eKasa

What it means

eKasa is the system of online cash registers into which every sale paid in cash or by card is transmitted to the financial administration at the moment the receipt is issued. The receipt carries a unique code the buyer can verify.

The duty attaches to takings received in cash or by payment card for goods or a listed service at the point of sale. A bank transfer against an invoice does not fall under eKasa.

An eKasa receipt can double as a simplified invoice. When a business buyer needs a document in the company’s name, the register lets the buyer’s identification be added, and the receipt then supports a VAT deduction too - only up to the value threshold the Act sets for a simplified invoice, of course.

How it works in practice

The solution can be an online register or a virtual register; when the connection drops, receipts are transmitted later within the statutory window. The eKasa data message is an accounting document, and daily takings are posted in summary.

For an online store the duty depends on the payment method and where the goods are handed over: prepayment through a payment gateway is treated differently from card-on-delivery or collection in a shop.

Cash taken through eKasa is also entered in the cash book, and deposits of takings to the bank are matched with the bank statement. When the register’s daily close, the cash book entry and the bank deposit disagree, we look for the difference straight away, not at year end.

What to watch out for

Failing to issue a receipt or to record takings is among the most heavily penalised breaches, and inspections include test purchases. The receipt must be issued immediately on payment - not at the end of the day and not on request, but always, even where the customer asks for no document.

An inspection compares the cash in the till with the balance recorded in eKasa. A float of coins put in at the start of the day, or cash taken out for a purchase, left unrecorded in the register creates a difference the office may treat as unrecorded takings - with a penalty, even though the company hid no sales at all.