What Is a Hotel POS System? Tills and Point of Sale Explained

A POS system records sales in the restaurant and bar. How it connects to the PMS and what German tax law requires.

By Michael Külbel 3 min read

Graphic: German rules for electronic tills: certified security device, a receipt for every transaction, notifying new tills within one month via ELSTER
The main German tax obligations for electronic tills, simplified. Graphic: eingecheckt.de · Background photo: Wolfmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Key points
  • A POS (point of sale) system records sales in the restaurant, bar, spa or shop.
  • In hotels, it is usually connected to the PMS so that guests can charge restaurant bills to their room and pay everything together at check-out.
  • In Germany, electronic tills must be protected by a certified technical security device, known as a TSE. A receipt must be issued for every transaction.
  • Businesses must notify the tax office of their electronic tills, and of new devices within one month of purchase.

A guest has two glasses of wine at the bar and says: “Charge it to my room, please.” For the amount to appear on the bill the next morning, the till and the hotel software have to work together. And to keep the tax office happy, the till has to do quite a bit more.

What a hotel POS system is

A POS system records sales outside the room booking: in the restaurant, at the bar, in the spa, in the shop or at breakfast for non-resident guests. Modern systems run on till terminals or tablets, often supplemented by handheld devices that let staff take orders at the table.

In a hotel, the most important function of the till is its interface with the PMS. It allows sales to be charged to a room so that the guest pays for everything together at check-out. In the other direction, service staff can see which guests are staying, whether half board is booked and which room number belongs to which name. Without this link, receipts have to be transferred by hand, which takes time and invites errors.

What German tax law requires

Under Section 146a of the German Fiscal Code, electronic tills must record every transaction individually, completely, correctly, promptly and in an orderly manner. The records must be protected by a certified technical security device, known as a TSE. A receipt must be issued to the customer close in time to each transaction.¹

There is also a duty to notify: businesses must tell the tax office electronically which recording systems they use, within one month of purchase or decommissioning.¹ Notification has been possible since 1 January 2025, for example via the Mein ELSTER portal. Tills purchased before 1 July 2025 had to be notified by 31 July 2025.² This entry is not tax advice.

What hoteliers should look for

Checklist: POS systems in hotels
  1. PMS interface: Can sales be charged directly to a room and guest data retrieved?
  2. Check the TSE: Is the till fitted with a certified technical security device?
  3. Notification done: Has every till been notified to the tax office, and are new or retired devices reported within one month?
  4. Work on the move: Can staff take orders at the table or on the terrace?
  5. Use the reports: Does the system show sales by outlet, time of day and item?

More in the magazine

Why the ibis Paderborn City replaced its hotel bar with a self-service marketplace is shown in our article "Does a Modern Hotel Still Need a Traditional Hotel Bar?". The software that brings together bookings, rooms and invoices in a hotel is explained in the glossary entry on the PMS.

Sources

This glossary entry is based on the following sources:

  1. Federal Ministry of Justice (2026)
    § 146a Abgabenordnung: Ordnungsvorschrift für die Buchführung und für Aufzeichnungen mittels elektronischer Aufzeichnungssysteme
    Statutory text, gesetze-im-internet.de. Technical security device, obligation to issue receipts and duty to notify for electronic tills. Original publication in German.
  2. Regional Tax Office Karlsruhe (2025)
    Mitteilungspflicht nach § 146a Absatz 4 AO
    Information from the Baden-Württemberg tax administration. Notification of electronic tills via Mein ELSTER since 1 January 2025, deadline 31 July 2025 for systems acquired before 1 July 2025. Original publication in German.
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