In 2025, cash handling remains part of daily operations for many businesses, from laundromats to vending machine operators.

And as staffing costs rise and manual processes become harder to sustain, having the right tools to streamline routine tasks, like counting coins, isn’t just helpful, it’s essential.

If your team still handles changes by hand, understanding how coin starter machines work could be the first step toward saving a significant amount of time and effort.

What a Coin Sorter Actually Does

Coin sorters are designed to accept mixed coins and separate them into specific categories, such as pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, using either mechanical or digital methods.

Instead of relying on human sorting, the machine identifies each coin based on physical differences or visual recognition and directs it into the correct container.

Key features include:

• Sorting trays or bins – These are built-in compartments that collect each coin type as the machine processes them. By separating coins during the sorting process, they eliminate the need to sort them manually after counting. This also keeps coins organized for bagging or rolling.
• Batching settings – Batching allows users to set specific quantities for each coin type, such as grouping exactly 50 coins. Once the machine reaches that number, it can pause or alert the user. This helps streamline processes like preparing bank deposits or filling coin wrappers.
• Optional counting displays – Many machines feature a screen that shows how many coins of each type have been sorted. This real-time feedback helps users keep track of totals without needing separate tallies or spreadsheets.

These features work together to reduce the physical strain and guesswork of manually sorting coins, all while making the process faster and more consistent.

Why Coin Sorters Are a Smart Move for Cash-Handling Businesses

In fast-moving environments, even small cash-handling steps need to be consistent, controlled, and easy to verify. Coin sorters help businesses create systems that support accuracy, build trust with staff and auditors, and reduce friction in daily routines.

• Saves employee time and reduces manual handling fatigue: Manually sorting coins is repetitive, time-consuming work that can drain productivity and lead to employee burnout. Automating this task frees up staff to focus on higher-value responsibilities, such as customer service, inventory management, or closing duties. Over time, this shift adds up to real labor savings.
• Increases accuracy and reduces shrinkage or accounting errors: Human error is almost guaranteed when coins are counted by hand, especially in high-volume settings. With a coin sorter, the risk of miscounts or misplaced amounts drops significantly, helping you avoid costly mistakes and reduce unexplained cash shortages.
• Speeds up end-of-day reconciliation and deposit prep: Closing time becomes smoother when you don’t have to spend extra minutes or hours sorting and rechecking coin totals. Coin sorters streamline the handoff between the till and the deposit bag, which helps you wrap up faster and avoid delays in next-day operations.
• Shows professionalism and operational maturity to customers or auditors: A business that handles its cash efficiently sends a strong message: we’re organized, accurate, and serious about accountability. Whether it’s a walk-in customer noticing how quickly the till is balanced or an auditor reviewing your procedures, using proper equipment like a coin sorter reflects positively on your operation.

Where Coin Sorters Fit Best in Everyday Operations

Whether it’s for preparing tills, processing collections, or staying organized behind the scenes, these machines fit naturally into the routines of coin-heavy industries.

They’re commonly used in:

• Retail stores: Cash-heavy retail environments, like convenience stores or discount shops, often need to prepare change for registers and tally tills quickly after shifts. Coin sorters in the back office help staff organize coins by type for smooth daily turnover. This makes preparing cash floats and bagging coins for the bank much easier.
• Laundromats: Self-service laundromats often accumulate large volumes of coins throughout the day. A coin sorter allows staff to process machine collections quickly and prepare change for coin boxes or bill changers. This helps maintain daily operations without slowing down between shifts.
• Vending operations: Vending operators visit multiple machines across different locations and often return with mixed coins from various machines. Using a sorter at the end of each collection run helps speed up cash processing and reduces the chance of sorting errors. It also helps track totals more reliably for each location.
• Arcades and amusement centers: These businesses handle both tokens and coins, often in large volumes on weekends or during events. Coin sorters help staff restock machines with sorted tokens and quickly close out registers. They’re especially useful for preparing for peak traffic times when a quick turnaround is needed.
• Car washes: Many self-service car washes still rely on coin mechanisms, especially in unmanned bays. Staff typically gather coins from machines at the end of the day or week and sort them off-site. A durable, back-office coin sorter ensures quick processing with minimal hassle.
• Banks and credit unions: Some branches offer coin deposit services for customers who bring in mixed change. Small countertop sorters are often used behind the counter to prepare these deposits for internal processing. They’re also handy for verifying coin counts before sending them to the vault or an armored pickup.

Coin sorters may be stationed at front counters for quick access or in staff-only areas for more detailed end-of-day processing. The right location often depends on how coins flow through the business and who’s responsible for managing them.

Choosing the Right Coin Sorter for Your Needs

Once you’ve decided to bring a coin sorter into your workflow, the next step is choosing one that matches your actual day-to-day needs. Machines vary widely in size, function, and cost, and picking the wrong type can lead to underperformance, wasted money, or unnecessary complexity. This section walks you through what to look for.

• How many coins do you handle per day?
  Some machines are designed for light tasks, such as sorting a few hundred coins each day. Others are built for heavier use, handling thousands without jamming or overheating. Knowing your daily volume helps you avoid choosing a machine that’s too weak or unnecessarily advanced.
• Are you sorting one type of coin or many?
  If your business only deals in one coin (like quarters at a car wash), a single-coin model might be all you need. But if your cash includes a mix like pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, you’ll want a multi-denomination sorter that can separate each type automatically in one pass.
• Do you need the machine to count totals or just sort?
  Basic machines will separate coins into their trays, but won’t show how many you’ve sorted. Other models include digital counters that track the number of coins going into each bin. If you’re preparing deposits or logging totals for reports, that counting feature can be a real time-saver.
• What’s your budget, and what scale of machine fits your business?
  Small countertop units are usually more affordable and best for low to medium coin volume. Larger machines used by banks or vending companies cost more but are built to handle heavy daily loads with minimal maintenance. Think about what your team can manage, not just what looks impressive.
• Where will the machine go, and does noise, speed, or size matter? 
  If you’ll be using the sorter near customers or shared office space, look for models that run quietly. Machines also vary in speed (how quickly they process coins) and hopper size (how many coins they can hold at a time). These details can affect how often you need to reload coins or wait for sorting to finish.

A coin sorter doesn’t need to be complex to be effective. The right one will quietly fit into your daily routine and do its job without slowing you down, as long as you choose based on how your business really runs.

Make Coin Sorting a No-Brainer for Your Business

Still sorting coins by hand? For laundromats, multi-housing, and on-premise laundry setups, that’s time better spent elsewhere.

Sudsy carries coin sorters and changers built to handle the daily demands of commercial laundry, so you can speed up coin handling and stay focused on running your machines, not counting coins.

Need help choosing the right setup? Contact us and let’s find a coin sorter that fits your workflow, keeping your operations running smoothly.