Receipt issuance and TSE signature
In Germany every transaction is signed by the TSE. This signing is handled automatically in the background by bessa Sign. The signed data is stored and is not transmitted to the tax office on an ongoing basis — it is provided only during an audit (see below).
What appears on the receipt
Since the receipt-issuance obligation (Belegausgabepflicht, 2020) every receipt contains, among other things:
-
the timestamp of the transaction start and end and the date of issuance
-
the transaction number
-
the serial number of the recording system and the serial number of the TSE
-
the signature counter and the check value of the signature
This information is readable in plain text or via a QR code (the QR code is optional).
Short-term offline operation
Unlike Croatia, Germany permits short-term offline operation. If the connection to the TSE fails temporarily:
-
you can keep posting — receipt issuance continues normally,
-
the outage is marked on the receipt (by the missing transaction number or a clear note),
-
the recording system supplies the date and time itself during this period,
-
the affected receipts are signed afterwards (late signing) as soon as the connection is restored.
This applies only to temporary outages, not to planned offline operation. The outage must be documented and the cause remedied without delay.
No ongoing report — provided only on inspection
There is no periodic or real-time transmission to the tax office. The recorded data is provided only on demand — during an audit or an (unannounced) cash inspection (Kassen-Nachschau) — as a DSFinV-K export. The retention obligations under GoBD and § 147 AO apply; your tax advisor uses this data.