Restaurant and bar accounting

In a restaurant, a cash purchase of 200,000 lek without a receipt within one month costs about 70,000 lek. Not as a fine, but as a tax paid because that purchase cannot be deducted.

From our daily work with bars and restaurants, we see the same mistake every end of season. The owner believes the problem is undeclared revenue. The real problem is purchasing without an invoice. Undeclared revenue lowers taxes today but increases risk tomorrow. Purchasing without an invoice does both at once, because it raises taxes today and leaves the inventory unaccounted for.

This guide follows a restaurant from the cash register to the balance sheet. What you pay, what you report, on which dates, and the points where our sector differs from any other business.

Read also: Is your business ready for a tax audit?

Cash register and fiscalization

Every sale is accompanied by tax-invoiced bill. There is no minimum value limit, and it doesn't matter if the customer requests it. The invoice is issued at the time of sale, not at the end of the shift.

We see two mistakes more often than the others. The first is that invoices are issued in bulk at closing. This disrupts the transaction schedule and is immediately apparent in the data received by management. The second is that a canceled order is handled by issuing no invoice at all, instead of issuing a corrective invoice.

When you sell to another business, for example catering to a company, the cash payment limit is 100,000 lek (Article 59, as of January 30, 2026). For individuals the limit is 500,000 lek. Above these amounts, payments must be made through the bank.

The POS terminal becomes mandatory by December 31, 2026 (Article 59(3)). Accommodation establishments had until May 30, 2026, so a guesthouse with a restaurant has already missed the deadline.

Read also: Mandatory POS, deadlines and exemptions

VAT, when you're inside and at what rate

VAT registration Becomes mandatory when turnover exceeds 10,000,000 lek (Article 117). The application must be submitted within 15 days. Voluntary registration is possible for turnover above 5,000,000 lek and remains valid for two years.

The restaurant and bar rate is 20%. This is the sector's most common mistake. Owners hear about the 61% rule and apply it to food service. The 61% rule applies to accommodation and agritourism, and in agritourism it does not cover beverages. If the establishment is both a guesthouse and a restaurant, the two activities are kept separate.

Read also: Tax compliance for accommodation facilities

The sales and purchases register must be submitted by the 11th of the following month. The VAT return and payment are due on the 14th.

How much does a purchase without an invoice cost?

Now add 200,000 lekë of uninvoiced purchases. The deductible VAT doesn't increase, so the liability remains 160,000 lekë and you lose 40,000 lekë. At the same time, that amount is not recognized as an expense, so taxable profit increases by 200,000 lekë and tax increases by 30,000 lekë at a rate of 15%.

Seventy thousand lek in a single month, for a savings that never existed.

Inventory and waste

The restaurant is one of the few businesses where goods spoil, evaporate, burn, and are discarded as a normal part of operations. The law recognizes this, but only within the approved loss norms (Government Decree No. 434/2015). Losses within the norms are recognized as expense. Those above the norm require separate documentation.

A practice that works doesn't require expensive software. Physical inventory is closed at the end of each month, not at the end of each year. Breakages are documented the moment they occur, with a signed report. Staff consumption and client treatments are recorded separately, because otherwise they show up as missing merchandise.

When the inventory doesn't balance and goods are missing without documentation, that discrepancy is recorded on the control as undeclared sales. Therefore, the monthly inventory is not an accounting formality; it is a safeguard.

Employees

The minimum wage is 50,000 lek per month (Government Decree No. 776/2025, effective January 1, 2026). The social security contribution is 27.9%, split into 16.7% for the employer and 11.2% for the employee.

Read also: Wages and contributions: what the employer declares

How much does a waiter cost?

Payroll taxes and the employee's contribution are withheld from the employee's wages and depend on personal deductions, so they are not included in the cost of doing business.

The payroll list must be submitted by the 20th of the following month (Article 65). This applies even if you have only one employee, even if that employee is you as the managing partner.

The most expensive risk remains the undeclared employee. The fine is 200,000 lekë for legal entities and 50,000 lekë for others, per employee (Article 119). With three undeclared seasonal waiters, that amounts to 600,000 lek in a single inspection, before any tax liability on the undeclared wages.

The seasonal employee reports for duty before the first day of work.

Deadlines of the year

Late payment is charged at 0.061 TP3T of the amount per day, up to a maximum of 365 days (Article 114), plus late interest 7.81 TP3T per year (Article 76(3), as of April 11, 2026).

Monthly checklist

It closes once a month, before the 11th. If all ten rows are in order, the month is closed.

• All sales are invoiced and taxed, including home orders.
• Voided invoices have a correcting invoice.
• All purchases have an invoice, and suppliers without an invoice have been listed for replacement.
• No payment over 100,000 lek to a business has been made in cash.
• The physical inventory has been closed and the discrepancy has been explained.
• The inspections include a dated, signed report.
• Staff consumption has been recorded separately from sales.
• All employees of the month, including seasonal workers, are on the payroll.
• The sales and purchases book has been submitted as of the 11th.
• The VAT declaration and payment have been completed as of the 14th.

Three steps for today

1. Open the cash report for the past week and compare the billing schedule with the service schedule. If invoices are piling up at closing, the problem isn't accounting—it's the in-room process.
2. Divide last month's purchase invoices into two groups: invoiced and non-invoiced. Multiply the second group by 35%. That figure is the cost you pay for not requesting an invoice.
3. Conduct a physical inventory today. The difference you find today is information. The difference found at inspection is a fine.

Frequently asked questions

Should I issue an invoice for a 100-lek coffee?

Yes. The requirement for a fiscalized invoice has no minimum value threshold and does not depend on the customer's request.

I buy vegetables from a farmer who doesn't issue an invoice. What should I do?

The registered farmer issues an invoice. If the supplier cannot provide documentation, that purchase is not recognized for either VAT or profit. The price difference rarely covers this cost, so the practical solution is to replace the supplier.

My restaurant is inside a guesthouse. Which regulation applies?

The two activities are separate. Accommodation follows its own reduced rate. Food and beverage services follow 20% VAT, except for agritourism, where the 6% VAT applies to food and not to beverages.

How often should I take inventory?

Once a month is the minimum that works. Annual inventory doesn't protect the business because it doesn't show where and when the discrepancy occurred.

The seasonal employee works only two months. Does it need to be reported?

Yes, and the declaration must be made before the first day of work. A short duration does not create an exception.

Legal basis

• Law No. 92/2014 on value-added tax, as amended by Law No. 80/2025. Registration threshold under Article 117, rates and filing deadlines.
• Law No. 29/2023 on income tax. Rates, deductible expenses, and the payroll list under Article 65.
• Law No. 9920/2008 on tax procedures, as amended by Law No. 79/2025. Cash payments under Article 59, POS terminal under Article 59/3, late payment interest under Article 76(3), fines under Articles 114 and 119.
• Laws No. 7703/1993 and No. 10383/2011 on social and health insurance.
• Government Decree No. 776, dated December 19, 2025, on the minimum wage.
• Government Decree No. 434/2015 on firing rates.

This is the first guide in the series by sector. Next come guesthouses and small accommodations, construction, transportation, and retail trade.