What is online cash register and how to choose the right one

What is online checkout

As the name implies, this is a cash register with Internet access. It not only prints receipts and stores information about transactions, but also transmits the data to the tax office. In addition, with its help, checks can be issued to customers in electronic form - by sending them by email or in SMS.

Online cash registers began to be gradually introduced in 2017. Now the final stage of the "operation" is underway.

Who needs online checkouts

It's easier to say who doesn't need them. You can do without the device if you sell for cash:

Newspapers and magazines in specialized kiosks.
Securities.
Goods at markets, fairs, exhibitions (other than those indicated in the list).
Delivery of goods, with the exception of technically complex non-food and food products with special storage conditions.
Ice cream and drinks from the stalls.
Kvass, milk, butter, live fish, kerosene from tank trucks.
Seasonal vegetables rolled.
Handicrafts of own production.
Shoe covers.
Tickets to state or municipal theaters.

Some services also fall into exceptions:

Providing meals for students and staff in schools.
Reception of glass containers and scrap materials from the population.
Shoe repair and painting.
Production and repair of keys and metal haberdashery.
Digging gardens and chopping firewood.
Supervision and care of children, the sick, the elderly and the disabled.
Porters services at train stations, ports and airports.
Renting out housing and parking spaces, if you own them and you are registered as an individual entrepreneur.

It is not necessary to establish online cash registers for entrepreneurs who have switched to tax on professional income, rural pharmacies and medical care centers, religious organizations, as well as individual entrepreneurs and organizations that conduct exclusively non-cash payments with other business representatives.

Physical culture, sports and educational institutions, as well as those operating in the field of culture and leisure, will be able to do without online cash desks, but only for payments that do not require the presentation of cash or a bank card. An exception is made for those who work in areas that are included in the special list of territories approved by the subject of the Federation that are remote from communication networks.

An individual entrepreneur in the patent taxation system in many cases can also work without a cash register, but not always. It is better to clarify whether you need a device directly in the text of the law: for this, you need to find the list of exceptions in paragraph 2.1 of article 2 of the law on cash registers, and then check the list of activities in the Tax Code.

Even if you are on the list of beneficiaries, it is better to consult a lawyer or the tax office: unobvious nuances may emerge.

But that's not all. There is a postponement for some categories of business - for them online cash registers are required only from July 1, 2019. Here's who still have time to get a device:

Individual entrepreneurs and organizations on UTII and on a patent that perform services or provide work and who have employees.
Vending machine owners who do not have employees on their staff.
SP on UTII and a patent who resell goods, even if they do not have employees.
Individual entrepreneurs on a patent that are not exempt from the installation of online cash registers.
Organizations and individual entrepreneurs that previously issued strict reporting forms, including when selling tickets by a driver or a conductor in a vehicle.

For two categories of business, the deferral was extended until July 1, 2021 On Amendments to the Federal Law “On the Use of Cash Register Equipment in the Implementation of Settlements in the Russian Federation”. The list includes:

Individual entrepreneurs who perform work and provide services without hired workers.
Individual entrepreneurs who sell goods of their own production.

The rest of the online cash registers should already be. For the absence of a device, they can be fined in the amount of 10 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, article 14.5. The sale of goods, the performance of work or the provision of services in the absence of established information or the non-use of thousands of rubles in the cases established by federal laws of cash registers - depends on the form of business.

What are the online cash registers

The Federal Tax Service has a register that lists all the devices that fall under the law on cash registers. They are of three types:

1. Autonomous cash registers

This is a familiar standard device that has been upgraded with a module for Internet communication and a fiscal drive. A relatively cheap option, which loses to more modern counterparts in terms of speed and the number of additional functions.

2. Fiscal registrar

This is a device for printing receipts that connects to a computer, tablet, smartphone. The total cost of the equipment will depend on which gadget you decide to connect the recorder to: there is a difference of several tens of thousands of rubles between a Chinese tablet and an iPad. The operability will be determined by the software: here you can automate processes, install a goods accounting system, which will increase the speed of customer service and make life easier for the cashier.

3. Smart terminal

Quite expensive, but also a more advanced gadget in the world of online cash registers. It has its own touchscreen display, with which you can get quick access to the most popular categories of goods, automate processes, and so on.

However, when choosing, you should not chase the form. It is more important to find out what tasks you have to solve with the device, and start from this already.

What to look for when choosing an online checkout

1. Sufficient number of connectors

The point is not that there should be as many of them as possible. The number of connectors will depend on what kind of activity you are doing. You may need to connect to the checkout:

Scales, if you have something to weigh.
Barcode scanner (if there is no built-in one). You cannot do without it if you have a large flow of customers and there is simply no time to drive in information about the product manually.
Bank terminal. But it can also be connected via Wi-Fi.

2. Speed of receipt printing

The speed for different devices can differ by more than two times. With a large flow of customers, this is an essential criterion, since a faster machine will increase the quantitative indicator of service.

3. Mobility of the online checkout

There are stationary devices, there are mobile ones - choose depending on the type of business. Mobile phones are well suited for field service and sales. If the cash register has a function of accepting payments from cards, it will be more convenient for customers to pay, which may spur their interest.

Stationary devices are suitable for retail outlets where the cashier does not need to move somewhere.

