Registrierkassenpflicht 2028: Who It Affects – and How to Switch Without Stress

Until now in Germany the rule is: nobody has to use an electronic cash register. Anyone who wants to can work with an open cash drawer – a cash box, notes, a counting log. That is set to change: the 2025 coalition agreement announced a Registrierkassenpflicht (mandatory electronic cash register) for businesses with more than €100,000 in annual turnover. 1 January 2027 was the date originally floated; following the BMF draft bill and an announcement by Finance Minister Klingbeil (16 July 2026), the planned start is now 1 January 2028 – still not law.

What is concretely planned

• Effective date: planned for 1 January 2028 (the coalition agreement first named 2027; Klingbeil moved the date to 2028 on 16 July 2026).
• Affected: businesses with more than €100,000 in turnover per year – typically including many who today deliberately work without a register: hair salons, bakeries, farm shops, market stalls, ice cream parlours, kiosks.
• Required: an electronic recording system that meets the tax requirements – TSE signature, GoBD-compliant records and DSFinV-K export for the Kassennachschau (cash inspection).
• In return, the receipt requirement (Bonpflicht) is to be relaxed.

What is still open

The law has not yet been passed (as of June 2026). The most important open points:

• Does the €100,000 threshold apply to cash turnover or total turnover?
• What transition periods are there – for example for businesses that exceed the threshold for the first time?
• Are there exemptions for certain industries or sales situations (e.g. funfairs, club festivals)?

So don’t rely on the details – but do rely on the direction: the open cash drawer is a discontinued model. Anyone above the threshold or close to it should plan for the switch.

”I never wanted a cash register” – understandable. But:

Most businesses that work without a register today do so for a good reason: POS systems were considered expensive, bulky and complicated. A tower of drawers on the wall, training sessions, a maintenance contract – for a market stall? Never.

It’s just that the cash register of the old days no longer exists in that form. A modern POS is a web application in the browser – it runs on the smartphone or tablet you already have in your pocket.

What switching with DiKAS looks like

1. Create items – with AI. Photograph your price list or menu and upload it: the AI recognises items, prices and options and creates everything automatically. The dreaded “weekend of typing in items” turns into reading through the result over a coffee.
2. Ring up sales in the browser. On a phone, tablet or PC – 1 client is included in every tariff (Club: 2); from the Gastro tariff onwards, additional clients can be added for €39/month each. For card payments you connect your own EC terminal (ZVT) at your bank’s conditions.
3. TSE on board from day one. The online cloud TSE is currently included in every plan at no extra charge – an introductory offer; once it ends it costs €9/month per till. Entirely without additional hardware and KassenSichV-compliant (details in the article TSE Requirement & KassenSichV).
4. Close out audit-proof. Daily close-out in two minutes, DSFinV-K export for the audit, DATEV export for the tax advisor – encrypted and sent straight by email if you like.

The cost: from €29 per month (Basic tariff, plus VAT), cancellable monthly, and with self-installation no setup costs.

Why switching early beats deadline panic

By the planned effective date (1 January 2028), everyone wants the same thing at once: consulting, setup, TSE orders, coordination with the tax advisor. Anyone who switches calmly and early has three advantages:

• Settling in without pressure – you and your team get to know the POS in normal operation.
• Immediate benefit – clean daily close-outs, reports (what actually sells best?) and a tax advisor who gets finished exports instead of shoeboxes.
• No risk – cancellable monthly means: if it doesn’t fit, you’re not tied in.

What this looks like in practice is shown in the overview Mandatory cash register 2028: The small POS – or you can just try it out directly: Try for free.

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As of June 2026, updated July 2026 (planned start now 1 January 2028). The legislative process is ongoing – this article reflects the planning status and does not replace legal or tax advice.

* The TSE hardware is certified for a 5-year term; after that it is replaced.