Is it illegal to use a POS that is not BIR accredited?

The obligation is layered, and generalising it is how people get into trouble. The accreditation requirement under RMO No. 24-2023 falls on the supplier, developer or distributor of sales machines and software, who must be accredited before distributing or selling. Separately, the business using the machine must register it and secure a Permit to Use. Whether a specific business needs an accredited POS at all depends on its registration and what it uses to issue invoices — a non-VAT registered business using BIR printed invoices is a different situation from a VAT-registered restaurant issuing its own. Confirm your own position with your accountant or your Revenue District Office rather than relying on a vendor's summary, including ours.

What is the difference between accreditation and a Permit to Use?

Accreditation is about the product: BIR evaluates a supplier's machine or software model through its Enhanced Electronic Accreditation and Registration System, including a system demonstration to a Technical Working Group against a 13-point specification list. A Permit to Use is about your specific machine: you register that unit and BIR authorises you to use it to generate invoices. Under RR No. 6-2022, a Permit to Use does not expire merely because the software's accreditation certificate expires. They are separate documents with separate holders.

What must be printed on a receipt from an accredited POS?

Among other things, BIR's requirements include the accredited supplier's name, address and TIN with branch code, the supplier's accreditation number with the date issued and valid until, and the Permit to Use number and date issued, or the ATG control number where applicable. Before go-live, ask to see all of that actually present on a sample receipt from your own configuration.

What changed with the EOPT law and 'Official Receipt' becoming 'Invoice'?

Under RR No. 7-2024, changing the word 'Official Receipt' to 'Invoice' or a similar descriptive term is treated as a minor enhancement: no reaccreditation for the supplier and no reissuance of your Permit to Use. That was a genuine simplification. Invoices issued in the transition period without the updated wording risked not being accepted as evidence of sale, so it mattered at the time. If you are reading this long after 2026, verify the current position rather than assuming it is unchanged.

Do accreditation certificates expire?

Yes. Certificates of accreditation have validity periods and suppliers must reapply under the prevailing rules when theirs lapses — RMC No. 72-2025 dealt with certificates expiring from 31 July 2025 onward. This is a good question to ask a vendor: not just 'are you accredited' but 'until when'. An expired certificate is a live problem for the businesses that bought on the strength of it.

Does the WSI POS page claim BIR accreditation anywhere?

No. WSI POS is not BIR-accredited today, and we do not claim to be. What we claim is narrower and checkable: the system is built with Philippine tax configuration including VAT treatment and Senior Citizen and PWD discounts, it produces sequential receipts with audit-friendly readings, and we support you through implementation and registration requirements for your specific business. We would rather tell you exactly where we stand than put a badge on a homepage.

Buyer's guide

BIR Accreditation for a POS: What It Actually Means

“BIR accredited” is the most common claim on a Philippine POS website and one of the least examined. It hides two separate things — one about the vendor's product, one about your own registration — and only one of them is your legal obligation. Here is the distinction, the checklist BIR actually evaluates against, and the questions worth asking before you sign.

Reviewed September 2026 · Written for restaurant and café operators, not accountants. Confirm your own position with your accountant or your Revenue District Office.

Two different things, one confusing phrase

1. Supplier accreditation — about the product

The developer, dealer or distributor of sales machines and software must be accredited by BIR before distributing or selling them. Under RMO No. 24-2023 this runs through the Enhanced Electronic Accreditation and Registration (eAccReg) System: enrolment by sworn declaration, an application for accreditation, a documentary checklist, and then a system demonstration in front of a BIR Technical Working Group that evaluates the product against a 13-point specification list. The supplier attests compliance in a notarised sworn statement. If it passes, the supplier gets an accreditation number.

2. Permit to Use — about your machine

Separately, youmust register the specific machine or software you will operate and secure a Permit to Use (PTU) for it. In practice the supplier or dealer usually files this on the buyer's behalf, but the permit is issued to you as the taxpayer-user. Under RR No. 6-2022, a PTU does not expire just because the software's accreditation certificate expires — they are separate documents with separate holders and separate lifetimes.

The practical consequence: a vendor being accredited does not make your business compliant. You still need the PTU for each machine you operate, and the receipts have to carry the right details. A POS homepage badge answers a question you were not really asking.