4. Internet connection type

Wired Network is an excellent choice for landline checkouts. For the mobile version that is used inside the institution, Wi-Fi is suitable. And for a device traveling around the city with a courier, you need a mobile Internet.

However, there are no hard restrictions here and you can easily connect a landline cash register to the mobile network in the absence of alternatives in your area. The main thing is to pay attention to this point in advance and choose the right device.

5. Assortment of goods and number of outlets

The more products in the store, the more modern solution you need. If there are more than 50 items, it will not be easy with an offline cash register. On the other hand, the fiscal registrar and smart terminal will automate the processes. For example, do not enter products manually, but simply load a file with a table.

Also, you should pay attention to such devices if you have several outlets. This will allow all cash registers to be connected to a unified system of goods accounting, which will simplify business management.

6. Type of activity

Here the law again intervenes in the questions of choice.

If you trade in meat, fish, milk and other goods that are subject to veterinary control, it is necessary that the cash desk supports the work with the FSIS "Mercury".
If you sell alcohol, the cash register must be equipped with a module for transferring data to the Unified State Automated Information System and a 2D scanner of excise stamps.

Which online cashier to choose depending on the type of business

Tatiana Glazacheva, Executive Director of Robokassa, will help you deal with the types of online cash registers.

Online shopping on social media with pay on delivery

Here we are talking about small online showcases that are based on Instagram, VKontakte or Facebook. They can offer beauty products, sportswear, trending jewelry, baby products, auto accessories, pet supplies, and so on. As a rule, the seller himself delivers and accepts payments. "In this case, you can get by with a mobile terminal or an autonomous online cash register: a budget model with a fiscal drive costs about 15 thousand rubles," Tatiana Glazacheva advises.

According to her, in addition to the low price, such models have other advantages: they are very undemanding and easy to operate. You don't need any special software, and you can charge it with a phone charger. The memory of such models can hold no more than a hundred goods, but with small trade volumes, this is quite enough.

Of course, there are also more advanced mobile cash registers on the market - with touch screens, the ability to accept payments by bank cards and other features. But these models are more expensive. They are usually purchased by large courier services. The basic options are more suitable for small and micro-businesses: "Mercury 185F", "Elves MF", "ATOL 90F" or "ATOL 91F Nuger".

Online store with a pick-up point and / or more than 100 items

As a rule, the owners of online stores have at least one computer or laptop, and a large volume of the nomenclature requires special trading software (1C or similar programs). Tatiana Glazacheva advises purchasing a fiscal registrar that connects to a computer, integrates with trading software and loads the names of goods from the existing database.

The price of a fiscal registrar complete with a fiscal accumulator is about 20 thousand rubles. There is no need to install additional programs on such a device, and its memory can hold up to a thousand items of goods. The following models belong to this category: "K1-F", "ATOL 15F", "ATOL 30F", "Shtrikh-Nano-F".

It is also worth mentioning online cash registers designed specifically for small businesses in the field of Internet commerce (EKAM. Kassa, Dreamkas-F, ModulKassa). They can be easily integrated with the site's CMS and can be used for online and offline sales. Such a cash register is capable of both printing paper receipts at the point of issue of orders, and sending digital receipts to online shoppers.

As a rule, various peripheral devices can be connected to fiscal registers - check scanners, acquiring terminals. If necessary, this type of cash register turns into a mobile KKM - you just need to connect to a smartphone on which the corresponding application is installed.

Micro shops, islands in shopping centers

If we talk about micro and small business offline, then budget POS terminals or smart terminals can be recommended to such entrepreneurs. Glazacheva explains that these are small computers that are also online cash registers. Such devices can remember as many trade names as you like, support the connection of peripheral devices and sometimes even accept bank cards. This category includes "Evotor-5", Unika, "Shtrikh-Smartpos-F", aQsi (cost - 27 thousand rubles and more).

POS terminals have preinstalled software that allows you not only to keep track of sales, but also to use various marketing tools - bonuses, loyalty cards, discounts expiration date and others. Also, using a smart terminal, you can keep accounting and use some CRM functions. This category of online cash registers is the most expensive, but their price is fully paid off by their wide functionality.

Small business in the field of services or catering

Tatyana Glazacheva notes that the service sector is too diverse to recommend a specific type of online checkout. A lot is determined by the target audience and the number of customers. For example, if you take beauty salons, then they will need an online cash register with wide functionality and support for loyalty programs: POS terminals or fiscal registrars connected to a gadget with an EKAM application or similar. At the same time, a simple hairdressing salon with a standard set of services can quite successfully use the most inexpensive autonomous cash register for micro and small businesses (ATOL 90F and the like).

As for the cafe, here a lot depends on the assortment. If there is no alcohol, and the menu contains less than 100 dishes, then an offline online checkout will do. If the cafe offers alcoholic beverages, then you need at least a smart terminal with a built-in UTM module that transmits data to EGAIS.

Things to Remember

If you still do not have an online cash register, chances are that you do not need one - check with the latest version of the law.
If you fell under the penultimate delay, but did not fall under the last, hurry up: there is not much time left until July 1.
When choosing an online cash register, be guided by the specifics of your business - perhaps you don't need an expensive device.
Before buying, check with the Federal Tax Service registry and make sure that the device you have chosen is in it.