End of mandatory receipt printing on August 1, 2023

In a few months, the law n° 2020-105 will come into force, putting an end to the compulsory printing of the sales receipt. This rule also applies to credit card tickets, promotional tickets and vouchers. On August 1, 2023, you will have to comply with this new regulation and no longer provide a paper receipt unless requested by the consumer.

This change directly affects your relationship with your suppliers, but also with your own customers. Where does this measure come from? How can you anticipate it and take advantage of it? We explain everything!

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End of automatic receipt printing

Why is the receipt gone?

The end of the obligation to print cash register receipts, bank card receipts, promotional receipts or vouchers is part of the law n° 2020-105 of February 10, 2020. Although it was initially supposed to be applied as of January 1, 2023, it has been postponed to April 1, 2023, and then to August 1, 2023, the date retained by the government to date.

This law, on the fight against waste and the circular economy, avoids contact with substances that are dangerous to health and are present on 90% of cash register receipts , such as bisphenol A, which is an endocrine disruptor. It also helps to fight against the waste linked to the printing of these payment receipts, which number 30 billion each year.

Ecological transition and public health are therefore at the heart of this measure.

Who does the law apply to?

The law n° 2020-105 applies to all companies, small and large, invoicing a product or a service. It concerns:

Receipts issued by retail outlets and establishments receiving the public such as restaurants and fast food outlets,
credit card receipts,
tickets issued by vending machines,
vouchers and promotional or discount tickets.

Automatic receipt printing will continue after August 1, 2023 in the following cases:

Receipts for the purchase of so-called "durable goods" such as computer equipment, household appliances and telephone sets. The latter mention the existence and duration of the legal guarantee of conformity. To discover the complete list of concerned products, please consult article D211-6 of the French Consumer Code.

Cancelled or credited credit card payment transactions.

Tickets issued by automatic machines, which must be kept and presented in order to receive a product or service.

Credit card receipts related to cancelled or credited transactions.

Receipts or other billing documents printed by non-automatic weighing instruments.

As a restaurant owner, you will not be confronted with this type of situation very often, but no one is supposed to ignore the law, so if one of these situations arises, you will know how to react.

How does it work in practice?

It's simple, from August 1, 2023, tickets will only be printed upon request of the consumer. In reality, you will probably be confronted with 4 cases:

The customer does not ask for a receipt.

The customer asks for a ticket and agrees to share his personal data with you so that you can send him a dematerialized receipt (by e-mail for example).

The customer accepts the sending of an e-ticket, but also requests a printout of his ticket.

The customer refuses the digital delivery and asks for a paper ticket.

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Stop ticket printing at the checkout

Informing customers

By nature, human beings are rather resistant to change. So the logic is simple. The better you prepare your customers for change, the more likely they are to respond well. If you haven't already done so, start educating them with the following information at the checkout or on your counter:

The forthcoming abolition of the systematic printing of the receipt and the date of its entry into force.

The possibility of requesting a printout of your ticket.

Giving your customers advance notice will allow them to anticipate and give them enough time to make the change without them feeling that it is being imposed on them suddenly.

To keep track of their purchase, to do their accounting manually, to make sure no mistakes were made or to benefit from a possible warranty, consumers are perfectly entitled to ask for a printed receipt . Whether a customer wants a paper receipt or not, they must be informed of this possibility. You are therefore obliged to display it in a legible and comprehensible manner at the place where payment is made.

Preparing for consumer reluctance

According to an OpinionWay survey conducted in March 2020, only 39% of respondents were ready to adopt the e-ticket, compared to 53% in March 2022(Twilio/Opinéa survey). The French are therefore increasingly in favor of sending receipts digitally, but you will inevitably encounter consumers who are reluctant to accept this new measure. So, it's best to anticipate their reactions and prepare the way you will answer them.

While some customers refuse to accept the dematerialized receipt for fear of receiving unwanted advertising communications, others perceive the end of the mandatory receipt as an increased risk of intentional and unintentional errors on the part of merchants. Not to mention customers who are uncomfortable with digital tools.

Besides, as a restaurant owner, you may have also complained when your suppliers told you they would no longer give paper receipts?

Here are some ways to deal with your customers' dissatisfaction:

Listen to the reasons for their dissatisfaction. There is nothing worse for a customer than not feeling heard and understood. Moreover, this will allow you to better adapt your response.

Remember that this is not up to you, but is a legal obligation imposed by the Environmental Code.

Reassure people concerned about how their data will be used if the ticket is sent electronically. Their personal information will not be used without their explicit consent, as specified in the GDPR.

Emphasize the advantages of the e-ticket.

It cannot be lost or faded in time.
It simplifies the checkout process as well as the management of the after-sales service and therefore improves the customer experience.
Adopting it means participating in an effort to waste reduction and waste reduction.
It does not contain any harmful substances unlike paper tickets.
It allows the consumer to be registered in the customer file and to receive personalized offers, only if the consumer wishes it.
It facilitates the reimbursement of expense reports.

👉 To go further: What are the VAT rates for restaurants in France?

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How to replace paper tickets?

As you can see, the alternatives to the cash register receipt can be summed up in one word: dematerialization!

Subject to having obtained the consent of the customer requesting his ticket (General Data Protection Regulation, RGPD), you can send him the ticket by e-mail or by sms. Did you know that? According to a study conducted in March 2022 by Twilio and Opinéa, more than 50% of the consumers surveyed prefer e-mail while SMS remains attractive for 38% of 18-25 year olds.

You can also send the receipts by message in the buyer's banking application, provided that the customer has used their bank card to pay for their purchase. This option is a bit more restrictive for merchants, as it implies an integration of the solution with all consumer banks, more than 1,500 in Europe.

Another solution is the QR code. By scanning it with his smartphone, the customer can directly retrieve his e-ticket from a web page. He doesn't need to install an application or share his personal data.

Finally, Innovorder offers a simple pop-up option: disable automatic printing for each order, to give the customer the choice to receive his ticket or not.

Clients are not the only ones impacted by this measure. You are too and will probably have to review your expense policy and the management of your expenses (suppliers, providers, expense reports, etc.), especially if you were doing your accounting manually, with paper receipts.

👉 Going further: restaurant purchase orders: paper or digital?

Are you a restaurant owner who wants to digitalize your business? Contact an Innovorder expert now and receive personalized advice!

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Everything you need to know about paperless sales receipts