Revenue Recognition – When Does an Order Become Revenue?

Understanding when an order becomes revenue in the books is one of the fundamentals of Swedish accounting. Many new restaurateurs confuse "when we got the money" with "when we have revenue" – but they're not always the same day.

Core rule (accrual principle / periodiseringsprincipen): Under the Swedish Bookkeeping Act (1999:1078), revenue must be recorded when earned – that is, when the restaurant has delivered its performance (food served, drink consumed) – not necessarily when the cash arrives.

In Vendion this means:

1. Cash, card, and Swish → revenue at time of payment (same day)
2. Invoice → revenue at invoicing (receivable is booked, cash comes later)
3. Gift card at issuance → liability, not revenue
4. Gift card at redemption → revenue (that's when value is delivered)
5. Loyalty points at earning → no journal entry
6. Loyalty points at redemption → revenue reduction

Cash sale (1910) – immediate revenue

When a guest pays 100 SEK cash for food (12% VAT):

DEBIT    1910 (Cash)                 100 SEK
CREDIT   3001 (Food revenue 12%)     89.29 SEK
CREDIT   2620 (Output VAT 12%)       10.71 SEK

Three things happen at the same time:

• The till receives 100 SEK (asset increases)
• Revenue is 89.29 SEK (net, excluding VAT)
• VAT liability to Skatteverket is 10.71 SEK

Card sale (1580) – immediate revenue

Exactly the same structure as cash, but the debit account changes:

DEBIT    1580 (Card receivables)     100 SEK
CREDIT   3001 (Food revenue 12%)     89.29 SEK
CREDIT   2620 (Output VAT 12%)       10.71 SEK

1580 is a "receivable" because the card acquirer (Swedbank Pay, Nets, Klarna, etc.) holds the money until it lands in your bank a few days later. When the deposit arrives:

DEBIT    1930 (Business bank account) 100 SEK
CREDIT   1580 (Card receivables)      100 SEK

Invoice sale (1510) – revenue at issuance, not at payment

This is where it gets different. A corporate guest dines for 1,000 SEK (800 net + 200 VAT at 25%, e.g. alcohol service at a corporate event) and is invoiced:

Day 1 – invoice issued:

DEBIT    1510 (Accounts receivable)      1,000 SEK
CREDIT   3003 (Alcohol revenue)          800 SEK
CREDIT   2610 (Output VAT 25%)           200 SEK

Note that revenue is already booked – you have a claim against the company. It sits under Assets (1510) until payment.

Day 30 – customer pays:

DEBIT    1930 (Bank account)          1,000 SEK
CREDIT   1510 (Accounts receivable)   1,000 SEK

Now the asset just moves – no new revenue, because it was already recognized on day 1.

Gift cards – revenue at redemption, not issuance

A gift card is a multi-purpose voucher under the Swedish VAT Act Ch. 5 § 40. VAT arises only when the card is redeemed.

Issuance (customer buys a 500 SEK gift card):

DEBIT    1580 (Card receivables)        500 SEK
CREDIT   2421 (Gift card liability)     500 SEK

No revenue account, no VAT. You've taken money but now owe a 500 SEK meal.

Redemption (customer uses the card to pay for a meal):

DEBIT    2421 (Gift card liability)     500 SEK
CREDIT   3001 (Food revenue 12%)        446.43 SEK
CREDIT   2620 (Output VAT 12%)          53.57 SEK

Now revenue and VAT arise. The liability disappears.

What about returns and voids?

Return (refund after payment): The order's revenue is reversed – negative amounts on the same accounts.

CREDIT   1910 (Cash)                  -100 SEK  (till loses 100 SEK)
DEBIT    3001 (Food revenue 12%)      -89.29 SEK
DEBIT    2620 (Output VAT 12%)        -10.71 SEK

Void (order cancelled before payment): No journal entry – the order never reached the payment step, so there's nothing to record.

Practical example over one day

A small restaurant has a day with:

• 50 cash orders totalling 12,000 SEK (food only)
• 80 card orders totalling 25,000 SEK (food + 3,000 SEK alcohol)
• 2 corporate invoices totalling 4,000 SEK (400 SEK is alcohol)
• 3 gift cards sold at 500 SEK each = 1,500 SEK
• 1 gift card redeemed for 300 SEK (food)

The totals in the Z-report become a single voucher where everything balances. That automation is handled by Vendion.

Summary – which account, when?

Vendion records all of this automatically via Z-report → voucher. You just need to ensure payment methods and menu categories are correctly mapped to BAS accounts in Admin → Accounting → Chart of accounts.