Sweden
Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is a cash invoice?
If a company draws up an invoice and at the same time takes payment in cash at the time of sale, it is called a "cash invoice".
The Swedish Tax Agency states as follows:
“All cash sales must be registered in the cash register. You are required to always offer
the customer a cash receipt. As an alternative to registering sales in your cash register,
you can give the customer a cash invoice at the same time as you receive payment.
This invoice must comply with the Swedish Accounting Act’s verification requirements.”
This means among other things, that the invoice must contain the customer‘s name and address. Read more here and here (in Swedish).
What are the VAT rates in Sweden?
The standard VAT rate in Sweden is 25 %. The two reduced VAT rates are 12 and 6 %. In addition, there are some VAT exempt goods and services.
Cash Register & Control Unit
What is a control unit device?
In Sweden, every cash register must be connected to a certified control unit. The main purpose of a control unit is to process the incoming data from receipts, generate control codes and store the receipt data.
A control unit is often a physical hardware device, but in our solution it is replaced by a cloud-based central control unit (CCU), provided by our Swedish partner Infrasec.The CCU is already certified and it comes automatically with our solution.
How does it work:
- The POS system sends receipt information about the transaction to the CCU
- The CCU checks whether the receipt information is stored and encrypted
- The control code is sent back to the POS system
- The code is stored in the POS system and printed on the receipt
What is an approved cash register?
An approved cash register is a cash register with a manufacturer’s declaration that complies with the Swedish Tax Procedures Act and the Swedish Tax Agency’s Regulation.
Who needs to use an approved cash register?
In Sweden, most businesses that sell goods and/or services for cash and card payments are required to use an approved cash register.
More specifically, you must use an approved cash register if you sell goods and/or services to the value of at least four times the price base amount, including Value Added Tax (VAT), in one 12-month financial year. In 2024, the price base amount is 57 300 SEK.
4 × price base amount = 4 x 57 300 SEK = 229 200 SEK
Business activities that are exempted from the cash register requirements:
- Small businesses that have sales of insignificant scope, i.e. sales are less than 229 000 SEK during one financial year of 12 months (in 2024)
- Businesses that are automatically exempt as: taxi operations, distance sales and unmanned point of sales. Read more about the exemptions here.
- A company has a specific exemption approved by the Swedish Tax Agency. Read more here.
Can a cash register have an offline mode?
If the cash register loses the connection to the control unit, it is not allowed to use the cash register in Sweden. However, the option for you would be to create a feature to the POS that can create cash invoices as a fallback option.
Receipt Requirements
What are the requirements for a receipt in Sweden?
A receipt needs contain the following information:
- The title “receipt”
- Company name and organization number or social security number
- The address where the sales take place
- Date and time for the sale
- Serial number of the receipt from an uninterrupted ascending number series
- ID number of the cash register
- Item name and quantity of sold items
- Name of services and quantity of sold services
- Sale amount of the goods or services including VAT and total sale amount for the customer to pay
- The VAT due on the amount of the sale (VAT in total)
- The breakdown of the VAT on different tax rates
- Means of payment (as payment with cash, debit or credit card, other electronic payment service, gift voucher, coupon etc.)
- The manufacturing/serial number of the control unit
- The information “electronic cash receipt” if the cash receipt is provided in electronic form
- In addition, we strongly recommend that the control code will be printed on the receipt
How does the VAT breakdown have to be shown on the receipt?
The breakdown of the VAT on different tax rates must be shown on the receipt under the total sale amount. Please find below a few examples on how this information must be printed on the receipt:
Are e-receipts allowed in Sweden?
Yes, electronic receipts are allowed in Sweden.
Find more information on the Tax Agency’s homepage here.
X and Z Reports
What are X and Z reports?
Both X and Z reports show a summary of transactions.
However, the difference is that an X report can be printed any time during the day and it is an interim report of a checkout day.
An Z report is an end-of-day report and can be used for accounting purposes.
What are the requirements for X and Z reports?
