What Is the RKSV? Praxis Desk Kasse
The Austrian cash register security regulation (Registrierkassensicherheitsverordnung, RKSV) defines how a cash register in Austria must record sales in a tamper-proof way. This article explains the key terms and what offisy handles for you.
Definition
The RKSV is an ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). You can find the text of the ordinance in the Legal Information System of the Federal Government (RIS).
The core of the RKSV is the security device. It signs every receipt digitally and chains it to the previous one. For this, the register uses a certificate from a trust service provider. The sales counter is stored AES-256 encrypted in the receipt's QR code.
Every cash sale is also recorded in the data collection protocol (Datenerfassungsprotokoll, DEP). The DEP is your register's journal and can be exported at any time.
What is the RKSV used for?
Cash register obligation and receipt obligation
The cash register obligation applies from an annual turnover of €15,000 per business, if more than €7,500 of it is received in cash. Both thresholds must be exceeded. You can find details on the Unternehmensserviceportal (USP) and in the WKO FAQ.
The receipt obligation applies regardless of these thresholds: for cash payments, you must issue a receipt to your customers.
What offisy handles automatically
The scope depends on your RKSV tier, see RKSV Tiers. RKSV Basic includes 2,000 signatures per year, RKSV Premium 5,000.
| Feature | RKSV Basic | RKSV Premium | RKSV Unlimitiert |
|---|---|---|---|
| FinanzOnline webservice | only with add-on | yes | yes |
| Automatic registration and deregistration with FinanzOnline | only with add-on | yes | yes |
| Automatic verification of start receipt and annual receipt | only with add-on | yes | yes |
| Automatic DEP backup | no | yes | yes |
| Monthly receipt created automatically on the first of the month | no | yes | yes |
Required license
The features that use the FinanzOnline webservice are included in RKSV Premium and RKSV Unlimitiert. With RKSV Basic, they are only available with the add-on RKSV Webservice für Paket Basic (Kasse). Without the webservice, you register the register with FinanzOnline yourself and verify receipts with the BMF receipt check app. With RKSV Basic, you back up the DEP yourself. Read how in Register and Deregister a Cash Register with FinanzOnline and in What Do I Need for an Audit?.
Without automatic backup, you must back up the DEP at least quarterly, unalterably, on an external medium.
Receipt types
The RKSV knows several receipt types. All of them are signed.
| Receipt type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Start receipt (Startbeleg) | First receipt of a register, with €0 and the register identification number. You verify it after registration, see Verify the Start Receipt. |
| Monthly receipt (Monatsbeleg) | Created once a month, see Automatic Receipt Creation. |
| Annual receipt (Jahresbeleg) | Created once a year and verified by you, see What Is an Annual Receipt?. |
| Closing receipt (Schlussbeleg) | Created when the register is decommissioned. You keep it. |
| Null or status receipt (Null- bzw. Statusbeleg) | Shows the current state without any sales. The authorities can request a null receipt. |
| Collective receipt (Sammelbeleg) | Created after the signature unit has been down. Receipts from that time carry the note "Sicherheitseinrichtung ausgefallen". |
In offisy, you find status and monthly receipts in the section Sammel-, Status- & Monatsbelege of the RKSV page.
Next steps
Proceed in this order:
- Issue an RKSV Certificate
- Create an RKSV Cash Register
- Register and Deregister a Cash Register with FinanzOnline. With webservice access, this happens automatically, see Set Up a Webservice User in FinanzOnline.
- Verify the Start Receipt