Receipts are one of those things every restaurant owner has to deal with, but few fully understand. What information is legally required? Do you have to print one for every transaction? What does your POS system need to handle?

The rules have changed in recent years, and they vary by country. Here's a practical overview of where things stand in 2026, and how to keep your restaurant compliant without overcomplicating your setup.

What a Restaurant Receipt Must Include

Regardless of where you operate, a restaurant receipt typically needs to contain specific information to be legally valid. The exact requirements depend on your jurisdiction, but most countries require the business name, address, and tax ID, the date and time of the transaction, a breakdown of items ordered (description, quantity, unit price), the total amount including tax, the applicable tax rate and tax amount, and a sequential receipt number.

That last point — the sequential number — is particularly important. It creates an unbroken audit trail: every receipt is numbered in chronological order, with no gaps or deletions possible. This is how tax authorities verify that sales haven't been hidden or modified.

Digital vs Paper Receipts

The trend across Europe is moving firmly toward digital receipts. France, for example, banned the automatic printing of receipts in August 2023. Receipts are now only printed when the customer explicitly requests one. Businesses must display a notice informing customers that a receipt is available on request.

This doesn't mean the receipt goes away — it still has to be generated and stored digitally in your system. It's only the automatic paper printing that stops. The shift reduces paper waste and chemical exposure from thermal paper, while keeping the same compliance requirements intact.

For restaurant owners, this is actually simpler: your system generates the receipt digitally, and you only print when asked. Less paper, less cost, same compliance.

POS Certification and Anti-Fraud Requirements

In many European countries, any software used to record customer payments must meet specific certification standards. In France, this is the NF525 certification (or an equivalent attestation of conformity), required since January 2018 under the anti-fraud law.

A certified system must guarantee four things: immutability (recorded data cannot be altered without a trace), security (records are protected), preservation (data is stored chronologically and intact), and archiving (full traceability is available for tax audits).

The penalty for non-compliance is significant — €7,500 per non-certified system, with a 60-day window to get compliant. It's a real risk that many small restaurant owners underestimate.

Who Does This Apply To?

Any business subject to VAT that uses software or a computerised system to record payments from individual customers. If you use an iPad with a POS app, a computer with cash register software, or even a mobile app to record sales, you're covered by this requirement.

However — and this is a key distinction — if you only use a standalone payment terminal (like SumUp or Zettle) without any POS software, this certification requirement does not apply. The payment terminal is not a POS system.

Ordering Software vs POS Software: An Important Distinction

This is where things get interesting for small restaurants. There's a meaningful difference between POS software (which records payments and generates receipts) and ordering software (which manages the workflow from order to kitchen).

POS software handles the financial transaction — it's the system that must be certified. Ordering software handles the operational workflow: taking orders in the dining room, sending them to the kitchen display (KDS), tracking preparation status.

If you use a certified payment terminal for the financial side, and a separate ordering system for the workflow side, your compliance is handled by the terminal. The ordering software doesn't need POS certification because it doesn't handle payments.

This separation gives small restaurants a practical advantage: you can use a lightweight, affordable ordering tool without worrying about POS certification, as long as your payment terminal is compliant. For more on this approach, see our guide on what you really need from a restaurant cash register.

How Bistromo Fits In

Bistromo is an ordering system — not a POS. It handles everything between the customer's order and the moment they pay: order-taking on your server's smartphone, instant transmission to the kitchen display, order tracking, and sales analytics.

Payment stays on your existing terminal (SumUp, Zettle, or any other device). No extra hardware to buy, no certification to worry about.

The free plan covers up to 300 orders per month. The Pro plan at €29/month is unlimited. No commitment, no dedicated hardware.

Key Takeaways

Restaurant receipts are governed by clear rules: mandatory information, sequential numbering, and certified software for any system that records payments. The shift toward digital receipts reduces paper waste but doesn't change the underlying compliance requirements.

For small restaurants, the simplest path to compliance is separating your ordering workflow from your payment processing. Use a certified payment terminal for transactions, and a dedicated ordering tool for everything else. It's cheaper, simpler, and naturally compliant.

For more, check out our guide on how to choose a restaurant ordering system, learn about the free restaurant ordering tools available today, or read our step-by-step guide to digitizing your restaurant.