Opinion
Opinion: Complying with Fiscal doesn’t need to cost the earth
By Elliott Winskill, Head of Solutions at PMC
Implementing Fiscal compliant solutions isn't as daunting as you think. Let me offer some insight from a recent example of a global retailer with physical stores all over the world, including in EU countries such as Italy.
First, some market context: Many EU countries have adopted fiscal policies, bringing into effect a new framework that requires retailers to record all transactions and functions at the point of sale – even when hardware like the printer is offline! Over 21 countries have now implemented Fiscal Laws, including France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria, Portugal, Croatia – an ever-growing list. Fiscal compliance is complex for many because it encompasses legislation, finance, and technology. Fiscal laws are implemented by governments to recuperate more tax, but are creating complexity for many retailers across Europe.
The global retailer I mentioned above required a software-based, fiscal solution to ensure that transactions were properly recorded - but in a straightforward manner. They were concerned about the anticipated costs of changes to their point of sale solution to ensure fiscal compliance. There are still many solutions which are not yet compliant and for both solution provider and retailer it can be a costly project.
To avoid non-compliance and hefty fines, the company knew they had to update their tech; there was no way around it. Unfortunately, at the point we began our conversations, they had received what I call a ‘choking quote’ - to update their old POS which was clearly out of the question.
Finding the right solution
They needed a solution that would fit into their already streamlined way of working without upheaving all their systems, or costing the earth. they wanted a solution to cover four specific countries and a solution that included ongoing support so they didn’t have to worry about getting involved in the audit processes or technical changes forced by financial/legal legislation changes.
We proposed integration with the fiscal compliant EFSTA solution, which covers 80% of the fiscal requirements out of the box, and the PMC integration enabler platform, covering the other 20%. And Bob’s your uncle! - a cost-effective, fiscally compliant middleware solution that sits around their existing POS system. Meaning that they didn’t have to replace any of their existing POS. Safe to say there were very big sighs of relief!
PMC rapidly rolled out this fiscal compliant solution across the four countries. Most importantly, the solution was delivered at a fraction of the expected cost. All transactions are processed through our application at the point of completion, and we process these through our partner EFSTA, who stores and submits for when an audit is required.
We ensure nothing can be completed without processing through us, and EFSTA maintains the fiscal storage and security. The perfect team and not to mention a worry-load off for the retail giant!
With rapid, agile, custom technology solutions, you can utilise your existing systems to comply with any laws or IT solution problems – with minimum costs and hassle! The answer lies in smart retail-hardened integration and development capabilities.
Considerations
As retailers, overcoming these issues is a complex task. This was just one recent case, that required a specific solution. There are so many elements to consider:
- No store is the same, with different formats and processes. Anything you do has to be unique to your business!
- Payment methods requirements. Do you take cash, card, or different currencies? What about vouchers? Each of these is treated differently by Fiscal Law
- Are you multichannel? You’ll need to consider all the transactional touchpoints in-store, whether that’s in-store, online order, via apps, and so forth!
- Managing promotions. In our new online, evolving world, promotions are becoming an even greater marketing tool to attract leads. All of these promotional discounts need to be tracked under Fiscal Law
- Working globally and depending on the country, you may need to consider what the exact requirements are – are you bound by terms to use certain approved hardware systems?
- Certification requirements also now mean that you have to get that special bit of paper (at cost) to prove that your hardware and solution is fiscally compliant in certain countries.
PMC Head of Solutions, Elliott Winskill, has extensive experience in delivering concept-to-market products on both mobile technologies and AWS Cloud Platforms, using leading technologies and techniques to ensure a successful launch and customer onboarding.
Responsible for the PMC digital cloud platform, which enables the digital world to seamlessly integrate with the instore environment, Elliott prides himself on his knowledge of the newest technology. Continuously striving to be a thought leader and to offer a vision for the business application of technology.
