Namur, capital and countryside
The city of Namur concentrates offices, the regional administration and a lunchtime crowd with forty minutes to spare. Fifteen kilometres out the scenery changes completely : Gembloux and its farming, Andenne along the Meuse, the Condroz around Ciney, the Famenne and the Namur Ardennes towards Rochefort and Beauraing.
River and cycling tourism does the rest. On the Namur to Dinant stretch, summer and spring weekends can account for half the year for a riverside business. A till you can set up in a quarter of an hour is worth more there than a powerful system you never open.
Another local trait : many businesses stack several activities. Café and small grocery, farm and sales point, bakery and seating area. That means several VAT rates on the same receipt, every day.
Certified cash register : the threshold and the black box
The obligation to run a certified cash register starts at 25 000 euros excluding VAT per year of meals consumed on the premises. Drinks stay out of the count, and so does pure takeaway.
That creates situations which look unfair but follow a clear logic. A tea room with ten seats can fall under the scheme while the shop next door, on identical turnover but selling takeaway only, stays outside it. The seats make the difference, not the amount itself.
If you are concerned, you need the approved software, the fiscal data module that signs each transaction and a VSC card for every person taking payment. Every transaction produces a receipt, even for a coffee.
Switching over without the stress
The switch nearly always goes wrong for the same reason : it gets launched three weeks before the season, when setting up products and rates needs calm. The table below sets out a sequence that works for a business of ordinary size.
None of it is complicated. What costs money is discovering, on a full terrace, that half the menu carries the wrong rate.
A sequence that holds up
| Step |
What you do |
When |
| Check the threshold |
Pull out the turnover from meals on the premises over the last twelve months |
Two to three months before the season |
| Prepare the products |
Enter the menu and tie the right VAT rate to each line |
Six weeks ahead |
| Order the hardware |
Screen, printer, drawer and the fiscal module if the scheme applies to you |
One month ahead |
| Set the permissions |
One card or code per staff member, discounts and voids framed |
Two weeks ahead |
| Run a test closing |
Ring up a dummy day and check the totals per payment method |
The week before |
Farm sales, markets and on site outlets
The province has plenty of producers selling directly : cheese, meat, beer, farm produce. The sales point is sometimes no more than a converted barn, open on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
In that case the certified scheme usually does not apply, since no meal is consumed on the premises. The difficulty lies elsewhere : justifying cash takings, tracking stock that comes out of your own production, and raising an invoice when a restaurant or a shop buys from you wholesale.
A tablet till genuinely earns its keep there. You ring up at the Ciney market on Thursday and at the farm on Saturday with the same product file, and nothing gets copied out on Sunday evening.
-
One catalogue for the farm, the market stall and wholesale orders
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Stock that goes down with every sale, wherever it happens
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A Peppol invoice for restaurants and shops buying from you
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A closing per sales point and a total for the holding
A producer selling to a Belgian VAT registered restaurant has had to send an electronic invoice over the Peppol network since 2026. The till receipt does not replace that invoice.
What it really costs
Three lines make up the budget : the software, the hardware and, under the certified scheme, the fiscal data module with the VSC card. A quote that rolls all three into a single amount stops you comparing anything at all.
The Novadesko subscription starts at 19 euros excluding VAT per month, with no lock in period, and includes Peppol invoicing, stock, the CRM and cash flow tracking. Your accountant gets access for free and there are no setup fees.
The calculation that counts runs over three years, with your own working time included. Two hours a month spent copying figures ends up costing more than the subscription.
What Novadesko brings to the province of Namur
Novadesko gathers till, invoicing, stock and accounting in the same place. For a business that stacks activities, that means one product catalogue, one stock and one set of books instead of three notebooks.
The day sales reach your figures with no handling, and the invoice to a business customer starts from the same products with the same rates. The VAT return gets checked rather than rebuilt.
For activating the certified scheme with a fiscal data module, the NovaResto offer covers the hardware and the black box. Certification of the system and the FDM distributor agreement are in progress : write to us before ordering anything and we will tell you where it stands.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certified cash register for my business in Namur ?
Only if meals consumed on the premises pass 25 000 euros excluding VAT per year. Drinks and takeaway sales stay out of that calculation.
I sell at the farm and on markets, does the certified scheme apply to me ?
In principle no, since no meal is consumed on the premises. You still have to justify your takings and invoice your business customers properly.
How much does a POS system cost for a village shop ?
The subscription starts at 19 euros excluding VAT per month, with no lock in. Hardware depends on what you choose, and a tablet you already own can be enough to start with.
My bakery has a small seating area, what does that change ?
What is consumed on the premises counts towards the 25 000 euro threshold, bread sold over the counter does not. Start tracking those two figures separately now.
Can I use the same till at the market and in my shop ?
Yes, with a till running on a tablet or a phone. The product file is the same and the sales come together in a single closing.
Do I have to send Peppol invoices to a restaurant buying products from me ?
If that restaurant is VAT registered in Belgium, yes, since 2026. The invoice has to go out in a structured format over the Peppol network, not as a pdf by email.
Worth reading too
This page is informative. The rules on the certified cash register scheme depend on your actual activity and change from time to time : have your situation confirmed by the FPS Finance or by your accountant before you order any hardware.
