Kassenmeldung — Cash Register Notification to the Tax Authority¶

Since 2025, electronic POS systems with a certified TSE must be reported to the tax office (notification procedure under § 146a para. 4 AO). DiKAS helps you with this under Admin → Settings → Finance → Kassenmeldung.

ℹ️ You have a choice. On the Kassenmeldung page, choose at the top between two paths:

Report it yourself — DiKAS compiles all the required data ready to copy, and you report your POS yourself through the free portal Mein ELSTER (www.elster.de).

Submit electronically — DiKAS sends the notification directly from the program using an ELSTER certificate (registration, deregistration, and re-registration, including a log).

The required master data applies to both paths and only needs to be entered once.

Who Has to Report?¶

Every business that uses an electronic recording system (e.g. a PC-based POS like DiKAS) with a certified TSE. Reporting is done per business location — all POS systems used there are combined into one notification.

Deadlines¶

Situation	Deadline
POS acquired before 01.07.2025	Notification was due by 31.07.2025
POS acquired on or after 01.07.2025	within one month of acquisition
Decommissioning a reported POS	within one month
TSE replacement (e.g. defect, certificate expired)	report as decommissioning + new registration

⚠️ Missed notifications can be treated as a regulatory offense (Ordnungswidrigkeit). If in doubt, submit the notification promptly.

Path 1: Self-Service via Mein ELSTER¶

Log in to Mein ELSTER (www.elster.de) — a free user account is required.
Open the form: Formulare & Leistungen → Alle Formulare → Anträge, Einspruch und Mitteilungen → ("Forms & Services → All Forms → Applications, Objections and Notifications →") „Mitteilung über elektronische Aufzeichnungssysteme (§ 146a Abs. 4 AO)" ("Notification of Electronic Recording Systems").
Select or enter the taxpayer and business location.
Enter the recording system and TSE using the values from DiKAS.
Submit the notification and keep the transfer ticket as proof.

Path 2: Submit Electronically from DiKAS¶

Alternatively, DiKAS submits the notification directly — without the detour through the ELSTER portal. To do this, choose „Elektronisch übermitteln" (Submit electronically) at the top of the Kassenmeldung page.

This requires an ELSTER certificate (organization or software certificate as a .pfx file) along with the associated PIN. You receive this when you register with Mein ELSTER.

Fill in the master data at the top completely and save.
Enter the manufacturer ID (HerstellerID) and upload the ELSTER certificate.
Enter the PIN (it is not stored).
Use „Validieren" (Validate) to check that the data is complete and correct (optionally also as a test run without sending).
„Anmeldung senden" (Send registration) — DiKAS submits the notification and stores the transfer ticket in the transmission log.

You also handle deregistration (decommissioning) and TSE replacement (re-registration) from the same view. Every submission is logged with a status and ticket ID.

💡 You decide which path is right for you: without an ELSTER certificate, self-service via Mein ELSTER is the simplest; if you already have a certificate, electronic submission saves you from typing everything in by hand.

What Data Do I Need? (From DiKAS)¶

The Kassenmeldung page in DiKAS shows a notification data overview with copy buttons for each value, plus "Alles kopieren" (Copy all). Fields marked „fehlt" (missing) can be filled in directly below and saved.

Area	Details
Taxpayer	Tax number (or VAT ID), tax office number, state, name/company, address
Business location	Name and address of the business location
Recording system	Type of system, software (DiKAS), version, manufacturer, model, serial number, acquisition/commissioning date
TSE	Type of TSE (SD card, USB stick, cloud, …), BSI ID (certification number, e.g. `0482-2023`), serial number (64 digits), commissioning date

DiKAS fills in many values automatically (software, version, manufacturer, POS and TSE serial numbers, TSE commissioning date). You typically still need to enter:

Tax number / tax office number / state (unless already taken from the license)
BSI ID of the TSE (found on the TSE's data sheet/certificate)
Acquisition and commissioning date of the POS

💡 Tip: Fill in the missing fields once and click Speichern (Save). After that, the complete overview is always ready to copy.

Decommissioning & TSE Replacement¶

Decommissioning a reported POS and a TSE replacement must also be reported to the tax office — again using the same Mein ELSTER form (select "Außerbetriebnahme" (decommissioning) or submit a new notification with the new TSE). Have the decommissioning date and reason ready.

Frequently Asked Questions¶

Does DiKAS automatically report my POS to the tax office? You have a choice: either report it yourself via Mein ELSTER (DiKAS prepares all the data ready to copy) or let DiKAS submit the notification electronically using an ELSTER certificate.

Do I need an ELSTER certificate? Only for electronic submission from DiKAS. For manual reporting via Mein ELSTER, a regular ELSTER user account is enough.

What does the notification cost? Nothing. Mein ELSTER is free; you only need an ELSTER user account.

Where do I find my TSE's BSI ID? On the TSE's data sheet or certificate. The notification requires the short form in the format XXXX-XXXX (four digits, hyphen, four digits — e.g. 0482-2023); it's embedded in the full BSI certification ID (BSI-K-TR-…).

I have several POS systems — do I need to report each one separately? Per business location, all recording systems used there are listed in one notification.