OpenFiskal Initial Setup in Italy - Complete Guide

What this guide covers

To activate OpenFiskal on your Shopify store you need to complete three steps: obtain the Fisconline credentials, communicate the POS-RT link to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate, AdE), and configure the app.

• Part 1. The Fisconline credentials. OpenFiskal uses them to transmit sales data to the Italian Revenue Agency on your behalf. You request them on the AdE's "Area Riservata" portal: a few minutes if you have an authorized email on your profile, up to 15 days by mail otherwise.
• Part 2. The POS-RT link. An administrative communication on the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal where you declare which payment instruments you use. Mandatory from January 1, 2026. About 5 minutes per POS.
• Part 3. OpenFiskal configuration. You fiscalize the registers, configure compliant receipts, and activate the QR code for customers. All inside the OpenFiskal app on your Shopify admin. About 20-30 minutes.

Index

• Part 1. The Fisconline credentials
• Part 2. The POS-RT link through the Online Commercial Document
• Part 3. Configuring OpenFiskal
• Frequently asked questions
• Regulatory references

Part 1. The Fisconline credentials

Why you need them

OpenFiskal replaces the physical Electronic Cash Register (Registratore Telematico, or RT) and automatically transmits every single transaction to the Italian Revenue Agency. To do this on your behalf automatically, it needs the Fisconline credentials (tax code, password, and 10-digit PIN) of a natural person authorized to operate for your company.

Who can request them

Fisconline credentials can only be requested by a natural person who is:

• The Legal Representative of the company, or
• An Appointed Operator ("Gestore Incaricato"), that is, a trusted person (an employee or your accountant) formally nominated by the Legal Representative.

The credentials always belong to a natural person, never directly to the company. This applies regardless of company size.

Step 1. Check whether you are already an Appointed Operator

If you are the Legal Representative (the owner, to be clear), you can skip this step: you are already authorized to operate for your company.

If instead you operate on behalf of a company (you are an employee, a consultant, or an accountant), check whether you have already been appointed as an Appointed Operator:

1. Log in to the AdE's Reserved Area with SPID, CIE, or CNS.
2. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile) and then to "Incarichi" (Assignments).
3. Click on "Visualizza chi ti ha incaricato" (View who has appointed you).

4. Verify that the company's tax code appears in the list.

If the company appears, you are already authorized: go to Step 3.

If the company does not appear, the Legal Representative must appoint you first. Go to Step 2.

Step 2. Becoming an Appointed Operator

This step must be completed by the Legal Representative. If that is not you, forward this section to them.

1. Log in to the AdE's Reserved Area with the Legal Representative's personal SPID, CIE, or CNS.
2. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile), then "Incarichi" (Assignments), then click on "Gestisci incarichi come rappresentante legale" (Manage assignments as legal representative).

3. Enter the company's tax code and click "Avanti" (Next).

4. Click on "Aggiungi gestore incaricato" (Add appointed operator).

5. Enter the tax code of the person to appoint (it can be the Legal Representative themselves, an employee, or the accountant) and confirm.

The new Appointed Operator will appear in the list. From this moment they can request their own Fisconline credentials to operate on behalf of the company.

Step 3. Requesting the Fisconline credentials

There are three methods. The only difference between them is the waiting time. For merchants not residing in Italy, the fast route is practically the only viable option.

Fast route: online, credentials within minutes

Prerequisite: an authorized contact (steps 1 and 2 below: email or phone) configured on your AdE profile.

1. Log in to the AdE's Reserved Area with SPID, CIE, or CNS.
2. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile) and then to "Contatti" (Contacts). Configure an email (or phone) and confirm the contact. If you have never done this, now is the time: without an authorized contact, the complete credentials are delivered by mail and take 15 days.
3. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile), then "Sicurezza e privacy" (Security and privacy), then "Preleva Credenziali/PIN" (Retrieve Credentials/PIN).
4. Click on "Preleva Credenziali/PIN".

