Mustered total cash, almost 500 (8)
I believe the answer is:
summoned
'mustered' is the definition.
('summon' can be a synonym of 'muster')
'total cash almost 500' is the wordplay.
'total' becomes 'sum' (synonyms).
'cash' becomes 'money' (cash is a type of money).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'500' becomes 'D' (Roman numeral for 500).
'money' with its last letter taken away is 'mone'.
'sum'+'mone'+'d'='SUMMONED'
(Other definitions for summoned that I've seen before include "Beckoned to or called to court" , "Told to come" , "Ordered to be present" , "Called (to attend)" , "sent for" .)