next shift.

The six steps

Six steps of a scratch-off shift changeCount together, record every book, explain changes, close the register, balance counted against rung up, and sign off. The rule: no count, no handover.1Count togetherBoth cashiers,before handover2Record every bookNext ticket,bin by bin3Explain changesNew, sold out,or gone4Close the registerAt the samemoment5BalanceCounted vs.rung up6Sign offBoth cashiersagreeThe rule: no count, no handover
Six steps, every shift change. If any step is skipped, the next shift inherits whatever went wrong.
  1. Count together. Both cashiers are present. The incoming cashier shouldn't accept a rack they didn't see counted.
  2. Record every book. Write down the next ticket to be sold in each book, bin by bin, in the same order every time.
  3. Explain changes. Any book put out during the shift, sold out, or no longer in the rack gets explained now, not tomorrow.
  4. Close the register at the same moment as the count, so both cover the same period.
  5. Balance. Tickets sold times price should match scratch-off sales rung up. Draw games and payouts reconcile separately.
  6. Sign off. Both cashiers sign, including any difference and its explanation.

Our free lottery shift count sheet (Excel and PDF) follows these steps and does the math.

How to count faster by hand

Counting the rack in a fixed snake order, with a reader and a writerA 32-bin rack numbered in a snake: left to right on the top row, right to left on the next, and so on, so the count never skips or repeats a bin. One cashier reads the bin and the next ticket number aloud; the other writes it down and reads it back.1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132READER“Bin 12, next 047”Reads the bin and the nextticket number out loudWRITER“Bin 12, 047”Writes it on the sheet andreads it back before moving on
Number the bins once, in a snake, and count in that order every time. Two people, one reading and one writing, catch each other's misreads.
  • Write the next ticket number, never count tickets. One number per book; the subtraction does the rest.
  • Number the bins once, in a snake. Left to right on the top row, right to left on the next. Count in that order every time so nothing is skipped or counted twice.
  • One reads, one writes. The reader calls out “bin 12, next 047”; the writer writes it and reads it back. Two people are faster than one and catch each other's misreads.
  • Pre-fill the sheet. Copy bin, game, price, and book number forward from the last sheet so only the ticket number is new.
  • Let the sheet do the math. A spreadsheet removes the slowest and most error-prone part.
  • Keep the rack tidy. Books facing the same way, next ticket visible, one book per bin.

Where shift changes go wrong

  • The count is skipped on busy nights, so the next count covers two shifts.
  • One person counts alone and the next cashier signs without looking.
  • Math errors in a 30- or 60-book subtraction make a real shortage look like a typo, or the reverse.
  • A book quietly disappears because the sheet lists tickets, not books.
  • The register is closed at a different time from the count, so they never line up.
  • The owner never sees it until the paper is collected.

Edge cases

  • A book sells out mid-shift: mark it sold out and start a new row for its replacement.
  • The rep visits mid-shift: count the books the rep touches before and after, and note returns with their ticket numbers.
  • A customer buys a whole book: log it separately so it isn't mistaken for a missing book.
  • The count doesn't balance: recount the books that sold the most first; that is where most misreads are.

How Lotto Proof handles this

Even done well, a hand count is the slowest and most error-prone part of the shift change. With Lotto Proof, the cashier taps Start Shift and scans the barcode on each book instead. The math is automatic, any missing book is flagged on the scanner's screen, and the result reaches the owner's dashboard without anyone sending it. At our own stores, the full-rack scan takes a median of 32 seconds on a 32-bin rack and 2 minutes 9 seconds on a 64-bin rack.

Time to count the scratcher rack at shift changeMedian full-rack scan time was 32 seconds for a 32-bin rack and 2 minutes 9 seconds for a 64-bin rack, across 1,072 scans. Counting the same racks by hand typically takes 15 to 45 minutes.0153045Minutes per shift changeScanner, 32-bin rack32 secScanner, 64-bin rack2 min 9 secCounting by hand15–45 min
Scanner times: median of 1,072 full-rack scans at our own two stores, March to October 2026, first barcode to last. Hand-count range is the typical time retailers report.

Lotto Proof is a handheld scratch-off scanner with an owner dashboard: $39.99/month per location, scanner included (pricing). Start a 30-day free trial, or talk to us first.

Frequently asked questions

What is the procedure for a lottery shift change?

Before the outgoing cashier leaves, both cashiers count every scratch-off book in the rack, record the next ticket to be sold in each, account for any book that is new, sold out, or gone, close out the register, compare scratch-off sales counted with sales rung up, and both sign off on the result.

How do you balance lottery at shift end?

Multiply tickets sold from the count by each ticket's price and compare the total with the scratch-off sales rung up during the shift. Do draw games and payouts separately against the lottery terminal's report.

How can I count scratch-offs faster?

Write down the next ticket number instead of counting tickets, number the bins and count them in the same snake order every time, have one person read and one write, carry book numbers forward on a pre-filled sheet, and use a sheet that does the math.

Why does the lottery count take so long at shift change?

Reading and writing down a ticket number for every book, then doing the subtraction, takes 15 to 45 minutes depending on the rack. It is also where most mistakes happen. When the count is slow, it tends to get skipped or rushed, which is when shortages slip through.

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