Cashier job description template

What a cashier does

For many customers, the cashier is the only employee they talk to. A fast, friendly checkout is why people come back, and a slow or careless one is why they don't. Cashier roles attract first-time workers, students, and people who want flexible hours, so your posting should be short, warm, and clear about schedules and pay. If you hire teenagers, the child labor rules below matter.

Cashier job description template

Copy the description, replace everything in [brackets], and cut any line that isn't true for your job. The duties and requirements are a starting point written by HR practitioners, not a legal standard, so edit them to match the real work.

Cashier

Details
- Department: [Department]
- Reports to: [Manager title]
- Location: [City, State, or remote]
- Employment type: [Full-time, part-time, or seasonal]
- FLSA status: Nonexempt
- Pay range: [$X to $Y per hour]

About [Company]
[Two or three sentences about what your company does, who it serves, and why people like working here.]

Job summary
We're hiring a cashier to give our customers a quick, accurate, and friendly checkout, and to help keep the front of the store running smoothly.

What you'll do
- Greet customers and process purchases, returns, and exchanges accurately.
- Handle cash, cards, and mobile payments, and balance the register at the start and end of each shift.
- Answer questions about products, prices, sales, and store policies.
- Check ID for age-restricted items as required by law and store policy.
- Bag merchandise carefully and help customers carry heavy items when needed.
- Keep the checkout area clean, stocked, and organized.
- Help with stocking, facing shelves, and other tasks during slow periods.
- Follow cash handling, loss prevention, and safety procedures.

What you'll need
- Comfort with basic math and handling cash.
- Friendly, patient communication with customers.
- Ability to stand for the length of a shift.
- Availability for [days and shifts], including some weekends and holidays.

Nice to have
- Previous cashier or retail experience.
- Bilingual in a language common among our customers.

Skills
Customer service, Accuracy with cash, Speed under pressure, Patience, Dependability, Teamwork.

Physical demands and work environment
Store setting. Requires standing for long periods, repetitive scanning and lifting of items up to 25 pounds, and occasional bending and reaching.

Pay and benefits
[$X to $Y per hour], based on experience and location. [List benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plan match, paid time off, and training.]

Equal opportunity
[Company] is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply or interview, contact [name] at [email or phone].

How to customize it for your job

• Lead with schedule flexibility and the hourly pay range.
• Say whether you hire 16 and 17 year olds or require applicants to be 18 or older.
• Mention employee discounts and paid training.
• Keep the posting under 300 words. Cashier applicants often apply on a phone.

Then check it against the HRTally job description standard, our 10-point checklist, and run it through the inclusive language swap list. Both take about five minutes.

How much to pay a cashier

Half of US cashiers earned more than $15.81 an hour in May 2025, and half earned less, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That national figure is a starting point, not a pay range. Pay for the same job can differ by 30 percent or more between metro areas, so check the BLS occupation profile for state and metro data before you set your range.

For hourly roles, the legal floor matters as much as the market rate. Check the current rate where the job is based in our minimum wage by state table, and the state's overtime and break rules in our state labor law library.

To convert between hourly and annual pay, use our salary to hourly calculator. If you hire in a state or city with a pay transparency law, the range must appear in the posting itself. Our pay transparency laws guide lists where, and our guide to salary bands explains how to set ranges you can defend.

Exempt status, licenses, and legal notes

FLSA status: Nonexempt (overtime eligible). Job titles don't decide overtime eligibility. Duties and pay do. Our guide to exempt vs non-exempt employees walks through each test, and the overtime calculator shows what a nonexempt employee is owed.

Cashiers are nonexempt and must receive at least the federal, state, or local minimum wage, whichever is highest, plus overtime. Under the FLSA's child labor rules, 14 and 15 year olds may work as cashiers but only limited hours, not during school hours, and not past 7 p.m. for most of the year (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). Several cities and Oregon have predictable scheduling laws for large retail and food employers that require advance notice of schedules.

This is general information for US employers, not legal advice. Laws change and vary by state and city, so confirm the current rules or talk to employment counsel before you rely on them.

Interview questions to ask

Ask every candidate the same core questions and score answers against the same criteria. Structured interviews are fairer and predict job performance better than open conversation.

1. Tell me about a time you dealt with an upset customer.
2. What would you do if your drawer was short at the end of your shift?
3. How would you handle a line that suddenly gets long?
4. Which days and hours are you available?

When you're ready to schedule, use our interview invitation email template. For a full hiring process, read the recruitment process guide.

Frequently asked questions