Set up municipal packaging tax

Set up municipal packaging tax

What
With the municipal packaging tax, individual cities and municipalities levy a tax on certain single-use packaging and single-use products that are used when selling food and beverages for pickup.

Where
Admin: Item management > Items > Add item > Property "Topping".
Admin: Item management > Topping groups > Add topping group.


Introduction

With this guide, you set up the municipal packaging tax according to the applicable municipal regulations.

The solution uses a topping group with exactly one mandatory topping. This is automatically added for the affected sales channels (e.g., pickup) and can be disabled for unaffected sales channels (e.g., delivery).


Prerequisites

  1. You have editing rights in the item management.
  2. You know which stores are affected by the packaging tax.
  3. You know which sales channels (e.g., pickup or delivery) are affected by the packaging tax.
  4. The price and tax rate of the packaging tax are fixed according to the applicable regulations.
  5. You can test a pickup and a delivery order before regular operations.


1. Create topping items

Create a separate topping item for each packaging tax.

Examples of names:
  1. Packaging Tax Potsdam - EUR 0.50
  2. Single-Use Cutlery Potsdam - EUR 0.20

Procedure:
1. Go to Admin: Item management > Items > Add item.
2. Enter a "Name" e.g. "Packaging Tax Potsdam - EUR 0.50".
3. Under "Properties" select the property "Topping".

The topping item is used both for price calculation and later quantity evaluation in reporting.





Discountabe

The packaging tax must not be reduced by discounts.

Therefore, ensure that in the item properties the property "Discountable" is disabled.




Automatic pre-selection

You can specify whether the packaging tax should be automatically pre-selected or whether it must be manually selected as a mandatory topping.

Automatically pre-selected
Enable the property "Auto. selected" (automatically selected) in the topping item if the packaging tax should be added by default. In this case, it is already pre-selected, for example, at the checkout and in the webshop.

Note: If you enable "Auto. selected", also set the option "Selection is mandatory for automatic topping selection" to "Yes" in the associated topping group. This keeps the packaging tax selected and prevents it from being removed (the exact configuration of this setting is described further below in the section "2. Create topping group").




Manual selection
If you leave the "Auto. selected" property disabled, the packaging tax will be displayed as a mandatory topping. The employee (e.g., at the checkout) or the customer (e.g., in the webshop) must then actively select it before the item can be added to the cart.

If the packaging tax is not selected in the webshop, for example, a note appears stating that the packaging tax must be selected. At the checkout, for example, it is not possible to add the item to the cart before the packaging tax has been actively selected.




Price and tax rate

Enter the amount and applicable tax rate according to the respective municipal regulations.

If the packaging tax is passed on to the customer, the stored price will be calculated.

For our example "Packaging Tax Potsdam - EUR 0.50" you enter the amount "0.50" and select the applicable tax rate.

If the packaging tax is borne by the business itself, the price of the topping item can be set to 0.00 EUR. The item will still exist and continue to serve for quantity recording for reporting.




Store assignment

Assign the topping item exclusively to the stores that must collect the packaging tax.

If a topping is not available in a store, the topping group will not be displayed there and the packaging tax will not be calculated.

This allows the same main items to be used in multiple stores without duplicating them by city.

Idea
Tip:
Use separate topping items if the amount or regulations differ between individual cities.




2. Create topping group

Create a dedicated topping group exclusively for the packaging tax.

Recommended names:
  1. Packaging Tax
  2. Single-Use Packaging

Configure the group as follows:
  1. Minimum quantity: 1
  2. Maximum quantity: 1
  3. Add the previously created topping item.
This causes the packaging item to be added automatically and mandatorily without the customer having to make a selection.

Procedure:
  1. Go to Admin: Item management > Topping groups > Add topping group.
  2. Set the option "Selection is mandatory for automatic topping selection" to "Yes" if the property "Auto. selected" is enabled in the topping item. This keeps the packaging tax mandatory and prevents it from being removed.
  3. Enter a "Name" e.g. "Packaging tax".
  4. Enter "1" for "Min. quantity" (minimum quantity).
  5. Enter "1" for "Max. quantity" (maximum quantity).



  6. Go to the "Item" section and add the previously created topping item, e.g. "Packaging Tax Potsdam - EUR 0.50"




Define sales channels

Go back to the previous section "Topping group" and configure the "Outgoing order channels" according to the applicable regulations.

For example:
  1. Only for pickup
  2. Counter sales



Alert
Important:
Use this topping group exclusively for the packaging tax.

Do not combine it with normal add-on options such as:
  1. Dips
  2. Sizes
  3. Toppings
  4. Extras
This keeps the configuration clear and reporting unambiguous.


Special case: single-use cutlery

If single-use cutlery should not be added automatically, but only at the customer's request, create a separate topping item for this.

Configure the group as follows:
  1. Minimum quantity: 0
  2. Maximum quantity: 1

This is particularly suitable if:
  1. Customers should actively select cutlery;
  2. Cutlery is not provided with every order;
  3. separate quantity evaluation is required.

Example for the name:
  1. Single-use cutlery - EUR 0.20




3. Assign topping group to affected items

Assign the topping group to all main items for which a packaging tax applies.

Typical examples are:
  1. Beverages in single-use cups
  2. Food for pickup
  3. Products in single-use packaging
  4. Items for which single-use cutlery is provided.

Alert
Note:
The assignment is per item. Plan sufficient time for setup and verification for larger assortments.

Procedure:
  1. Go to Admin: Item management > Items.
  2. Click on "Edit" for the main item for which a packaging tax applies.
  3. Go to the "Toppings" section.
  4. Enable the previously created topping group, e.g. "Packaging tax"




4. Reporting

The topping item can be evaluated via item statistics under Admin: Statistics > Statistics and KPIs > Create > statistic type "Item".

This allows you to determine the number of taxable packaging units issued per store and use this for required reporting to the responsible municipality.

Revenue statistics and packaging tax are independent of each other.

For reporting the packaging tax, only the number of issued taxable packaging units is relevant.

AlertImportant:
Even if the packaging tax is not passed on to the customer and the topping item is therefore calculated at 0.00 EUR, the item should still be added automatically.

Only this way does the required quantity statistic for reporting remain intact.




Important Information

Alert
Note:
This guide describes only the technical setup of the packaging tax in the POS system.

Whether and at what amount a packaging tax is charged is determined exclusively by the applicable municipal regulations. Please check the regulations applicable to your location before setup.









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