Tax rates

Set up VAT or sales tax in Rowie: prices that include VAT, rates per category and item, eat-in and takeaway, receipts and VAT invoices, and the VAT report.

Rowie works out the tax on every sale for you: on the bill, on receipts and in your VAT report. You choose the rates, Rowie does the sums.

Before you start

You need to be the owner or an admin. Everything below is in the portal under Settings → Tax.
Have your VAT number to hand if your business is registered for VAT.

How prices work in your country

Where your business is	Your menu prices	What guests pay and see
Europe, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates	Already include VAT (GST in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore)	The menu price. Receipts show the VAT inside it, for example "incl. VAT 23% €1.87".
United States, Canada	Don't include tax	The menu price plus tax, added at checkout as one line per rate.

You don't choose this: it follows your business's country.

Turn on VAT

This is for countries where prices include VAT. Leave it off if your business isn't registered for VAT: guests then pay your menu prices and nothing about VAT shows anywhere.

Open Settings → Tax.
Turn on I'm registered for VAT and confirm. Your menu prices don't change. From your next sale, receipts and reports show the VAT inside them.
Under Your VAT number, enter your number. Rowie checks it with the official register and shows whether it's valid. It's printed on your receipts and invoices.

Add your rates

Under Suggested rates, pick the common rates for your country. Tick I've checked these rates are right for my business and add them.
Or click Add rate, give it a clear name like "Food" or "Alcohol", and enter the percent. Choose Zero-rated for items taxed at 0%, or Exempt for items with no VAT at all.
If a rate changes on a known date, open it and use Schedule a change. Sales from that day use the new percent.

A new percent only applies to new sales. Sales you've already made keep the rate they were sold at.

Choose which rate applies

For each item, Rowie uses the first rate it finds:

The item's own rate (open the item in Menus, section Tax).
Otherwise, the rate of the item's category.
Otherwise, the venue's Default rates in Settings → Tax.

So: set default rates for each venue, give categories such as food or drinks their rate, and only set a rate on an item that is taxed differently. For something that is never taxed, like a gift card, turn on No tax on this item. To change many items at once, select them in the items list and click Tax rate.

Event tickets and booking services each have their own Tax rate field. Where prices include VAT, they use the venue's default rate unless you choose one. In the United States and Canada, nothing is taxed until you choose a rate for them.

Subscription plans with perks or items have their own Tax rate field too. They work the same way. Credit plans have none: the credit is sold without VAT, and what members buy with it is taxed as usual. See Selling subscription plans.

Eating in and takeaway

In some countries, food to take away has a different rate. Give a venue, a category or an item a Takeaway rate next to its Eating in rate. Where there's no takeaway rate, the eating-in rate is used.

Pickup orders from your QR menu count as takeaway.
Orders at a table count as eating in.
On an open bill, staff can switch between Eat in and Takeaway. Items that are already paid for keep their rate.

Receipts and VAT invoices

Every receipt email lists the items, the VAT for each rate and your VAT number, with a link to the receipt online. From there, guests can download it as a PDF.

A guest who needs a VAT invoice, for example for business expenses, can request one on the receipt page with their name, address and, if they have one, their VAT number. Rowie issues it in your business's name with its own number, and the guest can download it straight away. Each sale can have one VAT invoice. If that sale is refunded later, a credit note is made for it.

The VAT report

Open Finance → VAT report (GST report in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore). Choose the period and a venue, or all venues. For each rate you see your sales and refunds before tax, the tax, and with tax. Download it as CSV or PDF for your accountant or your tax return.

Tax on top (United States and Canada)

In Settings → Tax, click Add rate and choose Sales tax. Add each tax you charge, for example state tax and city tax. You can combine up to 3 on one item.
Set the Default rates for each venue, then rates for categories and items as described above.
In Canada, add GST and PST as two separate rates.

At checkout and on receipts, guests see each tax as its own line before the total. An item without a rate has no tax added.

Good to know

Tips are never taxed. Discounts lower the amount that is taxed.
Changing a rate never changes sales you've already made.
In the app, an amount charged from Sell → Keypad uses the venue's default rate. You can pick another rate or No tax before charging.
Each invoice line has its own tax rate. See Invoices.