POS integration with cash registers and AADE: what applies

Until a few years ago, the card terminal (POS) and the cash register were two separate devices. The seller keyed an amount into the POS and, separately, printed a receipt. Nothing guaranteed that the two matched, or that a receipt was issued at all.

POS interconnection closes that gap. The card terminal is linked to the business’s cash register system, meaning the fiscal electronic device (ΦΗΜ) or the software that issues documents through a certified provider. Every card payment then starts from a document that has already been issued and is tied to it. The payment details reach AADE together with the document’s details.

The obligation is set in Article 17 of the Greek Tax Procedure Code (Law 5104/2024) and detailed in two AADE decisions: Α.1098/2022 for cash registers and Α.1155/2023 for cash systems that work with an ERP and an e-invoicing provider.

Interconnection applies to businesses that accept card payments at the point of sale and issue their documents either with a fiscal device or through an e-invoicing provider. If you have even one POS that takes payment for taxable sales, it must be interconnected.

The deadlines, according to AADE:

• Cash registers (Α.1098/2022): 31 March 2024, extended to 30 April 2024 for businesses with an installer appointment in April or replacing their system with an “all in one” device.
• ERP systems with a provider (Α.1155/2023): 30 September 2024.

These deadlines have passed, so the obligation already applies. Some specific sectors, such as fuel stations, have their own timetable set by AADE. If you are opening a business or changing your POS now, interconnect it before you start taking card payments.

The logic is simple: document first, card second. In practice:

• The cash system issues the receipt or invoice and sends the POS a payment request for that amount.
• The customer pays by card. The POS returns a confirmation, which is linked to the document.
• The payment amount cannot exceed the total of the related documents. The exception is a tip, recorded separately.

For cases like delivery or table service, documents already issued can be pre-loaded onto the terminal and paid later, with one or more cards. Pre-loaded documents stay available for 24 hours.

When the card payment comes before the document, for example a deposit, it is recorded as a pre-collection on an interconnected POS, and the document follows.

According to AADE’s guidance, interconnection is not required for:

• distance sales and e-commerce,
• card payments through a payment link,
• unattended terminals.

Likewise, “all in one” devices that combine the cash register software and the card application in one unit need no separate interconnection.

AADE has said the exemptions for card-not-present transactions will be reviewed, so keep an eye on its announcements on aade.gr. If you are not sure whether your case is exempt, ask your accountant before deciding not to interconnect a terminal. Remember that an exemption from interconnection is never an exemption from issuing the document: every sale still needs its receipt or invoice, sent to myDATA.

Accepting card payments on a terminal that should be interconnected but is not carries a fine under Article 63 of the Tax Procedure Code (Law 5104/2024):

• €10,000 for businesses keeping single-entry books,
• €20,000 for businesses keeping double-entry books.

The law halves the fine for businesses in small settlements and sparsely populated islands. The amounts are fixed and not tied to the value of the transactions, which is why interconnection is not an obligation worth leaving for later.

AADE tells businesses about the status of their terminals by email, through the myAADE inbox and under “Business Details”, in the payments (EFT/POS) section. Check there that all your terminals show as interconnected.

If you are not sure your business is compliant, run through these points:

• Every terminal: count how many POS terminals you have in use, including any at a second till or in the back office, and check in myAADE that each one shows as interconnected.
• New or replaced terminals: whenever you change bank, payment provider or device, the interconnection must be in place before the first payment.
• Order of actions at the till: staff should start from the document, not the POS. A “quick” amount keyed into the terminal with no document is exactly what interconnection is designed to catch.
• Deposits and later payments: if you take a deposit by card, make sure it is recorded as a pre-collection on an interconnected POS and that the document follows.
• Remote payments: if you send payment links or sell online, those payments are exempt from interconnection, but the document is still issued and transmitted as normal.

If any of these does not hold, talk to your accountant and to your cash system provider as soon as possible, before the next audit.

eFluper includes POS integration on every plan. Combined with the connection to the certified e-invoicing provider Impact (from €95 a year, excl. VAT), you issue retail receipts without a cash register or special equipment:

• the receipt is issued together with the POS payment,
• the document is marked as paid automatically,
• the data goes straight to myDATA.

For payments outside the shop, eFluper connects on every plan to the payment gateways Viva, PayPal and Stripe, and the payment is linked automatically to the invoice it settles. Every payment, by card, cash or transfer, lands on the customer’s statement and outstanding balances update instantly. So at the end of the day, card payments, documents and myDATA data agree with each other without manual reconciliation.