A hairdresser opens a salon, spends the first month with a notebook and cash, and then a tax inspector shows up and says she is missing ESIR. She has no idea what that is. She knows fiscal cash registers from shops but never needed one, because clients pay for a cut or colour straight into her hand. This happens often in Serbia, and it ends in a fine that can eat several months of income.
ESIR stands for elektronski sistem za izdavanje računa (the electronic receipt issuing system). Every receipt for a service or product goes through the Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) system and comes back with fiscal data and a QR code. Below: what ESIR actually is, who in beauty has to use it, what a fiscal receipt looks like, where to find the list of certified providers, which mistakes salons make most often, and how ESIR fits with booking software.
A note: this text is informational and does not replace advice from your accountant or the Tax Administration. Rules change, so check the current version of the law before you decide anything.
What ESIR and V-PFR are
The Zakon o fiskalizaciji (Law on Fiscalization, "Službeni glasnik RS", no. 153/2020 and later amendments) replaced the old system of fiscal printers. The new system has applied since 2022 and has three layers.
The first layer is ESIR itself, the program or device you issue receipts with. It can be a cash register, a mobile app, a web program or a module inside a point-of-sale system. Searches call it "ESIR aplikacija" or "ESIR fiskalna kasa", but the law does not distinguish between these forms.
The second layer is the PFR (procesor fiskalnih računa, fiscal receipt processor). It receives sales data from ESIR, validates it and returns signed fiscal data: receipt number, time, code and signature. PFR comes in two kinds. V-PFR (virtual) runs on the Tax Administration's server and is reached over the internet. L-PFR (local) is a device or program installed at your premises and can work without a connection for a limited time.
The third layer is the security element (sigurnosni element), which signs the receipt. With V-PFR it is virtual, and in the local variant it is a smart card or a similar solution.
For a salon with one or two chairs, it works like this: you pick software with an ESIR module, it connects to V-PFR through an API, and each time you take payment for a service you get a fiscal receipt on screen or on paper. The Tax Administration sees everything in real time, so there is no daily report to file afterwards.
The query "esir poreska uprava" usually means "where do I register to use ESIR". Registration happens on the ePorezi portal, where the taxpayer applies, picks a provider and receives access credentials. Follow the Tax Administration's own instructions for the exact steps, since the interface changes from time to time.
Who must have ESIR in beauty
The fiscalization duty applies to anyone who takes payment for goods or services from individuals (end consumers). That covers hair, cosmetic, nail, massage, tattoo and barber businesses. By legal form there are three cases.
An entrepreneur on actual taxation (keeping books) is covered without exception. If you keep business books, every receipt for individuals goes through ESIR.
A d.o.o. (limited liability company) has the same duty. As a legal entity it usually faces higher fines than an entrepreneur, so ESIR should be set up before the first payment.
Flat-rate entrepreneurs (pausalac) ask the most questions. The law set separate rules and deadlines for them, and some were exempted or got a delay depending on the type of activity and how they are paid. The honest answer is to check your own case with an accountant or at your local Poreska uprava office. An old forum post is no source, because deadlines and exemptions have changed.
Everyone shares one point: the duty is tied to the moment of payment, not the end of the day. If a client pays in cash, by card or by QR code, the receipt is issued immediately and handed over on paper or electronically. A bank transfer from an individual may also fall under fiscalization, which is another point to confirm with your accountant.
Fines depend on the offence and the taxpayer's status. They range from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dinars, and repeated offences can bring a temporary ban on operating. Check the exact amounts in the law currently in force.
What an ESIR fiscal receipt looks like
The content of a fiscal receipt is set by the law and its accompanying pravilnik (implementing regulation), and every ESIR must follow it. On a salon receipt you will see the following.
At the top are the seller's details: PIB (tax ID), name and address of the premises. Then the name of the item or service, for example "Women's haircut" or "Gel polish", with quantity, unit price and tax rate. Many salons also sell products (shampoos, oils), so one receipt can mix services and goods, each with its own rate. If you are in the VAT system, each line carries its rate. If not, the receipt shows a note that the seller is outside the VAT system.
Next come the payment method (cash, card, voucher, other) and the total. Below are the fiscal data: PFR time, receipt counter and the ESIR number. The ESIR number is the receipt's unique identifier, in a format assigned by the PFR, built from the security element's mark and a sequence number. The Tax Administration uses it to find the receipt.
At the bottom is a QR code. The customer can scan it with the Tax Administration's mobile app or check it on its website to see whether the receipt is registered.
Receipts come in several types: promet (a normal sale), avans (an advance, for example when a client pays for a package of services up front), predračun (a pro forma, not a fiscal document), copy, and obuka (training mode, with no fiscal effect). In a salon you will mostly need the first three.