5. The first 4 digits of the PIN appear immediately on screen.
6. The remaining 6 digits of the PIN and the initial password arrive in the following minutes to the authorized email.

This is the only method that delivers complete credentials without visiting an AdE office and without waiting for the mail.

Without an authorized contact: online, but with a 15-day wait

If you have not configured an authorized contact and do not want to, you can still request the credentials online:

1. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile), then "Sicurezza e privacy" (Security and privacy), then "Preleva Credenziali/PIN" (Retrieve Credentials/PIN).
2. Click on "Preleva Credenziali/PIN".
3. The first 4 digits of the PIN appear immediately on screen.
4. The remaining 6 digits of the PIN and the initial password arrive by paper mail at your tax residence address within 15 days.

To avoid the wait, configure an authorized contact first and use the fast route.

In person at an AdE local office by appointment

Alternatively, you can request the credentials at an AdE local office by appointment, by filling out the PIN Request Form (Modello di Richiesta PIN) and bringing a valid ID.

• If you go in person (as Legal Representative or Appointed Operator): the office gives you the first 4 digits of the PIN, the initial password, and instructions to instantly obtain the remaining 6 digits of the PIN online.
• If you delegate another person with a special power of attorney: the office only delivers the first 4 digits of the PIN. The remaining 6 digits and the initial password arrive by mail within 15 days.

Step 4. Entering the credentials in OpenFiskal

Once you have your tax code, password, and complete PIN (10 digits), you can activate OpenFiskal in live mode.

On first launch the app runs in test mode: you can explore it, but it does not transmit anything to the Italian Revenue Agency and does not require a subscription or credentials. To start transmitting sales data, you need to switch to live mode.

1. Open OpenFiskal from your Shopify admin.
2. On the main screen, in the top right, click "Activate Live".
3. 
4. Choose the subscription plan (monthly or yearly) and complete the payment.
5. Select what to sync: Shopify POS sales (in-store), e-commerce sales (online), or both.
6. Enter the Fisconline credentials: tax code, password, and 10-digit PIN.

There are still a few steps to complete, but from this moment OpenFiskal can sign your transactions and transmit sales data to the Italian Revenue Agency on your behalf.

Updating the password every 60-90 days

Fisconline credentials expire every 90 days. If the password expires, OpenFiskal can no longer transmit sales data and the service stops. We recommend changing it every 60 days and setting a reminder.

1. Log in to the AdE's Reserved Area with your Fisconline credentials.
2. Go to "Il tuo profilo" (Your Profile), then "Sicurezza e privacy" (Security and privacy), then "Cambio password" (Change password).
3. Enter the current password, choose a new secure password, and confirm.

4. Update the new password in OpenFiskal as well. Open the app in your Shopify admin, click Settings, and then click Italy to find the page where you communicate the updated credentials to OpenFiskal.

Lost your password?

The recovery procedure depends on which credentials you still have.

You have the PIN and the initial password. Go to the password reset page, enter your tax code, PIN, and initial password, choose a new password, and confirm.

You have the PIN but not the initial password. Go to the initial password recovery page and enter your tax code and the requested PIN digits. This option only works if you have an authorized contact (email, PEC, or mobile) on your profile.

You have also lost the PIN. Go to the PIN reprint page and choose the scenario based on what you lost (first part, second part, or complete PIN). For the second part of the PIN after the 15 days from registration, or for the entire PIN, you will need to go in person to an AdE local office.

Part 2. The POS-RT link through the Online Commercial Document

From January 1, 2026, every Italian merchant must communicate to the Italian Revenue Agency the link between their electronic payment instruments (POS) and the tool with which they issue the commercial receipt. With OpenFiskal, the issuing tool is the AdE's Online Commercial Document (Documento Commerciale Online, DCO).

Have you already done the POS link in the past? You probably need to redo it

If you linked your POS when using a physical Electronic Cash Register, the previous link pointed to the serial number of the old RT, which will no longer exist in your OpenFiskal configuration. With OpenFiskal the link goes through the Online Commercial Document, a different procedure, and must be registered again on the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal.

