How to read a receipt: abbreviations and lines explained

In short: Every till receipt is built from the same blocks: merchant header, item lines, totals, payment and a technical footer. The receipt abbreviations inside are less cryptic than they look: "Stk" is the quantity, "MWST" or "MwSt" is VAT, "A" and "B" are tax codes, "Rundung" is the Swiss cash rounding to 5 centimes and "TSE" is the security signature printed by German tills. For bookkeeping and warranty claims, the lines that matter are merchant, date, total, tax and item description.

Hardly anyone reads a receipt from top to bottom. You glance at the total, pocket the slip and forget about it. The questions only come up later, when you need the receipt for a tax return, an expense claim or a warranty: what does the letter after the price mean? Why is there a line called "Rundung"? And what is that long string of numbers at the very bottom?

This article walks through a typical receipt from top to bottom and explains the most common abbreviations you will see in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, with the German terms included because that is what is printed on the paper. By the end you will know which lines you need and which ones you can safely ignore.

How is a receipt structured?

Almost every receipt follows the same pattern, whether it comes from a supermarket, a DIY store or a café. Once you know the pattern, you can find any piece of information in seconds.

Header: merchant name, address, branch, and often the business identification number (UID in Switzerland) or tax number.
Item lines: one line per item with description, quantity, unit price, line total and usually a tax code.
Totals block: subtotal, discounts, grand total.
Payment block: payment method, amount tendered, change, and for card payments a terminal slip.
Tax block: VAT broken down by rate.
Footer: receipt number, till number, date, time, cashier code, TSE data in Germany, often a QR code.

Whether a receipt legally counts as a simple receipt or as an invoice depends on its content. The differences are explained in Receipt vs. invoice vs. till slip: what is the difference?.

What do the abbreviations on the item lines mean?

The item lines carry the most abbreviations because space on the narrow paper is tight. The most important ones:

Stk, St., Stück: quantity (pieces). "3 Stk x 2.50" means three items at CHF 2.50 each.
x: multiplication of quantity and unit price, for example "0.842 kg x 12.90".
kg, g, l, cl: weight or volume for goods sold by weight or measure.
EP, VK, Einzelpreis: unit price, as opposed to the line total.
Aktion, Akt., Promo, Angebot: the item was on offer, often with the original price printed next to it.
Rabatt, Rab., Disc.: a discount, either per item or as a separate line against the subtotal.
Gutschein, Coupon, Bon: a redeemed voucher, usually shown as a negative amount.
Pfand, Depot: bottle deposit or deposit on reusable packaging. Rare in Switzerland, standard in Germany and Austria.
Storno, Korr.: an item was cancelled at the till. The line stays visible with a negative amount.
A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 after the price: tax codes showing which VAT rate applies (see the next section).
Art.-Nr., EAN, PLU: article numbers for the till system. Irrelevant to you except for complaints and returns.

Some merchants also abbreviate the item description aggressively. "BIO MILCH VOLL 1L" is still readable, "KABEL USB-C 2M SW" is more of a puzzle. If you need the receipt for a warranty, it pays to note the item name straight away.

What do the tax codes on a receipt mean?

The code after each item assigns it to a VAT rate, and the tax block adds everything up per rate. The letters are not fixed by law, each merchant chooses their own, so the key is usually printed in the tax block.

Code on the receipt	Typical meaning	Where common
MWST, MwSt, VAT, USt	value added tax (Umsatzsteuer in DE/AT)	everywhere
A / B / C	tax code per rate, key in the tax block	DE, AT, CH
8.1 %, 2.6 %, 3.8 %	standard, reduced, accommodation rate	Switzerland
19 % / 7 %	standard, reduced rate	Germany
20 % / 10 % / 13 %	standard, reduced rates	Austria
Netto / Brutto	amount excluding / including VAT	everywhere
inkl. / exkl.	tax included in / excluded from the price	everywhere

Switzerland has applied the rates of 8.1 percent (standard), 2.6 percent (reduced, for food and books among others) and 3.8 percent (accommodation) since 2024. If you are VAT-registered yourself and want to reclaim input tax, the receipt has to contain specific details. They are listed in VAT-compliant receipts in Switzerland: what a receipt must show.

What is in the payment block?

The payment block shows how you paid, and this is the line you need when matching a receipt against a bank statement.

