Last updated: October 23, 2026. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. This circular is very new, so check the official text before acting on any deadline. A bookkeeper I know called me last week, half laughing and half stressed. "I was about to send an invoice to a corporate client," she said, […]
A friend of mine once opened a small restaurant with a 70-item menu. Burgers, pasta, sushi rolls, rice bowls, and a "chef's surprise." She loved every dish, and so did her customers. The problem showed up three months later: the kitchen was drowning, half the fridge was spoiling, and nobody could tell her which dishes […]
A few years ago, I watched a café owner I know ring up a latte on a checkout system built for a clothing store. Every drink needed three workarounds. Oat milk was logged as a "size," extra shots were typed into a notes field, and at the end of the month she spent a whole […]
Picture this: you've just signed a lease for a shop in a mall, and the leasing team says you'll need an accredited POS before you can open. Which ones count? Who approves them? And what happens if you buy the wrong one? (This is a hypothetical scenario, but it's one many new tenants run into.) […]
"Free" is the most attractive word in a small business budget. It's also the one that deserves the most scrutiny. The good news: usable free POS options exist in the Philippines, and some are genuinely good. The catch is that "free" rarely means "no cost at all," and there's a compliance question most guides skip. […]
The best cash register for a small business is one that fits how you actually sell, and that is BIR-compliant. For most small businesses in the Philippines today, that means a point-of-sale (POS) system rather than a basic standalone register, because a POS handles payments, receipts, inventory, and reports in one place. I learned how […]
The first time a customer holds out a card and you're staring at a machine you've never used, it's a surprisingly nervous moment. Which button comes first? Where does the card go? What if it says "declined"? Good news: using a card payment machine is easy once you know the steps, and a few simple […]
Fewer customers carry enough cash these days. They tap a card or scan a code, and the sale is done in seconds. It feels effortless, but behind that tap is a chain of banks, networks, and security checks, and a small device at your counter that starts the whole thing. If you're thinking about accepting […]
If you've been scrolling social media lately, you've probably seen ads shouting "BIR-accredited e-invoicing!" Here's the twist: the BIR itself has said that, for now, nobody can truthfully claim that. With the December 31, 2026 deadline getting closer and new rules landing in September, it's easy to feel lost. So let's walk through what the […]
A few years ago, checking your sales meant being at the shop, next to the register, with the day's printout in hand. Today, plenty of owners check yesterday's numbers on their phone over breakfast. That shift is largely thanks to cloud POS systems. But "cloud" gets thrown around a lot, and many owners still wonder […]
