TSE Requirement & KassenSichV: What Restaurateurs Really Need to Know

A lot of abbreviations circulate around POS systems: TSE, KassenSichV, DSFinV-K, GoBD. Anyone who loses track risks nasty surprises during a Kassennachschau (a German tax-office cash inspection). Here is the essentials in plain terms.

The TSE – the heart of cash-register protection

The Technical Security Device (TSE) has been mandatory since the German Cash Register Security Ordinance (KassenSichV). It signs every POS transaction in a tamper-proof way – every receipt gets an unalterable signature.

Important: the TSE must be active and functional. A POS system “with TSE capability” is not enough – it has to be set up and used. With DiKAS, the TSE is set up and active from the start: in the Basic tariff, the Cloud TSE is included, and from the Gastro tariff onwards you can choose between the Cloud TSE (€12/month) and the Swissbit USB TSE (one-off €269*).

GoBD: proper record-keeping

The GoBD (German principles for the proper keeping of digital records) govern how digital records must be maintained: complete, accurate, timely, orderly and unalterable. In practice this means: cancellations, changes and post-entries must be logged in a traceable way – not simply “overwritten”.

DSFinV-K: the format for the tax audit

When the tax authority shows up for a Kassennachschau (cash inspection) – and likewise during a regular tax audit (Betriebsprüfung) –, it wants the data in a standardised format: the DSFinV-K (the German tax administration’s digital interface for POS systems), together with the TSE TAR (the TSE’s signed transaction archive). Your POS system has to be able to deliver these exports at the push of a button. DiKAS comes with the DSFinV-K export as well as the GDPdU and DATEV exports.

Receipt-issuance requirement

Since 2020, the receipt-issuance requirement (Belegausgabepflicht) has applied: a receipt must be made available for every transaction. This can also be done digitally – for example as a DigitalBon via QR code, which saves paper and goes down well with guests.

The quick checklist

• ✓ TSE active and signing every transaction
• ✓ GoBD-compliant, unalterable records including cancellation log
• ✓ DSFinV-K export at the push of a button
• ✓ Receipt issuance (paper or digital)
• ✓ Clean master data and separation of payment methods

Through the cash inspection without stress

With a system that meets these points out of the box, the audit becomes a formality. DiKAS is KassenSichV 2020- and GoBD-compliant – without add-on modules, without extra charge.

Take a look at all compliance features or try DiKAS for free.

Note: This article is general guidance and does not replace tax advice.

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