Requirements for the X report:
An X report must at least contain the following information:
a. the company name and organization number (corporate identity number) or personal identity number
b. date and time the report was produced
c. information showing this it an X report
d. identification number of terminal
e. total sales amount (addition of sales amounts)
f. total sales amount for the different main groups if main groups are used
g. VAT distributed in different VAT rates
h. petty cash
i. number of goods sold
j. number of services sold
k. number of cash receipts
l. number of cash box openings
m. number of receipt copies and amount
n. number of registrations in practice mode and amount
o. sales total broken down according to means of payment
p. number of returns and amount
q. discounts provided
r. other registrations that reduced the day's sales and their amount
s. number of uncompleted sales and amount
t. grand total sales
u. grand total returns
v. grand total net
The Z report must contain almost the same information, adding part c) and changing the information that is showing that it is a Z report (not an X report).
Requirements for the Z report:
a. the company's name and organization number (corporate identity number) or personal identity number
b. date and time the report was produced
c. a serial number from an uninterrupted ascending number series for Z reports
d. Information showing this is a Z report
e. Identification number of terminal
f. total sales amount (addition of sales amounts)
g. total sales amount for different main groups if main groups are used
h. VAT distributed in different VAT rates
i. petty cash
j. number of goods sold
k. number of services sold
l. number of cash receipts
m. number of cash box openings
n. number of receipt copies and amount
o. number of registrations in practice mode and amount
p. sales total broken down according to means of payment
q. number of returns and amount
r. discounts provided
s. other registrations that have reduced the day’s sales and their amount
t. number of uncompleted sales and amount
u. grand total sales
v. grand total returns
w. grand total net
Manufacturer's declaration
What is the manufacturer’s declaration?
In Sweden, only manufacturer-declared cash registers are allowed to be used. As a manufacturer or supplier you must show in the manufacturer’s declaration that your cash register complies with the Swedish Tax Procedures Act and the Swedish Tax Agency’s regulation for cash registers.
What does the manufacturer’s declaration have to include?
According to the Swedish Tax Agency:
“The manufacturer’s declaration shall show that the model or programme has been tested together with a certified control unit. The test methods and the results of the tests shall be documented in a test log. How comprehensive the test log should be has not been regulated.
In the opinion of the Swedish Tax Agency, each manufacturer should decide how comprehensive the test log should be.”
How do you get the manufacturer’s declaration in practice?
First, you need to print and complete the SKV 1509 form from the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
Second, you need to provide the following documentation (a template provided by efsta):
Documentation showing that a cash register meets the requirements stated in the Swedish Tax Agency’s regulations (SKVFS 2014:09) on cash registers. Extracts from test protocols attached to the manufacturer’s declaration (Chapter 8, Section 4, SKVFS 2014:09).
Third, you need to mail all the above mentioned documents to the Swedish Tax Agency per mail. Please find below the Swedish Tax Agency’s address:
Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket)
Box 2825
403 20 Göteborg, Sweden
Also, please note that it is not possible to submit the manufacturer’s declaration online or send the documents via email.
What happens after sending the manufacturer declaration?
When the Swedish Tax Agency has processed your manufacturer's declaration, your cash register will be added to their list of manufacturer declared cash registers.
Does the manufacturer declaration need to be updated?
According to the Swedish Tax Agency a new manufacturer’s declaration needs to be given for every version update that causes changes of functions that are regulated in the regulations.
Registraton of Cash Register and Control Unit
Who needs to register the cash register and control unit?
A company that is using the cash register is obligated to register both the control unit and the cash register to the Swedish Tax Agency.
How can you register the cash register and control unit?
Please find here the link to the Tax Agency's guide for registration.
What happens after the registration of the cash register and control unit?
A confirmation of the registration is sent out circa one week after the registration.
After that, the company will receive a certificate of registration as well as the labels (stickers) that show the identification number for the cash register and the control unit. These labels need to be sticked securely and visibly on the respective unit. Read more here.
Please note that you can start using the cash register as soon as it is reported to the Swedish Tax Agency, i.e. before you have obtained the labels.