In practice: the fact that you completed a POS-RT link in the past does not exempt you. You need to redo it.

Physical POS and virtual POS: what you need to declare

The POS-RT link is usually described as a matter of physical card readers. It largely is, but not exclusively: for the Italian Revenue Agency a "POS" is any electronic payment instrument, and this includes the online checkout of your Shopify store. The AdE distinguishes between two categories:

• Physical POS: the card readers in-store (WisePad 3, Shopify POS Terminal, Tap to Pay, and so on).
• Virtual POS: the online checkout of your Shopify store, when it processes payments via Shopify Payments.

What this means for you:

• If you use OpenFiskal only for in-store Shopify POS sales, you declare only the physical POS.
• If you also use OpenFiskal for online sales (that is, if you fiscalize the orders from the web store), you declare both the physical POS and the virtual POS of your online checkout. In this case every online order generates an online commercial document exactly like an in-store sale, and is subject to the same linking obligation. You only need to perform the POS-RT link of the online store if you use OpenFiskal to fiscalize e-commerce sales.

The procedure is the same for both types and the acquirer remains the same (Stripe Technology Europe, Limited for those using Shopify Payments). The only practical difference is that the virtual POS has no device serial number: in the registration form, choose "Online" / "Virtuale" as the POS type and the Terminal-id field disables automatically.

What it means in practice

The link is not a physical operation. You don't need to connect cables or modify the configuration of your card reader. It is an administrative communication on the AdE portal: you declare which payment instruments you use and which acquirer they are associated with.

Two important points:

• The link is made at the VAT number level, not per store. All your POS (even if spread across different stores) are associated with the same registration. You do not need to indicate an address for each POS.
• The procedure can be performed by you or by a delegated intermediary, for example your accountant.

What you need before starting

Three pieces of information for each POS you want to register.

1. The POS serial number (the AdE calls it "Terminal-id"). Only for physical POS. Online POS (Shopify Payments for the web store) don't have a Terminal-id.

2. The Acquirer (acquiring bank) data. For Shopify Payments and the POS devices sold by Shopify, the Acquirer is always Stripe Technology Europe, Limited.

3. The acquiring agreement number (Shopify Payments agreement number). It is specific to your store and must be requested from Shopify support. Without this number you cannot complete the link, so request it in advance.

To access the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal you can use SPID, CIE, CNS, or your Fisconline credentials.

If you have multiple card readers, you need to register a separate link for each. The Shopify Payments agreement number and the Stripe data stay the same.

Step-by-step procedure

1. Log in to the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal

Go to Fatture e Corrispettivi and log in with your credentials.

If the system asks you to choose a role, select "Me stesso" (Myself) if you operate for your own business, or "Incaricato" (Delegate) if you are a delegated party. Then choose the VAT number you want to operate on.

2. Open the linking section

From the main menu: Corrispettivi → Documento Commerciale Online → Funzionalità di supporto → Collegamento con strumenti di pagamento elettronico (Sales → Online Commercial Document → Support functions → Link with electronic payment instruments).

3. Insert the link

Click "Inserisci collegamento" (Insert link). The portal shows the list of POS already registered in your name by financial operators. At this point two cases can occur.

Case A. Your POS is already in the list. Select it with the checkbox and click "Collega" (Link). The system confirms with "Operazione di collegamento andata a buon fine" (Linking operation successful).

Case B. Your POS is not in the list. Click "Aggiungi nuovo POS" (Add new POS) and proceed with manual entry as described in step 4.

