What exactly does certification apply to?
Certification applies to the SRS, the sales recording system. It is a software product that its designer submits to Revenu Québec, which assesses it and then adds it to the authorized products list. Revenu Québec publishes that list by sector, with the certified functionalities of each product. That is where a merchant checks whether the software being offered can be used in a covered establishment.
The required-equipment list mentions no hardware certification. It asks for a certified SRS, a printer compatible with that SRS where necessary, and an Internet connection. The word “compatible” names a technical fact, which you verify on site by printing a bill. The distinction decides who the client calls when a bill will not print, and who has to answer for it afterwards.
Why does the confusion keep coming back?
The confusion comes from the way merchants buy: the software, a terminal, a printer and an installation, sometimes all from the same person. They remember the word “certified” and apply it to everything. The older sales recording module reinforces the idea, because it genuinely was a device, and many people still picture an approved box sitting next to the till.
What can you put in a quote?
A quote can contain anything that can be verified. It describes the hardware, its interfaces, the driver installed and the test performed. It cannot grant the hardware a regulatory status that no authority ever gave it. Every sentence must be provable from a catalogue document, from the software vendor’s own sheet or from a test you ran yourself.
| Avoid | Write instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Certified by Revenu Québec” attached to a model | Printer tested against the client’s certified SRS | Certification targets the software |
| “Station compliant with mandatory billing” | Station installed to work with the selected certified SRS | Compliance belongs to the merchant |
| “WEB-SRM approved” | Compatible with the printing interface the SRS requires | The WEB-SRM approves no device |
| “Compliance guaranteed after installation” | Real bill print test recorded in the file | A recorded test can be checked |
A quote is a commercial document. If it grants the hardware a regulatory status that does not exist, and the client later ends up in default, that sentence is the one that gets read back. Describe what you actually did instead: the model installed, the interface used and the test that passed. Those facts are simple to write and easy to demonstrate.
What should you verify instead?
Check the exact name of the SRS the client chose, the printing interface that SRS expects and the result of a real print. Record all three in the file and restate them in the quote. They are dated and factual, and you can produce them if the question ever comes up.
- The SRS name and version, exactly as they appear on the authorized products list.
- The interface the software expects (USB, serial or Ethernet) and the matching driver.
- A real bill printed on the delivered station, QR code included, before handover.
Related reading: