🎉 New: the daily sales book is now available as a digital version, directly in Accountable!
You can now keep your daily sales book in Accountable, no paper needed. Find out how in this guide to the digital daily sales book.
The article below is still useful if you keep your book on paper, or if you want to finish the year on paper before switching to the digital version.
Keeping accurate financial records is essential for any business in Belgium, especially if you handle cash payments or don't issue invoices for every transaction. Two key tools for this are the daily receipts book and the cash book. This article explains what they are, who needs them, and how to keep them correctly on paper.
💡 Would you rather keep your daily receipts book digitally, directly in Accountable? Check out the guide to the digital daily sales book instead. The article below is for you if you prefer to keep a paper book.
What's the difference between a cash book and a receipt book?
The main difference between a cash book and a receipt book is the type of transactions each one records:
Receipt book: captures all daily sales for which no invoice is issued, regardless of the payment method (cash, card, Payconiq, etc.). This is especially relevant for professions like hairdressers, beauticians, retailers, or hospitality businesses with many direct customer transactions. The receipt book gives a complete overview of those sales and makes it easy to integrate them into your accounting.
Cash book: records all cash transactions, both incoming and outgoing. This includes cash payments from customers, cash payments to suppliers, personal withdrawals from the cash register, and cash deposits into bank accounts. The cash book ensures precise tracking of cash flows, giving you a clear picture of your total income and expenses. A sale can appear in both books, in only one of them, or in neither.
📄 1. Who must keep a daily receipts book?
In Belgium, keeping a receipt book is mandatory for businesses where issuing an invoice for every sale or service is not standard practice. There are a few exceptions:
🧾 You always issue an invoice for every transaction.
🧑🍳 You use a certified cash register system (SCE or "white cash register").
🧮 You work under the flat-rate VAT system (note: this system will be phased out by 2028).
💡 Businesses that benefit from the VAT exemption scheme for small enterprises are still required to maintain a receipt book.
❗B2B transactions always require an invoice. Receipt books are only for B2C transactions.
How to keep a receipt book correctly
A paper daily receipts book must be an official bound book with consecutively numbered pages: loose sheets are not allowed. You can buy one at most stationery stores. To stay compliant, follow these rules:
Update daily: record your receipts every day, without gaps or blank spaces. On days with no earnings, enter a zero receipt (or a dash on closing days).
One daily total per VAT rate: add up your daily income and split it by applicable VAT rate (0%, 6%, 12%, or 21%).
Separate line above €500: if you sell a good with a unit price above €500 (incl. VAT), record it on a separate line and note the nature of the goods sold. This separate entry is not needed if your receipts or cash register tickets already mention the nature of the goods.
Use permanent ink: never a pencil.
Correct mistakes properly: never erase or make an entry illegible. Add a correcting entry on a new line as soon as you notice the error. A strikethrough is allowed as long as the original text remains readable.
Number your entries: all pages and entries must be sequentially numbered.
Monthly totals: close each month with a summary total per VAT rate.
VAT number on every page: write your VAT number at the top of each page.
Additional best practices:
Keep evidence of all income, such as cash register tickets, sales slips, or your appointment book. During an audit, you must be able to justify each sale individually. Daily totals alone are not enough.
Use a separate daily receipts book for each location or branch, and centralise the totals in a centralisation book at your main business address.
💡 Paper receipt books are available at most stationery stores, but digital solutions that meet legal standards are also a valid alternative for recording your data.
Would you rather keep your daily receipts book digitally, directly in Accountable? Check out the guide to the digital daily sales book instead.
2. Legal obligations for maintaining a cash book
If your business handles cash transactions, a cash book is a key tool. Use it to record every cash movement in your business. Every time money goes in or out of the cash register, note it down. For example:
When customers pay you in cash.
When you pay a supplier in cash.
When you take money out of the cash register for personal use.
When you add your own money to the cash register.
When you deposit cash from the register into your bank account.
When you withdraw money from the bank to put in the cash register.
Recording these transactions keeps your cash book accurate and gives you a clear view of your cash flow, which is useful both for your own financial overview and for understanding your total income and expenses.
Keeping a cash book is mandatory for entrepreneurs who regularly handle cash payments. If you only deal with cash occasionally, you are not required to maintain one.
How to keep a cash book correctly
Record each transaction on a separate line in your cash book. If you have several small payments, you can group them and record them as a daily total.
For each entry, include the following details:
Date: when the transaction happened.
Description: what the transaction was for (e.g., "supplier payment" or "customer purchase").
Amount: the value of the income or expense.
Current balance: the remaining cash in the register after the transaction.
💡 Just like a receipt book, your cash book must be neat and free of altered entries. If you make a mistake, correct it by adding a new line rather than crossing out or erasing anything.
You can buy a pre-printed cash book at most stationery shops or use a digital tool for easier management.
Integrating your cash book into your accounting
Simplified accounts:
If you are self-employed and use simplified accounting (single-entry), you don't need to link your cash book to an accounting program. It's enough to keep your cash book properly maintained and ready for review if needed.
Double-entry accounts:
If you use double-entry accounting, you'll need to connect your cash book with other parts of your bookkeeping, such as purchases, inventory, and sales records. This ensures your financial data is properly linked in your accounting software.
How to set up a daily receipts book and process it in Accountable
Setting up and processing a daily receipts book in Accountable correctly is essential to comply with Belgian accounting and tax obligations. Follow the steps below to maintain and record your daily receipts book accurately:
1. Setting up the daily receipts book
In your daily receipts book, record all income for which no invoice has been issued, every day. Follow these guidelines:
Date: record each day separately.
Daily revenue: register all cash and electronic payments that have no associated invoice.
Transaction amount: note the total revenue per day. If an individual sale exceeds €500, you must issue an invoice or record it on a separate line.
VAT specification: indicate the applicable VAT rates (0%, 6%, 12%, or 21%) for each revenue category.
Numbering: all entries must be sequentially numbered and closed with a monthly summary total.
You must record at least one entry in your daily receipts book every day. Even during holidays, illness, or closure, you must enter a zero receipt.
❗ During an audit, you must be able to provide supporting documents such as cash receipts, sales slips, or an agenda. Each sale or service must be recorded separately; daily totals alone are not sufficient. Keep everything properly documented.
A daily receipts book must be an official physical or digital book with consecutively numbered and bound pages. Loose sheets are not allowed. Digital versions must comply with specific security standards and cannot simply be Excel files.
You may not delete or obscure any data, but strikethroughs are allowed as long as the original text remains visible. If you make a mistake, correct it with a separate entry at the moment you notice the error.
Record your entries in indelible ink: pencil is not allowed.
2. Recording daily receipts in Accountable
To correctly record your daily receipts book in Accountable, follow these steps:
Go to the ‘Revenues’ section in the Accountable app.
Select ‘Add another revenue’ to create a new entry.
Enter the date on which the sales were recorded.
Input the total daily revenue, ensuring that only transactions under €500 without an invoice are included in the receipts book.
Select the applicable VAT rate for the revenue. Create a separate item in Accountable for each VAT rate.
Upload a scan of the page, such as a copy of the physical receipts book or a digital summary.
Confirm the entry and ensure it is correctly recorded in your bookkeeping.
💡 Important considerations:
For transactions over €500, you must issue a separate invoice. Do not include these in the daily receipts book.
International sales always require an invoice and cannot be recorded in the daily receipts book, regardless of whether the customer is an individual or a business.
By following these steps, you ensure that your daily receipts book is correctly processed in Accountable.
Need help? Chat with us or email support@accountable.eu, we're happy to help.