Bar, Cash: cash payment. Below it "Gegeben" (amount tendered) and "Rückgeld" or "Retour" (change).
Rundung, Rdg.: in Switzerland cash amounts are rounded to 5 centimes. A total of CHF 17.43 becomes CHF 17.45 and the difference appears as its own line. Card payments are usually not rounded.
EC, Maestro, Debit, V PAY, Girocard: debit card payment. "EC" is the old German name for Girocard.
Kredit, VISA, MC, AMEX: credit card payment, often with the last four digits of the card number.
Kontaktlos, NFC, Tap: the card or phone was simply held against the terminal.
TWINT: payment through the Swiss mobile payment app, with a transaction number.
Trinkgeld, Tip: a tip recorded separately in restaurants.
Cashback: cash withdrawn at the till, which is not a purchase.
Genehmigt, Approved, Autorisiert: the card terminal confirmed the payment. If it says "Abgelehnt" (declined), nothing was paid.

With card payments you often get two slips: the actual receipt listing the items and the terminal slip with the card details. For bookkeeping the receipt is the important part. The terminal slip on its own only proves that money moved, not what it paid for.

What do the lines at the very bottom mean?

The footer holds technical data for the till and the tax authorities. Two things are relevant to you: the receipt number and the date. The rest is the merchant's compliance work.

Bon-Nr., Beleg-Nr., Trans.-Nr.: sequential receipt number. Useful for exchanges and complaints.
Kasse, Terminal, POS: which till in the branch printed the receipt.
Bed., Bediener, Kass.: code or number of the cashier.
UID, CHE number: the Swiss business identification number, such as "CHE-123.456.789 MWST". It shows that the merchant is VAT-registered.
StNr., USt-IdNr.: tax number or VAT identification number in Germany and Austria.
TSE, TSE-Signatur, Transaktionsnummer, Seriennummer: since 2020, electronic tills in Germany must have a certified security module (technische Sicherheitseinrichtung). The lines with signature, counter and timestamp document that the transaction was recorded tamper-proof. They have no practical meaning for you as a customer.
QR code: in Germany and Austria usually the TSE or cash register data in machine-readable form, in Switzerland often a link to a customer survey or loyalty scheme.
Cumulus, Superpunkte, Payback: loyalty points credited for the purchase.

Which lines do you really need?

For most purposes five details are enough: merchant, date, total, VAT and the item lines. Everything else can be ignored.

For tax returns and bookkeeping: merchant, date, amount, tax rate and the item description, so it is clear what was bought.
For expense claims: additionally the payment method, because company cards and private cards are settled differently.
For warranty and returns: item description, date and receipt number. How to keep a receipt safe for that purpose is covered in Receipts for warranty and returns.

Because thermal paper fades, important receipts should be digitised soon after the purchase. An app such as Belego photographs the receipt, saves it as a PDF and reads the amount, date, merchant and category automatically. Anything it cannot read with confidence stays blank for you to fill in, so blurry abbreviations never turn into wrong numbers. How the reading works is explained in Reading receipts automatically: how receipt OCR works, and why speed matters with thermal paper is covered in Scan paper receipts before they fade.

Frequently asked questions

What do A and B mean on a receipt?

A and B are tax codes that assign each item to a VAT rate. In Germany, A usually stands for 19 percent and B for 7 percent, but this is not prescribed and some merchants swap them. The authoritative key is in the tax block at the bottom of the receipt, where the amounts are totalled per code.

Why does a Swiss receipt show a line called Rundung?

The smallest Swiss coin is 5 centimes (Rappen). Cash amounts are therefore rounded to 5 centimes, and the till shows the difference as a line called "Rundung" (rounding). On a total of CHF 23.98 you pay CHF 24.00 in cash, a rounding of 2 centimes. Card and TWINT payments are normally charged at the exact amount.

Is the card terminal slip the same as a receipt?

No. The terminal slip only confirms that an amount was charged to your card. It lists no items and no VAT breakdown. For bookkeeping, expense claims and warranty you need the actual receipt with the item lines. When in doubt keep both, but the itemised receipt is the document that counts.

What is the TSE number on a German receipt?

The TSE number belongs to the certified security module that electronic tills in Germany have been required to use since 2020. It ensures that every transaction is stored completely and cannot be altered afterwards. As a customer you have no practical use for it: you do not need to check it or record it anywhere.

Can I use a receipt without an item description for my taxes?

Only to a limited extent. Tax authorities want to see what was bought so they can judge whether the expense is deductible. A receipt that only says "Diverse" (miscellaneous) or shows an article number is often not enough. In that case, add a note with the purpose immediately, or ask the till for an itemised receipt.