CRS 2.0: what the new cash register asks of your network

What CRS 2.0 is

CRS stands for cash register system, the name FPS Finance uses in English for the registered cash register that restaurants and caterers above a turnover threshold must use. Suppliers and the official website mostly use the Dutch and French names, GKS and SCE. The system has three parts: a certified till, a fiscal data module (FDM, often called the black box) and a VAT signing card from FPS Finance. The new version keeps the black box. What changes is that the FDM now sends the details of every sale online to a cloud service of FPS Finance. According to FPS Finance, the data arrive almost in real time and fewer on-site checks should follow. CRS 2.0 also adds a digital VAT receipt and lets you print a copy of a receipt.

The deadlines

The royal decree of 25 May 2026, published on 3 June 2026, makes CRS 2.0 mandatory from 1 July 2026. New businesses that need a registered cash register must start directly on CRS 2.0. Businesses that already have one get a transition period. The official news page gives these dates, based on when your current cash register was bought:

• bought before 1 January 2018: switch by 1 July 2027
• bought between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2021: switch by 1 July 2028
• bought from 1 January 2022: switch by 1 January 2029

The decree itself words the phases slightly differently, by the date the system was registered. The simplest way to be sure is to look up your own date in the e-service CRS, on the "Mijn profiel" tab (My profile), then "Gekende vestigingseenheden" (known establishment units). The official site gives these screen names only in Dutch, French and German. You need to be the legal representative of the business, or have been given the e-service role for restaurant operators by that representative. Until your date, you may keep using your current system.

What it asks of your connection

The technical specifications published by FPS Finance are more concrete than most people expect. These are the points that touch your network:

• The black box needs the internet. The FDM connects to the FPS Finance cloud over the internet, sends sales without delay and receives instructions and VAT rate updates. The API document describes it as a device that needs frequent internet access.
• First start-up needs a working connection. On its first start, the FDM fetches its security certificate and settings from FPS Finance. Without internet on installation day, the system cannot be put into service.
• Short outages are buffered. If the internet drops, sales are signed and stored in the FDM until the connection returns. The till shows a warning when the buffer is more than 70 % full. When it is full, the FDM stops accepting sales and the till can no longer register. FPS Finance sets the size of that buffer remotely, and no official source says how many hours or days it covers.
• The link between till and black box is local. Till and FDM talk over a network cable or Wi-Fi. The specifications warn that if this link runs over the internet and the internet fails, the till stops registering.
• The clock matters. The FDM synchronises its clock with a time server at least every 24 hours and shows a warning on the till if that fails.
• Nothing else may talk to the black box. Only the till software, FPS Finance and the FDM manufacturer may connect to it.
• Installation is the supplier's responsibility. The specifications place final responsibility for a correct and secure installation and configuration with the distributor or installer.

If the whole system fails, the older official rule for breakdowns still points to paper: keep a stock of paper bills or receipts where the till stands, use them while the system is down, and report the problem to secr.gksce@minfin.fed.be within seven calendar days (procedure).

On e-invoicing: the POS specification reminds that since 1 January 2026 invoices to other businesses must go through the Peppol network, while receipts for consumers are not covered by that rule. If your till also makes invoices for business customers, ask your supplier how that works with your accounting software.

Good practice for the network behind the till

The official texts do not prescribe a type of internet connection, a backup line or a separate network. What follows is general good practice for a till network. None of it is a legal requirement.

• Use a cable where you can. A wired connection for the till and the FDM avoids the dropouts that Wi-Fi gets in a busy dining room.
• Keep the till on its own network. Guests on the Wi-Fi should not share a network with the till, the FDM or the card terminal. A separate network (a VLAN or a separate router port) for payments and the till limits what a guest device can reach.
• Plan for a backup line. A router that switches to 4G or 5G when the fixed line fails keeps the FDM able to send. Some FDMs have an optional mobile module of their own; ask your supplier.
• Protect the power. A small UPS for the modem, router, switch and FDM covers short power dips.
• Write it down. Keep the router login, the provider's support number and the supplier's contact on one sheet near the till.

Before your cash-register supplier comes

1. Look up your switch date in the e-service CRS.
2. Check that the till software and the FDM you are offered appear on the official list of CRS 2.0 certified systems.
3. Decide where the FDM will stand and check there is a network socket, a free switch port and a power socket nearby.
4. Make sure you (or your IT person) can log in to your router and modem, and know who your internet provider is.
5. Ask the supplier: will the till and FDM be linked by cable or Wi-Fi, and does the FDM have a mobile module?
6. Ask which internet addresses the FDM needs to reach, so the firewall can allow them.
7. Ask the supplier to show you what the till displays when the internet is down, and what you should do.
8. Put a stock of paper bills or receipts next to the till.

Who does what

The certified supplier sells, installs and configures the till and the FDM, and under the specifications carries the final responsibility for that installation. You register your cash register system with FPS Finance through the registration page, and your supplier can guide you through it. An IT person such as Fluxive handles the cabling, the router, the separate network for the till and card terminal, and the backup line. That work sits next to the certification. It does not replace anything the supplier or FPS Finance does.

If you want someone to look at the network behind your till before the supplier arrives, start with a free 30-minute online call. After that we come on site if it's needed.