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The Evolution of Cash Registers: From Bells to iPads

Cash registers, once the backbone of transactions, are disappearing as Point-of-Sale systems and iPads take over. However, if you venture into a cash-only artisanal cocktail bar, you might still encounter one of these relics.

The earliest cash registers were basic adding machines with no receipts. Transactions were manually entered, and a bell would ring when the total key was pressed, signaling a sale to the manager. Bill Bryson notes that odd pricing, like 49 or 99 cents, originated to necessitate giving change and announce the sale.

The cash register’s history took a significant turn in 1884 when Jacob H. Eckert, a china and glassware salesman, acquired the business from overwhelmed inventor James Ritty. Eckert later sold it to John H. Patterson, who renamed it the National Cash Register Company. Patterson’s innovation included adding a paper roll to record transactions, creating a journal for internal bookkeeping and a receipt for external purposes, primarily fraud protection.

In Patterson’s words, “The business man who is satisfied with a cash register merely as a labor-saving device knows little of its possibilities. The receipt that the customer gets when he makes a purchase is the silent salesman that is working for him all the time.”

Today, as iPads and modern Point-of-Sale systems dominate, the humble cash register’s evolution reflects not just a technological shift but a transformation in how businesses manage transactions and safeguard against fraud.