4. Adding a POS manually (only if needed)

1. In the Dati Acquirer (Acquirer Data) section, click "Cerca" (Search) and look up "Stripe".
2. Select Stripe Technology Europe, Limited.
3. If Stripe does not appear in the results, click "Aggiungi Acquirer" (Add Acquirer) and enter the name and tax code manually (see the table above).
4. Note: the portal sometimes pre-fills this field with "Shopify International Ltd". Remove that value and enter Stripe instead.
5. Fill in the Dati Strumento di Pagamento Elettronico (Electronic Payment Instrument Data) section:

• • POS type: choose "Fisico" (Physical) for card readers, "Online/Virtuale" for Shopify Payments on the online store.
  • Terminal-id: the device's serial number. This field is disabled if you chose "Online/Virtuale".
  • Acquiring agreement number: the Shopify Payments agreement number you obtained from Shopify support.

6. Click "Salva" (Save). The system confirms with "Operazione di inserimento andata a buon fine" (Insertion operation successful).
7. Return to the list, select the POS you just added, and click "Collega" (Link).

5. Verify active links

Return to the section's main page and click "Cerca" (Search) without entering filters. You will see a table with all active links: Acquirer, POS type, link date.

Updating or removing a link

If a POS is no longer in use, or if you replace an already-linked reader:

1. Go to Collegamento con strumenti di pagamento elettronico and click "Cerca" (Search).
2. Find the device in the list and click the trash icon.
3. Enter the "Data fine collegamento" (Link end date) in MM/YYYY format (example: 03/2026) and click "Conferma" (Confirm).

The system confirms with "Operazione di eliminazione andata a buon fine" (Deletion operation successful). If you are replacing a device, register the new link right after deleting the old one.

Deadlines

POS already active in January 2026 (in use since 2025 or activated by January 31, 2026):

First registration deadline: April 19, 2026.

POS activated after January 2026:

And so on.

Part 3. Configuring OpenFiskal

Once the Fisconline credentials are entered and the POS-RT link is communicated, there are still some configurations inside the OpenFiskal app. They are quick, but they directly affect what is transmitted to the Italian Revenue Agency and how your customers receive the receipt.

If you prefer, you can book a call and we'll configure OpenFiskal together.

Step 1. Fiscalize the registers

In OpenFiskal a register is a device (smartphone or tablet) that runs the Shopify POS app. Only fiscalized registers transmit their transactions to the Italian Revenue Agency; a non-fiscalized device stays "invisible" to the AdE and its sales are not certified.

1. Open OpenFiskal from your Shopify admin.
2. Click on "Registers" in the left sidebar.
3. If the list is empty (normal on first launch), click "Add Registers" at the top and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Once the register appears in the list, select it with the checkbox on the left.
5. Click "Fiscalize registers" in the top right.

Repeat the operation for every device you use as a till.

Step 2. Configuring compliant receipts

With OpenFiskal your store issues two types of receipt: the digital receipt produced by OpenFiskal and, if you have a printer, the printed receipt produced through Shopify POS. They follow different rules.

The digital receipt is already compliant. It contains all the elements required by Italian regulation and is the one that counts for fiscal purposes. It is shown to the customer through a QR code right after the transaction (see Step 4) and can be sent by email (Step 3). From OpenFiskal's settings, in the "Digital Receipts" section, you can customize it with your logo and additional text. This customization requires OpenFiskal Plus.

The printed receipt is no longer required for compliance, since the transaction is already fiscalized digitally. Many customers still ask for one, though, so a printer remains useful. You can use any printer compatible with Shopify POS.

Watch out for a Shopify quirk: in Italy the standard Shopify POS print template produces a compliant receipt only if the printer is an Epson RT connected as a physical Electronic Cash Register. In every other case (any other printer, or an Epson not in RT mode), the printed template is not compliant with Italian regulation.

To make the printout compliant you need to modify the Shopify POS template code. The procedure requires Shopify POS Pro and a few steps in the template editor. The complete guide is here: Setting up your POS Receipt in Italy.

Step 3. Adding the link to the digital receipt in Shopify emails

If the customer provides their email at checkout, you can include the link to the OpenFiskal digital receipt in Shopify's confirmation email. The customer will be able to view or save it at any time.

The configuration lives in OpenFiskal's settings: the app generates a code block that you paste into Shopify's email template.

