Quebec mandatory billing and WEB-SRM, for restaurants.

Who must comply

Mandatory billing applies to anyone who operates a restaurant establishment in Quebec. Revenu Québec names:

• restaurants and bars,
• inns and bed-and-breakfasts that run a restaurant or bar,
• takeout counters and caterers,
• food trucks, including trucks that sell only drinks,
• food service at amusement parks, event-permit holders, wineries and cideries.

Cafés are not named separately, but a café that serves food or drinks to eat on site fits Revenu Québec's definition of a restaurant establishment.

What is not covered

Revenu Québec's definition leaves out, among others:

• staff-only cafeterias,
• mobile vehicles other than food trucks,
• takeout sold by butchers, bakeries and grocers,
• small in-store eating spots that seat fewer than 20 people,
• places where 90% or more of meal sales are tax-exempt.

If you are unsure, check Revenu Québec's definition or ask them directly.

What the rules require

Since 1 June 2025, covered businesses must send their transaction data to Revenu Québec through a certified sales recording system (SRS) that works with WEB-SRM, Revenu Québec's online service.

You need three things:

1. A certified SRS: your POS software, on Revenu Québec's list.
2. A printer that works with it, if you give paper bills.
3. An internet connection.

The old physical box, the sales recording module (SRM), is finished. Most SRMs stopped working in August 2025, and the last grace period ended on 31 August 2025.

What the bill must show

You must give every customer a bill, whether they ask for it or not. Asking "would you like your bill?" does not meet the rule. The bill can be printed, emailed or texted, but it must come from the certified system.

A compliant bill includes:

• your business name and address,
• each item, described, with its tax code,
• the subtotal, GST and QST amounts, and your GST and QST registration numbers,
• the total, the tip if any, and the payment method,
• a QR code linking to a summary of the transaction,
• Revenu Québec's transaction number, processing time and the device ID.

See Revenu Québec's example of a restaurant bill.

Tips on the bill

Since 7 May 2025, Quebec's consumer protection rules also govern the tip screen. Suggested tip percentages must be calculated on the price before GST and QST, shown the same way, and the customer must always be able to enter their own amount.

The merchant is responsible even if an outside company programs the payment terminal. So check your tip screen yourself.

Penalties

Revenu Québec's published penalties for the restaurant sector include:

Source: Revenu Québec, penalties for mandatory billing in the restaurant sector.

Using Clover in Quebec

Clover on its own is not a certified sales recording system. It becomes compliant through a certified system that connects it to WEB-SRM. Revenu Québec's list of certified systems for restaurants includes two built for Clover:

Check the current list before you buy: Revenu Québec updates it and says it may not be exhaustive.

CleverPays sets up Clover with Cloud MEV for Revenu Québec billing, and configures the tip screen to calculate suggested tips before tax.

A compliance checklist

1. Confirm you operate a restaurant establishment under Revenu Québec's definition.
2. Check that your POS software is on the certified list for the kind of service you run: counter, table, delivery.
3. Make sure every bill, including takeout and delivery, comes from that system.
4. Test a bill: the QR code, the tax codes and the transaction number must all be there.
5. Set the tip screen to calculate on the price before tax, with a custom amount option.
6. Keep an internet connection you can rely on, with a backup plan for outages.

Common questions