Counter tallies versus case registers
Separating walk-in counter tallies from case tracking registers so public-sector reports do not mix two different kinds of work.
Walk-in tallies count people at the desk. Case registers count matters that stay open across days. Mixing them in one service delivery chart usually inflates “completed” work and confuses waiting-time figures.
When we audit queues near Song Than, we ask clerks to keep the morning tally sheet physically separate from the case binder. The departmental report can still show both — on two plates — with captions that name the unit of count. Readers forgive volume; they do not forgive a silent change in what was counted.