Managing tax settings

Manage tax settings in the Back Office to ensure the correct sales tax or GST amount will be charged at the POS for every order. Enter the different tax rates your restaurant charges, then set up tax profiles to determine when each tax will be charged. Assign tax profiles to accounting groups to control which categories of items each profile will apply to.

Important:

• Only US and Canadian businesses can manage tax rates and tax profiles in the Back Office. In other countries, tax rates and profiles are automatically set up, but you still must assign tax profiles to accounting groups.   
• Tax laws are different in every region and can change at any time. Consult a tax professional for specific advice regarding your region.
• If possible, set up taxes when your account is in setup mode. With setup mode, you can process test orders at the POS that you can delete when going live with your account

Adding and editing tax rates

Add a separate tax rate to the Back Office for each rate the restaurant charges customers. Edit an existing tax rate to change itsDescriptionorAccounting reference.

Important: Once a tax rate is added to the Back Office, it cannot be deleted. By default, one tax rate will be automatically created in your account based on your business location.

1. Log in to the Lightspeed Back Office as an admin user or user with the User can manage taxes permission.
2. From the navigation menu, go to Configuration > Settings > Taxes.
3. Click Add a new tax, or select the Code for an existing tax to edit.
   
   
4. Configure the tax's settings. For a description of each field, see the Tax rate settings table. 
   

   If editing an existing tax, be aware that only the Description and Accounting reference fields are changeable.

   
5. Click Next to continue.
6. Review and confirm your tax rate details.

   Important: Tax rates cannot be deleted after they are added to the Back Office. To make changes before saving a new tax, click Back to return to the previous screen.

   
7. Click Save new tax or Save tax to save changes.
8. Add tax profiles to control when each tax rate will be charged. 

Tax rate settings

Setting	Description
Code	Unique label that identifies the tax when adding or editing a tax profile.
Description	What the tax will be called on customer receipts and in business reporting.
Accounting reference (optional)	Used for accounting integrations, such as Lightspeed Accounting.
Rate (%)	Percentage of tax charged.

Adding and editing tax profiles

Add tax profiles in the Back Office to set the rules for when each tax rate or combination of tax rates will be charged at the POS. For example, tax profiles can apply tax rates based on account profile, item price, or order total. Edit a tax profile to change its name, rules, conditions, or settings.

Important: Once a tax profile is added to the Back Office, it cannot be deleted. Tax profiles will only apply to items in the accounting groups they are assigned to.

1. Log in to the Lightspeed Back Office as an admin user or user with the User can manage taxes permission.
2. From the navigation menu, go to Configuration > Settings > Tax profiles.
3. Click New tax profile, or select the name of an existing tax profile to edit.
   
   
4. If prompted, read the summary of how to create tax profiles, and click Got it to proceed.
   Tax profiles contain one or more tax rules. Each tax rule applies a specific tax rate based on conditions set within the rule. Tax rules are applied in the order listed within the profile.
5. Fill in the tax profile Name and Description fields in the General section.
   • Name: How the tax profile will be identified in the Back Office.
   • Description: Explains what the tax profile will be used for.
   
6. Configure the Tax rate, Account profile, Apply to refunds, and Apply next matching rule settings in the Tax rules section.
   • Tax rate: The tax that will be charged.
   • Account profile: Applies the tax rule only to orders where the selected account profile is used or to all account profiles.
   • Apply to refunds: Controls whether the tax rule is applied to order items with a negative price, such as refund items. 
   • Apply next matching rule: Controls how the POS functions after this tax rule is applied to an order. When enabled, the next tax rule with its conditions met in the tax profile will be applied. When disabled, no further tax rules will be applied after this one is used.
7. Click Add condition and select a condition from the drop-down.
   Conditions determine when the tax rule will be applied to items that are assigned to the tax profile, such as only to items within a specific price range. 
   
   
8. Configure the selected condition. For more information, see the Tax rule conditions table.
9. (Optional) To add additional conditions to the tax rule, repeat steps 7–8 as needed. All conditions must be met before the tax rule will be applied at the POS.
10. (Optional) To add additional tax rules to the profile, click Add new tax rule and repeat steps 6–9.
    Use multiple tax rules to apply more than one tax rate to certain items or to apply a different tax rate when a separate set of conditions is met.
11. (Optional) Use the arrows next to a tax rule to change its ranking within the tax profile.
    At the POS, the first listed tax rule with its conditions met will be applied. Additional tax rules will be applied based on the configuration of the Apply next matching rule setting (see step 6). 
12. Click Save to save changes.
    
    
13. Assign tax profiles to accounting group sto control which categories of items each profile will apply to. 

Tax rule conditions

Condition	Description
Item unit price	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when their price falls within a specific range. Example: With the range set to 25–50, the tax rule would apply to an order item priced at $35.  How to configure: Enter a minimum and maximum value. Values greater than or equal to the minimum and lesser than the maximum will be included in the range. Enter 0 in either field to make that value open-ended.
Transaction line price	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when a line item's value falls within a specific range. If using this condition, disable the Keep every item separate on customer receipts setting for each device configuration to ensure that quantities of individual items will appear on the same line. Example: With the range set to 25–50, the tax rule would apply to a $10 order item with a line item quantity of three ($30 value) but would not apply if the quantity was six ($60). This condition does not apply if the quantity is spread across multiple lines.  How to configure: Enter a minimum and maximum value. Values greater than or equal to the minimum and lesser than the maximum will be included in the range. Enter 0 in either field to make that value open-ended.
Tax profile item total	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when the combined value of items using the same tax profile falls within a specific range. Example: With the range set to 25–50 and the tax profile assigned to Accounting Group A (containing Item Band Item C), the tax rule would apply if the combined value of Item Band/or Item Con an order was $35. The tax profile would not apply if the value of these items was $20. How to configure: Enter a minimum and maximum value. Values greater than or equal to the minimum and lesser or equal to the maximum will be included in the range. Enter 0 in either field to make that value open-ended.
Receipt item total	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when the combined value of all items on the order falls within a specific range. Example: With the range set to 25–50, the tax rule would apply to an order containing two items priced at $20 and $25 respectively ($45 total). If a fourth item priced at $35 was added ($80 total), the tax rule would still apply to the first three items but would not apply to the fourth. How to configure: Enter a minimum and maximum value. Values greater than or equal to the minimum and lesser than the maximum will be included in the range. Enter 0 in either field to make that value open-ended.
Dates to apply this tax rule	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when the order is processed within a specific date range. How to configure: Choose a start and end date. Dates on or after the start date and before the end date will be included in the range. Leave either field blank to make that date open-ended.
Accounting group item quantity	Definition: Applies the tax rule to relevant order items when the order contains a specific quantity of items or subitems from the same accounting group.  How to configure: Enter a minimum and maximum value. Values greater than or equal to the minimum and lesser or equal to the maximum will be included in the range. Enter 0 in either field to make that value open-ended.

Assigning tax profiles to accounting groups

Assign a tax profile to each accounting group in the Back Office to determine which categories of items will be affected by the tax profile.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant account credentials.
2. From the navigation menu, go to Menu management > Accounting groups.
3. Add or edit an accounting group. 
4. Select a tax profile to apply to items in the accounting group.
5. Click Save to save changes.