Understanding Decimal Values for Tax in Sales Receipts

Understanding Decimal Values for Tax in Sales Receipts

Overview
This article explains how decimal values are handled within the system.

How Decimal Values Are Managed
1. User Interface (What You See)
  1. By default, tax values are displayed with 2 decimal places.
  2. For certain countries, we support displaying 3 decimal places based on local currency or regulatory requirements.
Here are the screenshots of tax values with two decimal values for reference:




Here are the screenshots of tax values with three decimal values for reference:





2. Database (Behind the Scenes)
  1. Regardless of what is shown in the interface, all tax calculations are stored internally with 4 decimal places.
  2. This ensures higher precision and accuracy during calculations, especially when dealing with multiple items or complex tax rules.
3. Purchase Orders (Additional Flexibility)
  1. In the Purchase Order feature, we provide more flexibility based on supplier requirements.
  2. You can display values in 2, 3, or 4 decimal places in the user interface.
  3. This option is designed to accommodate suppliers who require higher precision in pricing and tax values.
  4. Even in this case, the system continues to maintain 4 decimal precision internally for consistency and accuracy.


Why Do Differences Occur?
Because of the difference between stored precision (4 decimals) and display precision (2 or 3 decimals):
  1. Calculations are performed using 4 decimal precision.
  2. Final values are then rounded for display based on your settings (2 or 3 decimals).
  3. This can result in:
    1. Minor rounding differences
    2. Slight variation between line-item tax and total tax
Example
Let’s say the system calculates tax as:

Round up if it is equal and greater than 5.
  1. Actual stored value: 10.2567
  2. Displayed value (2 decimals): 10.26
  3. Displayed value (3 decimals): 10.257 
Round down if it is equal and less than 5.
  1. Actual stored value: 10.2347
  2. Displayed value (2 decimals): 10.23
  3. Displayed value (3 decimals): 10.235
If multiple such values are summed:
  1. The total may appear slightly different depending on whether rounding is applied at the line level or total level. 
Need Help?
If you’re unsure about the values on your sales receipts or notice unexpected discrepancies, feel free to reach out to our support team with:
  1. A sample receipt
  2. Relevant screenshots
  3. Details of your tax configuration 
We’ll be happy to assist further.

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