Tax Module

The tax module is opt-in and disabled by default. Enabling it adds tax calculation to all sales, purchase orders, and receipts. When disabled, there is zero change to existing behaviour.

Enabling Tax (Admin Only)

1. Go to Settings → Tax.
2. Toggle "Enable Tax Module" ON.
3. The full tax configuration panel appears.

Tax Calculation: Exclusive or Inclusive?

This is the most important setting. Choose the one that matches how your prices are displayed.

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Exclusive: tax added at checkout

The price shown on the shelf or product tile is before tax. Tax is calculated and added to the total at checkout.

Example: A product is priced at $500.00. VAT (18%) = $90.00. Customer pays $590.00.

Common in: United States, Sri Lanka, most of South Asia and Africa.

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Inclusive: tax already in the price

The price shown already includes tax. Tax is extracted and shown for transparency. The total does not change.

Example: A product is priced at AUD 110.00. GST (10%) is included. Customer pays AUD 110.00. Receipt shows: Incl. GST (10%): AUD 10.00.

Common in: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, European Union.

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Receipt Display: Combined or Itemised?

Choose how tax appears on printed receipts and sale invoices.

Combined: all tax from every product is added up into one "Tax" line:

Subtotal       $5,000.00
Tax              $705.00
─────────────────────────────
TOTAL          $5,705.00

Itemised: each tax rate that applies gets its own line (useful if you have both standard and reduced-rate products):

Subtotal          $5,000.00
Standard (18%)      $630.00
Reduced (5%)         $75.00
─────────────────────────────────
TOTAL             $5,705.00

TIP

If all your taxable products use the same rate, use Combined — it keeps receipts clean. Use Itemised only if you have products across multiple tax rates that need to appear separately.

Adding Tax Rates

1. In the Tax Rates section, click "+ Add Tax Rate".
2. Fill in:
   • Name — appears on receipts (e.g. "VAT", "GST", "Zero-rated", "Exempt")
   • Rate % — the percentage (e.g. 18 for 18%). Use 0 for zero-rated goods.
   • Default — tick this to apply this rate to new products automatically. One rate must always be the default.
   • Exempt — tick for goods with no tax at all. No tax line appears on the receipt for exempt items. Exempt rates cannot be set as the default.
3. Click Save.

Editing a rate: click the pencil icon, make changes, save. Changing a rate's percentage only affects future sales. Past sales are not changed.

Deleting a rate: blocked if any products are assigned to it. Reassign those products to a different rate first.

Common rate sets by region

UK / EU (standard example):

Name	Rate	Default	Exempt
Standard	20%	Yes
Reduced	5%
Zero-rated	0%

Australia / New Zealand:

Name	Rate	Default	Exempt
GST	10%	Yes
GST-free	0%

INFO

In Australia, "GST-free" (e.g. basic food, medical supplies) and "Input-taxed" (e.g. financial services, residential rent) are legally different categories. Both produce zero GST in the POS, but they are treated differently when you claim back input credits on your BAS. Consult your accountant on how to classify Input-taxed supplies.

Sri Lanka (VAT + SSC Levy combined):

Name	Rate	Default	Exempt
Standard (VAT+SSCL)	20.5%	Yes
Zero-rated	0%
Exempt	0%		Yes

INFO

Sri Lanka applies two levies: VAT (18%) and the SSC Levy (2.5%), applied to most business sales. Because each product carries one rate, combine them into a single rate at 20.5%. Receipts will show one "Standard (VAT+SSCL)" line at the combined rate. This is accurate and legally compliant for most Sri Lankan businesses.

Assigning Tax Rates to Products

1. Go to Products and open any product to edit.
2. Find the Tax Class dropdown (only visible when the tax module is on).
3. Select the appropriate rate and save.

INFO

If you don't assign a rate to a product, it automatically uses the default rate. After enabling the module, work through your products and assign the correct rate to any that differ from the default.

How Tax Appears at the POS Checkout

Exclusive mode — a tax line appears between the discount and the total:

Subtotal       $3,500.00
Discount        -$500.00
Tax (18%)         $540.00
──────────────────────────────
TOTAL          $3,540.00

Inclusive mode — the total stays the same; an informational line appears below it:

Subtotal          $220.00
──────────────────────────────
TOTAL             $220.00
  Incl. GST (10%)   $20.00

If every item in the cart is exempt, no tax line appears at all.

Tax on Purchase Orders

When you receive a purchase order, the system calculates the tax you paid to the supplier, which offsets the tax you collected from customers.

What unit cost to enter:

• Exclusive mode: enter the supplier's price before tax (e.g. $520.00)
• Inclusive mode: enter the supplier's price including tax (e.g. $627.60). The system works out the tax amount automatically.

