CAS and the Acknowledgement Certificate

Invoices from software

Kuting Kitchen's invoices, like KK-SI-000412 for a ₱480 Shopee order, come out of its accounting software, and so do its books.

That's allowed, but the software has to be registered with BIR first. This section is that registration.

CAS, CBA, components

BIR has names for the software. A Computerized Accounting System (CAS) runs the full cycle, from the invoice to the financial reports. Computerized Books of Accounts (CBA) only produce the books.

A separate app that issues invoices or takes orders is a component. BIR calls all of them together "the System", and each one used must be registered.

Registered, not permitted

Before 2021, a system needed a Permit to Use. Since RMC 5-2021 and RMO 9-2021, you register it instead: you send a pack of documents to your RDO, and it gives back an Acknowledgement Certificate (AC).

No demonstration, no pre-approval. BIR can check the system later, in a post-evaluation, and revoke the AC if it falls short.

The pack: a sworn statement

First, a sworn statement, signed before a notary: you swear the system has no way to hide or delete sales, and that BIR's officers can view it during an audit.

The system description

With it, a summary of the system description: what the system does, its modules (invoicing, books, reports), and who maintains it.

Sample invoices and books

Sample print-outs of what the system produces: an invoice, and pages of each book and report. They show the RDO the real thing, with your registered name, TIN and address.

The audit trail

A printed audit trail: the system's activity log. For every action, the date and time, the user, what was done, and the values before and after.

BIR's requirements (Annex B)

The signed Annex B: BIR's standard list of what a system must do, functional and technical, which you confirm yours meets.

If the software licence is in a parent or affiliate company's name, add its certification that you may use it.

Who runs the system?

If you run the system yourself, you sign the Sworn Statement alone. If a software provider runs it, you and the provider sign a Joint Sworn Statement, and you register before the contract takes effect.

Filing it

Submit the pack to the RDO where your head office is registered, in person or by email. For Kuting Kitchen that's RDO 038, Quezon City.

The RDO checks the pack against the checklist. If something's missing, it comes back with the missing items marked.

The AC, in 3 working days

With a complete pack, the RDO issues the AC within 3 working days. It carries an AC control number built from the RDO, month and year, like AC_038_112026_000057.

That number goes on the face of every invoice the system prints, so a buyer or an examiner can see the system is registered.

When the system changes

A major change (new modules, a new version that changes the money side, new computations) means registering again before you use it. A minor one (screens, bug fixes, speed) needs a written notice to the RDO.

Sister companies each register, even when they share the same system and server.

Pop Quiz: what is each document for?

Match each part of the pack to what it shows BIR.