1. Open OpenFiskal from your Shopify admin and go to app settings.
2. Generate the code block for Shopify POS emails and copy it.
3. Open Shopify Admin → Settings → Notifications and select the POS receipt email template.
4. Click "Edit code" and paste the block where you want the link to appear.
5. Save.

Important: this option requires that the customer was added to the cart with their email before payment. Without an email there is no place to send the receipt, which is why Step 4 (post-checkout QR code) is equally important.

Step 4. Activating the post-checkout QR code

Without a printer, the customer has two ways to access the digital receipt: through the email from Step 3 (if they left their address) or through a QR code shown directly at the till right after payment. Step 4 activates this second channel, essential for customers without a registered email.

1. Go to Shopify Admin → POS (sales channel) → Settings.
2. Open the POS App (customization) section.
3. Click "Apps" in the top left.
4. Make sure the OpenFiskal "Receipts" app is enabled.

From this moment, at the end of every sale on Shopify POS, the cashier can show the customer the QR code that opens the digital receipt.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Entratel instead of Fisconline?

No. OpenFiskal requires Fisconline credentials regardless of your company's size. The reason: credentials always belong to a natural person, the Legal Representative or an Appointed Operator, not to the company. Even if your company uses Entratel for other tax matters, the Legal Representative or the accountant can still personally request Fisconline credentials through this page.

Should I use my credentials or my accountant's?

Both options work, as long as the chosen person is the Legal Representative or an Appointed Operator of the company. Many merchants prefer to use the accountant's credentials because they already have experience renewing the password every 90 days. NOTE: update the credentials inside the AdE portal. After that, you also need to communicate the new credentials inside OpenFiskal by going to Settings > Italy.

I don't reside in Italy but I have an Italian company. Can I use OpenFiskal?

Yes, provided that the Legal Representative or an Appointed Operator has valid Fisconline credentials. If you are not resident in Italy, we recommend:

• Configuring an authorized email contact on the AdE Reserved Area before requesting the credentials (so you receive them by email within minutes instead of waiting 15 days for the mail).
• Considering appointing your Italian accountant as an Appointed Operator, so they manage the credentials and renewals on your behalf.

I already linked my POS when I had a fiscal cash register. Do I need to redo it?

Yes. The previous link pointed to the serial number of your old physical Electronic Cash Register. With OpenFiskal the link goes through the Online Commercial Document, a different procedure, and must be registered again on the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal.

Can I delegate the POS-RT link to my accountant?

Yes. If your accountant is already a delegated intermediary on the AdE portal, they can perform the procedure on your behalf.

Do I need to register a separate link for each store?

No. The link is made at the VAT number level, so all your POS are associated with the same registration even if spread across multiple stores. You do, however, need to register a separate link for each individual physical device (for example, one WisePad 3 per till).

What happens if my Fisconline password expires?

If the password expires, OpenFiskal can no longer transmit sales data to the Italian Revenue Agency and the service stops. To avoid this, update the password every 60 days and immediately communicate the new password in OpenFiskal. Set a reminder in your calendar.

How long does the whole onboarding process take?

If you already have the Fisconline credentials and the Stripe data ready, the entire procedure on the AdE portal takes about 30-45 minutes. If you need to request the credentials from scratch, allow from a few minutes (online, with an authorized email) up to 15 days (by mail). Request the Shopify Payments agreement number from Shopify support in advance so you don't get stuck halfway through.

Regulatory references

• Electronic certification of sales obligation: Legislative Decree of August 5, 2015, no. 127, art. 2.
• POS-RT linking obligation: Law of December 30, 2024, no. 207 (2025 Budget Law), art. 1, paragraphs 74-77.
• Operational rules: Order of the Italian Revenue Agency no. 424470 of October 31, 2025.
• POS-RT linking effective date: January 1, 2026.

For specific questions about your tax situation, consult your accountant.

If something doesn't work, write to me at gianmaria@openfiskal.com.

Updated on: 29/05/2026