AWRA OpsHub Search

Petty Cash

A small cash float held for minor, immediate purchases.

Area
Accounting
Also known as
imprest, cash float
In this area
51 terms of 257

Petty cash is a fixed float — often run as an imprest, where the exact amount spent is reimbursed to restore the original balance — used for small purchases that cannot wait for a payment run.

It needs the strictest simple controls: one custodian, a receipt for every disbursement, a spend ceiling per item and periodic surprise counts. Cash is the easiest asset to lose and the hardest to trace.

Related terms

Expense Claim

A staff request for reimbursement of costs paid personally.

Internal Control

A process designed to prevent or detect error and fraud.

Segregation of Duties

SoD

Splitting a transaction so no one person controls it end to end.

Bank Reconciliation

Matching ledger cash records against the bank statement.

More in Accounting

Accounts Payable (AP) Accounts Receivable (AR) Accrual Accounting Accrued Expense Aging Report Bad Debt Provision Balance Sheet Break-Even Point

Petty Cash is not just a definition here

Accounting runs on this vocabulary every day in AWRA OpsHub — 51 of our 257 glossary terms describe things the platform actually does.

Take the product tour Book a demo