All Greek cafes must use an AADE-approved POS or electronic cash register that transmits transaction data to myDATA in real time. Non-compliance exposes you to fines starting at 1,000 euros per unrecorded transaction.
What Greek Law Requires for Cafe Cash Registers
Since January 2020, all Greek businesses with retail transactions must use an electronic cash register (Φορολογική Ταμειακή Μηχανή / ΦΤΜ) or a Point of Sale system (POY) that is approved and certified by AADE. Since 2022, real-time transmission of transaction data to the myDATA platform is mandatory for most businesses.
The requirement covers every transaction - card and cash. The idea that cash payments can be handled informally without being recorded in the fiscal register is incorrect and increasingly risky. AADE's digital compliance capabilities have increased significantly since 2022, and cross-referencing of card terminal data with fiscal register data is a standard audit trigger.
POY vs Traditional ΦΤΜ: What to Use
The traditional electronic cash register (ΦΤΜ) uses a physical fiscal memory module and prints a fiscal receipt for every transaction. These are reliable, approved, and widely used in Greek cafes. They transmit end-of-day Z-reports to AADE rather than real-time per-transaction data.
The POS system (POY) is software-based and increasingly the standard for new cafe openings. POY systems (such as Epsilonnet, Softone, E-psy, and others certified by AADE) handle ordering, inventory, reporting, and fiscal compliance in one system. They transmit transaction data to myDATA in real time as each receipt is issued. The advantage over traditional ΦΤΜ: full integration with accounting software, better reporting, and the ability to use tablet-based ordering at table.
If you are starting a new cafe or replacing an old system: choose a POY. The additional cost (typically 30-80 euros per month for SaaS-based POY systems vs. 300-600 euros one-time for a basic ΦΤΜ) is justified by the accounting integration and reporting capabilities. If your existing ΦΤΜ is less than 5 years old and functional, keep it until it requires replacement.
myDATA: What Gets Transmitted and When
myDATA (My Digital Accounting and Tax Application) is AADE's system for receiving electronic transaction data from Greek businesses. Every fiscal receipt issued must be transmitted to myDATA with a MARK number (the unique identifier that myDATA assigns to each transmitted document). The MARK appears on the receipt and can be verified by the customer at aade.gr.
What is transmitted: receipt type (cafe receipt = ΑΛΠ - Απόδειξη Λιανικής Πώλησης), gross amount, VAT category, VAT amount, net amount, and the fiscal register's serial number. For B2B transactions (selling coffee to an office for a corporate account), you must issue an invoice instead of a receipt, which carries different transmission requirements.
Failure to transmit: each unrecorded transaction (receipt issued but not transmitted, or transaction not receipted at all) is subject to a fine of 1,000 euros minimum. AADE can also conduct on-site inspections and cross-reference card payment terminal data (supplied by banks) against fiscal register data. Systematic non-recording is a criminal tax evasion offence beyond just the civil fine.
Handling Cash-Only Customers Legally
Some customers will pay cash without requesting a receipt. You are still legally required to issue the receipt - the obligation is on the business, not the customer. If a customer explicitly refuses a receipt, issue it anyway and mark it as such. The fiscal register must record every transaction regardless of whether the customer physically takes the receipt.
The practice of operating a two-till system (one for card payments that gets recorded, one for 'unofficial' cash) is the most common tax evasion method in Greek hospitality and the first thing AADE inspectors look for. The fine for each detected unrecorded transaction starts at 1,000 euros. The risk is not worth it.
End-of-Day Z-Reports and Accounting Integration
At the end of each trading day, run the Z-report on your fiscal register or POY. This closes the day's fiscal record, transmits the day's totals to AADE (for ΦΤΜ systems), and produces the day's sales summary. Keep Z-reports for 5 years - they are your primary accounting record for tax purposes.
Integration with your accountant: most modern POY systems can export daily or monthly sales data in a format your accountant's software can import directly. This eliminates manual data entry and reduces accounting fees. Ask your POY provider about integration with the accounting software your accountant uses (Epsilonnet, Softone, and Entersoft are the most common in Greece).
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