As a point of sale (POS) reseller and/or software developer, chances are you’ve heard of fiscal printers, and we’re betting there’s a bigger chance that you’re interested in expanding your business globally. Read on to explore what exactly fiscal printers are, where they are required, and how to leverage selling them to grow your business internationally.
What are Fiscal Printers?
Simply put, a fiscal printer is a receipt printer that includes a fiscal memory module. The module records every transaction for easy regulation of sales tax owed to a country. Fiscal printers include both cloud-based solutions as well as carbon copy printing.
Thermal printers are generally used as fiscal printers for several reasons: they are quiet, they do not require ink cartridges, and they have a fast print speed. Local integrators can modify thermal receipt printers to become certified fiscal printers.
Other fiscal memory devices exist as well, including fiscal cash registers and electronic signature devices. Whether a business uses a fiscal printer, cash register, or electronic signature device, all of the devices one thing in common: they are a piece of equipment that has been certified by the local government, connects to a POS terminal, and records taxation for public revenue.
The Cloud: The Next Generation of Fiscal Recording for Some
A handful of countries are now considering moving their fiscal solutions to the cloud, meaning that it is now the responsibility of the POS software (or other applications) to record every single transaction in an approved fiscal log stored on the cloud. The fiscal agencies, can now, at any time, monitor and verify business sales and transactions. In this instance, the receipt printer is no longer involved in this operation.
Which Countries Use Fiscal Printers?
Many countries around the world require fiscal memory devices, including:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Croatia
- Chile
- Czech Republic
- Ethiopia
- France
- Gambia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Panama
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Tanzania
- Turkey
- Venezuela
The rules surrounding the usage of fiscal memory devices vary in all of these countries and have differing histories. For example, Italy has enforced a fiscal printer law since 1990, while Austria began introducing its fiscal regulations in 2016.
How Star Can Help You Sell Fiscal Printers
Looking to expand your business globally? Are you prepared to offer the fiscal printers required in many countries? Star Micronics can help. As a global company known for quality and reliability, Star can support you as you grow your business across borders and provide you with a range of printing solutions to help you meet the fiscal printing requirements of the many markets that are regulated.
Star proudly offers a variety of fiscal solutions, including:
- Fiscal boards, with or without SD memory cards, for Star desktop printers
- Receipt printers certified by local fiscal agencies (ready to purchase)
- In-country partners to support local fiscal solutions
- Electronic journal development support
- Consulting services to support your search of local laws and requirements
Star’s 5 Best Receipt Printers
Star offers several top-rated printers suited for a variety of retail, restaurant, and hospitality locations.
Looking to learn more about Star? Learn more about us in the below video.
Star’s Fiscal Consulting Services
Star offers consulting services to help you navigate local government regulations.
Fiscal solutions are constantly evolving, and requirements differ from country-to-country and time-to-time. Here are some examples of solutions that Star was able to research and offer solutions for:
- Originally, fiscal agencies requested that business owners keep a log of each transaction. The easiest way for businesses to do that was to keep a copy of each customer receipt and many countries implemented requirements to use impact printers with multiple ply paper rolls to support this requirement. Therefore, at that time, thermal printers were not authorized.
- In the next generation of requirements, agencies imposed that the receipt data be stored in the printer in a special sealed module. Since the security of this information was so important, fiscal agencies only allowed local technology providers to develop these modules and partnerships between these companies and the printer manufacturers developed. Star has been working with these companies for years to deliver the best solutions for these fiscal countries.
- And lastly, the newest generation of cloud-based fiscal solutions does not require the fiscal module to be integrated with the printer, which reduces the cost and complexity of the solution.
