What a POS must do under Icelandic rules

Most of the rules for how a restaurant in Iceland records its sales sit in one regulation from 1993. The language is old and talks about a sjóðvél (cash register), paper rolls and an inner tape. The rules still apply today, and a modern POS does the job that the cash register did. This article follows the rules in the order you meet them during a working day, as they stood on 2 October 2026.

Which rules apply to a restaurant

Regulation no. 50/1993 covers bookkeeping and the recording of sales for businesses that are registered for VAT. Article 8 says that shops and service businesses that sell almost only to consumers have two choices. They issue an invoice for every sale, or they record every sale in a cash register at the moment it happens.¹ The appendix to the regulation lists the businesses that this article covers. Restaurants (veitingahús), cafés, fast-food places, sandwich shops and hot-dog stands are all on the list.¹

The regulation has been amended several times since 1993. The page on reglugerd.is shows the original text, with the amendments listed separately. Skatturinn’s page on recording sales (tekjuskráning) gives a current summary in one place, and it is the easiest text to read.²

Two more texts matter. The Bookkeeping Act no. 145/1994 says how long you keep your records.⁴ Regulation no. 505/2013 sets the minimum requirements for electronic accounting systems.⁵

At each sale

Your POS records the sale at the moment it happens and keeps sales at different VAT rates apart.² In a restaurant this usually means 11 % for food and drink, alcohol included, and 24 % for other goods, such as a T-shirt or a bag of coffee beans to take home.⁷ The VAT guide for restaurants explains which rate applies to what.

The guest gets a receipt with every sale. The receipt shows each item, marks the sales at each VAT rate, and shows the date.² The register, or its screen, must stand where the guest can follow the sale as it is entered and check that it is correct.² At a counter, turn the screen or add a second screen that faces the guest.

The rules also forbid a cash register that you can use as a plain calculator, without the sale being recorded.¹ Every amount that goes in is a recorded sale.

When a company asks for an invoice

A business guest, for example a company that pays for a team dinner, can ask for an invoice for its own books. You must then issue one.² If your POS keeps an electronic journal, the receipt itself can count as the invoice. It must then meet the normal form rules for invoices, carry the number that the system gave it, and show a line such as “Greiðslukvittun úr sjóðvél með rafræna dagbók”.² For a sale of 6.000 kr. or less, the buyer’s name and kennitala do not have to be on it.²

Meals for the owner and managers

Food that the owner, the managing director or other managers take from the business goes in a separate sub-ledger (undirbók), not through the normal sales record.² Ask your accountant how to handle staff meals in your case.

What the POS keeps for you

Behind each sale, the rules ask for four things. Skatturinn lists them as the minimum equipment of a cash register.²

The grand total may only be reset when it is full or when the machine is repaired. You then record the value of the counter and the date, a manager confirms it, and you keep that record with your books.²

When cash registers are connected to computers as part of a larger system, there must be a detailed description of how the system is set up. The system must give the daily and total sales described above.¹ An amendment from 1997 adds that it must be impossible to change entries that are already recorded.³ On a modern POS, a mistake or a refund therefore shows as a new entry, and the original sale stays in the record.

Closing the day

At the end of each day or shift, you print or open the daily sales report. Many people call it the Z report. Skatturinn lists what it must show at a minimum.²

• The date.
• The number of sales.
• How many times the cash drawer was opened without a sale.
• How many times the report has been run.
• The sales on each counter, and the total sales of the day.
• The grand total and its value at this close.

You then move the figures to a settlement sheet (söluuppgjörsyfirlit). It shows cash sales, card sales and sales on credit. It also shows any difference between the report and the cash you counted, with an explanation.² A manager or another responsible person confirms the documents for each day, and you keep them with the books.²

If the counted cash is higher than the report and you do not know which VAT rate the difference belongs to, Skatturinn says to split it by the average VAT mix of that day’s sales.² Your accountant can show you how to enter this.

How long to keep the records

Keep your books and the documents behind them for seven years from the end of the financial year.⁴ This includes the daily reports and settlement sheets. The original 1993 regulation said six years, but an amendment in 1997 changed it to seven.³ An inner paper tape from a cash register only has to be kept for three years, on the condition that the books are complete and the annual accounts are signed.⁴

Records must be kept in Iceland in a safe way. A company may keep them abroad for up to six months, and electronic records must always be available to the authorities.⁴ Electronic records are kept for the same seven years.⁵

This matters most when you change POS. The Bookkeeping Act says that if you change or get rid of the equipment that you need to read your records, you move the records to a new medium so that you can still read them.⁴ Before you leave a POS, export your sales history and daily reports, and check that you can open the files.

The statement from the system seller

Skatturinn says that a business with an electronic accounting system keeps a signed statement in its books. The statement comes from the seller or designer of the system, and it says that the system meets the conditions of regulation no. 505/2013.⁶ The business also keeps the description of how the system is set up.⁶ With that statement, you can print invoices in a single copy on paper that is not pre-numbered.²

Regulation no. 505/2013 also asks the seller to give you detailed information about how the software works and which controls it has for checking and auditing the data.⁵ Skatturinn publishes a list of systems whose sellers have sent it a statement. Skatturinn also says that it does not inspect the systems, that sellers do not have to send a statement, and that the list is not a certification.⁶

Questions to ask your POS seller

Take these questions to a demo, or send them by email before you sign.

1. Can you show me a receipt with items at 11 % and 24 % VAT, and the date?
2. Can you show me the daily sales report? Does it have every item from Skatturinn’s list?
3. How does the POS show a refund or a correction? Does the original sale stay in the record?
4. Where is the electronic journal, and how is it backed up each day?
5. Can the grand total be reset, and if so, how is the reset recorded?
6. Can the POS print a receipt that a company can use as its invoice?
7. Can you give me a signed statement and a description of the system for my books?
8. How do I get seven years of sales history out of the system if I leave?

Ask for the answers in writing and bring them to your accountant, who knows your books and can tell you what to check next.