Who doesn’t want to work within the framework of the law? The Damocles sword of governmental sanctions cannot be the status quo! And when it comes to taxes, the state is very precise in its expectations and on the other hand, it is still very confusing. And in any instance, with POS systems, it is not only this one simple article 88 which must be considered. There are still other laws with respect to bookkeeping, value added tax (generally), accounting and nearly innumerable others.
Becoming compliant with the law!
All these laws are simply reviewed once and the POS software is adapted accordingly. Thus, every PosCreator easily achieves the required conformity to the financial laws. In France, a logical and necessary step is then internal assessment. After all, it really wouldn’t make sense to meet all the requirements and then not execute the final step, the confirmation of compliance. It’s like running a marathon and stopping 500 meters before the finish line.
Some cash register manufacturers even go one big step further and venture to certify with Infocert or LNE. In this case, it is not just the French laws, but also the corresponding set of rules which must be taken into account. This solution becomes more and more complicated and certain parties are asking for an anti-fraud solution with hardware like in Austria or Germany.
Despite everything, it is not as difficult as it sounds. After all, it is only a one-time effort and the POS system is compliant with financial laws. If the manufacturer then uses middleware like that which fiskaltrust offers, it becomes even easier. Conformity is already built in! And without any licensing costs. Sounds like the perfect solution.
Staying compliant!
Now, that is more of a challenge. Conformity has been achieved, the first installations of POS systems have been rolled out to the market. All sounds perfect, time goes by, there are no complaints and no errors to fix. But then comes the first audit by the financial authorities or even just the mandatory re-audit for the certification. And now there is a big surprise! The tax authorities object to the POS system or the certification body refuses to renew the certificate. What happened?
The answer may be as simple as it is serious: the laws have been changed or interpreted differently. And the certification body’s rules and regulations have also been adapted to market conditions. For a cash register manufacturer it is almost impossible to follow all changes and innovations and to react them in time. By the time one becomes aware, it is often already too late. Because by the time the news of the changes reach the general public, the first penalties have sometimes already been imposed or controls have gone poorly.
It is mainly this monitoring of French laws and rules that argues in favour for the use of a middleware because many changes can already be integrated into a middleware and deployed for all POS systems. This is how we see Compliance-as-a-Service at fiskaltrust. But that’s not all. There are also changes that need to be made in the POS system itself, for example when new data needs to be printed on the receipts. And in such cases in particular, it is important to be informed with ample time to react.
This support with regular information updates (newsletters) clearly speaks in favour of the ConseilCertif from fiskaltrust. Not only is the initial certification included, but also included is an example of the complex documentation that is required for the POS system. But the best comes, as so often is the case, at the end: one year of monitoring of the French legal situation and the regulations of the certification bodies is also included.
We make complicated things simple!