Certified ESIR providers in Serbia
The Tax Administration keeps a public list of ESIR solutions that passed certification. It includes cash register makers, software companies and services offering a ready-made cloud solution. The list changes, with new solutions added and some dropping off. To choose a provider, use the current list on the Tax Administration's website (purs.gov.rs, fiscalization section) instead of this article.
When choosing, check a few things. Is the solution on the list right now, not just at some point in the past. Does it work with V-PFR and support an offline mode. Does it have an open API if you want to link it to your booking program. What does it cost per month, and is support included when something breaks before closing time. Can you switch providers without losing your receipt history.
We do not name vendors as a recommendation. The list contains many Serbian software companies and register suppliers, and we do not want to point you to one that has since dropped off it.
Common mistakes (tips, refunds, offline mode)
Tips (čajevi). A voluntary tip a client leaves directly to the stylist is not part of the service price and is not fiscalized. If the salon adds it as a line on the bill (say a fixed 10% on services), it becomes part of the payment and must appear on the fiscal receipt. A common mistake is to run the tip as a separate card amount and record it nowhere.
Refunds. If a client cancels a service they already paid for, or you overcharged, you do not delete the receipt. You issue a refundacija receipt that references the original receipt number, and the Tax Administration sees the sale was reversed. A frequent error is handing cash back from the drawer with no fiscal refund, after which the till and the turnover do not match.
Advances. If you sell a package of ten treatments up front, you first issue an advance receipt. When the service is actually delivered, you issue a receipt that deducts the advance already paid. Skip that step and you pay tax twice or not at all.
Offline mode. V-PFR needs internet. If the connection drops mid-day, most solutions offer either a local PFR or a mode where the receipt is stored and sent once the connection returns. The law and the pravilnik set how long you may work offline and the deadline for sending receipts afterwards, so ask your provider exactly how your solution behaves. Keep mobile data as a backup and test it before you need it.
Wrong tax rate. Services and goods may carry different rates, and fixing a rate later means a reversal and a new receipt. Check the rates when you set up your service catalogue.
Receipt not reaching the client. The receipt must get to the customer. If the screen or printer is broken, the client can receive it electronically (email or SMS).
Skipping training. Before the first real working day, run training mode, where test receipts never reach the Tax Administration. A mistake on launch day costs more than an hour of practice.
ESIR and salon software: how they connect
A salon usually runs three separate systems: a cash register, a notebook or booking program, and a client list. As a result the same data gets typed three times. When a client arrives for an appointment, the stylist should only need to click "done", and the service and price should move into the register and produce a receipt without retyping.
That is why it pays for the booking program and ESIR to exchange data through an API. An appointment from the calendar becomes a receipt line, the client stays linked to the receipt, and at month end you have a turnover report by stylist, service and payment method. For more on choosing such a program, read our article on how to pick a booking app.
When you evaluate software, ask whether it has an ESIR module or works with a certified provider through an API, whether the service catalogue stores the tax rate, what happens when a client cancels an appointment they prepaid, and whether the receipt history can be exported for your accountant.
Without an integration, you can still run the register and the booking program separately. That is fine legally and only less convenient day to day.
FAQ
What is the ESIR number? It is a unique identifier the PFR assigns to each receipt. It sits at the bottom of the receipt next to the QR code, and the receipt can be verified by it in the Tax Administration system.
Do I need a dedicated fiscal cash register? Not necessarily. The law allows different forms of ESIR: a classic register, a mobile app or a web program, as long as the solution is on the certified list. A small salon often gets by with a phone or computer running a V-PFR-based solution.
Do I have to issue a receipt when the client pays by card? Yes. The payment method does not change the duty to issue a receipt to an individual.
What if the power or internet goes out? It depends on the solution. Some registers store receipts locally and send them later, while V-PFR cannot sign a receipt without a connection. Ask the provider how your solution behaves before signing a contract.
Can I register for ESIR myself, without an accountant? Registration goes through the ePorezi portal and is not complicated, but if you are unsure whether you are a covered taxpayer (especially as a pausalac), check before you start.
What should I look for when searching "ESIR uputstvo"? Each provider has its own instructions for its solution, and the Tax Administration has general instructions for taxpayers. To begin, your provider's guide plus training mode is enough.
Do fines apply to small salons with one stylist? Yes. The duty follows the payment, not the size of the salon.
Agendo and ESIR
Agendo is free online booking software for salons and solo professionals in Serbia: a calendar, online booking by link, widget or Telegram bot, a client database and free reminders. ESIR itself is not yet built into Agendo. We are preparing an integration through the API of a certified provider, so that an appointment in the calendar can turn into a fiscal receipt in one click.
Agendo is currently integrating with ESIR providers. If you want to be among the first to try it, join the beta list at agendo.work.