Map Product Groups to Revenue Accounts

When you sell a served steak, the revenue should land on 3002 Sales 12%. When you sell a beer, it should land on 3001 Sales 25%. Vendion handles this for you – but only if each category has the right VAT category. In the default mode (central chart) Vendion picks the revenue account by the effective VAT rate; you don't enter an account number per category.

Sounds like work, but it's a 10-minute one-time setup.

What is a category?

A category (also called varugrupp) is a collection of related menu items. For example:

• "Starters" – contains shrimp, tartare, soup
• "Mains" – contains fish, meat, vegetarian
• "Desserts" – contains ice cream, pie, cheese platter
• "Wine" – contains house white, red by glass, bottle
• "Beer" – contains IPA, pilsner, non-alcoholic

A product group controls accounting and VAT. Menu groups control how products are displayed and are a separate setting. Manage product groups under Admin → Bokföring → Verifikat & export → Varugrupper and assign a product using Varugrupp (bokföring) in the product editor.

Why must I map them?

For Vendion to build the correct voucher at Z-report, each category needs the right VAT category.

Select the correct Typ av varugrupp (Product group type) when creating the group. The account number itself does not determine VAT. Products inherit VAT from their product group, so check both the group and service mode.

Default revenue accounts for restaurants (central chart)

The account is chosen by the effective VAT rate – and for food/drinks the rate depends on whether it's served (12%) or taken away/delivered (6%):

So the same category can land on 3002 (served, 12%) or 3003 (takeaway, 6%) depending on how it's sold. Reconcile the chart of accounts with your accountant.

How to do it – step by step

1. Open Admin → Bokföring → Verifikat & export → Varugrupper.
2. Open the product group to edit it.
3. Choose Typ av varugrupp: Mat (Food), Alkoholfri dryck (Non-alcoholic drink), Alkohol, Övrigt 25 %, Övrigt 6 % or Momsfri (Exempt).
4. Check Intäktskonto (BAS-kontoplan) and save.
5. Open the product in Menu and check Varugrupp (bokföring).

Vendion then picks the right account (3001/3002/3003) automatically from the VAT rate – and for food/drinks it uses 12% when served and 6% for takeaway. If you'd rather control the account per category, switch on advanced mode under Vouchers & export → Chart of Accounts and set the account on the Categories subtab.

Repeat for all your categories.

Tip: Write all categories on paper, note "Food", "Alcohol" or "Non-alcoholic drink" next to each, and set the category in Vendion all at once.

Important: VAT per item VS category

Products inherit VAT from their product group. The product editor displays the inherited VAT and has no individual VAT-category setting. Non-alcoholic beer can share a menu group with strong beer while using a separate accounting product group for non-alcoholic drinks.

Example:

• Category "Beer" → VAT category Alcohol, 25%, account 3001
• Item "Tuborg Non-Alc" → choose a product group of type Non-alcoholic drink (12% served)

Vendion books:

• Regular beer → 3001, 25% VAT → 2610 ✓
• Non-alc beer → 3002 (served, 12%) or 3003 (takeaway, 6%)

Recommendation: Create separate categories for non-alcoholic alternatives instead of mixing. It makes bookkeeping cleaner and easier for the accountant to verify.

Example 1: À la carte restaurant

Typical dinner restaurant.

Example 2: Bar / Pub

More alcohol-focused.

Example 3: Café

Coffee-focused, lots of milk and baked goods.

Cafés don't typically sell alcohol – hence no 3001 accounts (25%). If you sell pastries to go, the rate is 6% (account 3003) instead of 12%.

Example 4: Food truck / takeaway

All food is sold for takeaway → 6% VAT (not 12% as when served). Alcohol is unusual in food trucks but if sold → 25%.

Example 5: Catering

Food delivery alone can be a sale of food at 6% VAT. A catering service with sufficient supporting services uses 12% for food and non-alcoholic drinks. Assess the complete offering, including transport and extras, with your accountant. Strong beer, wine and spirits use 25% VAT. See Tax Agency guidance.

Important: Catering is a complex VAT area – served vs delivered decides the rate. Call your accountant when setting up catering categories.

Common mistakes

Alcohol with the wrong VAT category (booked as 12%)

Why wrong: If an alcohol category is set to "Food/non-alcoholic drink", it's booked as 12% (3002) instead of 25% (3001). Consequence: You remit too little VAT – a serious fiscal miss. Fix: Always set the VAT category Alcohol on beer, wine, cider and spirits.

Non-alc beer/wine booked as alcohol (3001, 25%)

Why wrong: Non-alcoholic variants are 12% (food/non-alcoholic drink), not 25%. Consequence: You remit too much VAT and report the wrong revenue account. Fix: Create separate categories "Non-alc beer"/"Non-alc wine" with category Food/non-alcoholic drink → 3002.

Mixing alcohol and non-alc in same category

Why wrong: Different VAT rates in the same category make bookkeeping hard to read. Consequence: Products in one product group inherit its VAT. A menu group can display products from different accounting product groups. Fix: Always separate categories for alcohol (25%) and non-alcoholic (12%).

Forgetting to set a VAT category on a new category

Why wrong: The wrong product-group type gives products the wrong inherited VAT. Consequence: Sales may be reported at the wrong rate and therefore on the wrong revenue account. Fix: Set the VAT category immediately when creating a new category.

Verify mapping via test order

1. Place an order in POS with one item per category you want to test
2. Pay
3. Close the day's Z-report
4. Go to Admin → Accounting → Vouchers & export
5. Open the voucher
6. Verify every row is on the correct account

If something is wrong, check the product group and central chart. Changing settings does not correct existing vouchers.

See also

• Map Payment Methods to Accounts
• Accounts in Vendion – Default Setup
• VAT in Vendion – Sweden
• VAT Calculation – Reverse Formula