The 13 features BIR evaluates

This is Section IV(5) of RMO No. 24-2023, which a Technical Working Group checks during the supplier's system demonstration. It is a genuinely useful checklist even if you never read the regulation — if a POS can do all thirteen, it is a serious system. If it cannot, ask why.

#	Specification	What it means in practice
1	Accumulated grand total sales	A running total that cannot be silently rewritten or reset.
2	Tamper-free operation	No training mode trap, no no-sale mode that can hide a transaction.
3	Activity / transaction log	A record of what was done on the system, not just the sales.
4	Non-volatile memory	Sales survive a power cut, not just a graceful shutdown.
5	E-journal / audit journal	The electronic equivalent of the audit tape on an old cash register.
6	Sales readings	X-readings and Z-readings, per machine.
7	Backend reports	Reports that reconcile against the readings.
8	Sequential accountable forms	Receipt or invoice numbers in an unbroken series.
9	Reprint functionality	A receipt can be reproduced without creating a new sale.
10	Push functionality	The system can transmit sales data.
11	Verification / validation seal	The BIR mark showing the model is accredited.
12	Data retention	Records retained for the period BIR may assess — not deleted on a schedule.
13	Sales data transmission	Sales data can be sent to BIR as required.

BIR also requires the discount breakdown for Senior Citizens, PWDs, Solo Parents and National Athletes and Coaches — including the VAT exemption, the qualifying ID number and the customer's signature where applicable — and requires the accredited supplier's details, their accreditation number, and your PTU number to be printed on the receipt.

Six questions worth asking any POS vendor

These work on us too. If a vendor cannot answer them plainly, that is itself the answer.

“Is your POS BIR accredited?”

Ask them to be precise, because this question hides two different things. Supplier accreditation means BIR has evaluated that vendor's software or machine model. Your Permit to Use (PTU) is your own registration for your own machines, filed by you or on your behalf. A vendor being accredited does not mean you are registered — you still need the PTU for each machine you operate.

“What is your accreditation number, and what does it cover?”

An accredited supplier receives an accreditation number, and it must appear on the receipts your system prints, along with their name, address and TIN. If a vendor advertises accreditation but cannot produce the number and the model it covers, that is worth noticing.

“Will you register the machine and secure the PTU for me?”

In practice the supplier or dealer typically files the machine registration on the buyer's behalf and the PTU is issued to you as the taxpayer-user. Ask who is doing this, by when, and what documentary requirements fall on you — sample receipts, machine serial numbers and so on.

“What do you need from me to make the receipts BIR-valid?”

Your registered business name, your VAT or non-VAT registered TIN with branch code, your business address as registered, and your machine serial number. None of this can be invented by the vendor; wrong details on receipts are your exposure, not theirs.

“Can the system handle Senior Citizen, PWD, Solo Parent and NAAC discounts the way BIR expects?”

BIR requirements call for the discount to show a detailed breakdown including the VAT exemption, with the qualifying ID number and — where applicable — the customer's signature. Ask to see it actually print on a sample receipt, not to hear that it does.

“What happens to my records if I change systems or stop paying?”

Rules on retention are a legal obligation that outlives your software choice. Ask how you export your sales history and how long you can access it, and get the answer in writing before signing.

Where WSI POS actually stands

WSI POS is not BIR-accredited today, and we do not claim to be.We do not use words like “accredited”, “compliant” or “certified” about BIR anywhere on this site, because we have not completed that process and saying otherwise would be a lie you would build your business on.

What we can tell you plainly instead:

•The system is built with Philippine tax handling — VAT treatment and Senior Citizen and PWD discounts computed under the rule rather than estimated by the cashier.
•It produces sequential receipts with X-readings, Z-readings and cash-closure records, and stores sales in a local database suited to retention rather than deletion.
•If accreditation is a requirement for your business, we will say so and help you understand what your registration actually requires before you commit — including telling you if another option fits better.

We think that is a better starting point than a badge. Ask every vendor the six questions above, including us, and compare the answers.

Sources

Primary issuances, so you can check any of this yourself rather than take our summary of it.

Bring your registration questions to the demo

We will go through what your business actually needs, what the system prints, and where our limits are — before you commit to anything.

How to test offline mode