Things to know

• Tax is fixed at the time the order is created. If you later change a product's tax rate, that change does not update existing purchase orders.
• Cancelling a received order does not remove its tax from your reports. Once a PO is marked Received, the tax it recorded stays in your Tax Summary even if the PO is later cancelled. This is a known limitation.
• Your whole store runs in one mode. If most of your suppliers invoice prices before tax, use Exclusive. If some invoice inclusive prices, back-calculate the ex-tax cost yourself before entering it: divide the supplier's inclusive price by (1 + rate). For example, $627.60 ÷ 1.205 = $521.00. Enter $521.00.

Tax from purchase orders only counts in reports once a PO is marked as Received. Draft and Ordered POs are not included.

Tax Summary Report

Go to Reports → Tax Summary and select a date range to see:

	Amount
Tax Collected	Tax from all completed sales
Input Tax Paid	Tax from all received purchase orders
Net Tax Payable	What you owe to the tax authority (Collected − Paid)

Below the totals, two breakdown tables show the same figures split by tax rate — useful when you have products across multiple rates:

Output breakdown (sales):

Tax Rate	Taxable Amount	Tax Collected
Standard (20.5%)	$40,000	$8,200
Reduced (5%)	$10,000	$500

Input breakdown (received purchase orders):

Tax Rate	Taxable Amount	Input Tax Paid
Standard (20.5%)	$120,000	$24,600

Use this as a starting point when preparing your VAT/GST filing. Formal submissions will require additional documentation from your accounting system.

Tax Number on Receipts

The tax registration number shown on receipts (e.g. VAT No: VAT123456789) comes from Settings → Store Profile → Tax Number Label and Tax Number. If left blank, it defaults to "Reg No". Update it there if you need a different label or number to appear.

What This Module Does Not Cover

The following are not supported in the current version:

• Tax filing exports (formatted VAT/GST return for submission)
• Tax-exempt customers (B2B buyers with their own tax registration)
• Location-based tax (US/Canada where the rate depends on the buyer's state or city)
• Compound taxes (tax applied on top of another tax)
• Automatic rate updates (you must update rates manually when the government changes them)

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Worked Example

Store: Garden Fresh Market. VAT registered. Standard rate: 20.5%.

Cart:

Product	Price	Tax Class
Milo 400g × 2	$1,300.00	Standard (20.5%)
Dettol Soap × 1	$450.00	Standard (20.5%)
Carrots 1kg × 3	$360.00	Zero-rated
Paracetamol × 1	$200.00	Exempt

Taxable base: $1,300 + $450 = $1,750.00 Tax: $1,750 × 20.5% = $358.75

POS checkout shows:

Subtotal          $2,310.00
Standard (20.5%)    $358.75
─────────────────────────────────
TOTAL             $2,668.75

Printed receipt (Combined, Exclusive):

Milo 400g       ×2   1,300.00
Dettol Soap     ×1     450.00
Carrots 1kg     ×3     360.00
Paracetamol     ×1     200.00
──────────────────────────────
Subtotal              2,310.00
Standard (20.5%)        358.75
──────────────────────────────
TOTAL                 2,668.75
CASH                  3,000.00
CHANGE                  331.25

VAT No: VAT123456789
──────────────────────────────
Thank you for shopping with us!

Month-end Tax Summary (Reports → Tax Summary):

	Amount
Tax Collected	$50,225.00
Input Tax Paid	$24,600.00
Net Tax Payable	$25,625.00

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FAQ

Q: If I enable tax, does it affect old sales?

A: No. Historical sales already have their amounts recorded. Only new sales are affected.

Q: Will enabling the tax module change my existing products?

A: No. Existing products are not automatically reassigned. They will use the default rate until you explicitly assign a different one.

Q: Can I have different tax rates for different products?

A: Yes. Create multiple rates and assign each product to the appropriate one.

Q: Does tax apply after discounts?

A: Yes. Tax is calculated on the discounted total (subtotal minus any discount and loyalty deductions).

Q: What is the difference between Exclusive and Inclusive tax?

A: Exclusive: tax is added on top at checkout (customer pays price + tax). Inclusive: tax is already built into the displayed price (total stays the same; receipt shows how much of it was tax).

Q: My supplier invoices include tax but my store is set to Exclusive mode. What price should I enter on the purchase order?

A: Divide the supplier's price by (1 + rate). For example, $627.60 ÷ 1.205 = $521.00. Enter $521.00 as the unit cost.

Q: When does tax from a purchase order appear in the Tax Summary report?

A: Only when the purchase order is marked Received. Draft and Ordered purchase orders are not counted.

Q: I changed a product's tax rate. Will old purchase orders update?

A: No. The tax on a purchase order is set at the time it was created and does not change afterwards.

Q: Can I set an Exempt rate as the default?

A: No. The default rate is used for products that have not been assigned a rate. Setting an exempt rate as default would mean most products have no tax, which is usually not intended. Only non-exempt rates can be the default.