Recording a sale in Morocco: a complete worked example

You invoice 12,000 dirhams: your revenue is not 12,000 dirhams. The customer owes you the VAT-inclusive amount, your revenue is the net amount, and the difference is the VAT you collect on behalf of the state. It is the exact mirror of the purchase entry.

1. The basic entry, with figures

Take a sale of goods for 10,000 dirhams excluding VAT, VAT at 20%, so 2,000 dirhams, for a total invoiced of 12,000 dirhams.

Account	Description	Debit	Credit
3421	Customers	12,000	—
7111	Sales of goods	—	10,000
4455	State — output VAT	—	2,000

The 2,000 dirhams of VAT do not make you richer: you collect it with the invoice, but you owe it to the state, less the VAT you yourself paid on your purchases. That mechanism is what makes isolating VAT in its own account essential, on sales as on purchases.

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2. The cash sale, the most common case in retail

In a shop there is no customer account: payment is immediate and the counterpart is cash directly.

Account	Description	Debit	Credit
5161	Cash on hand	12,000	—
7111	Sales of goods	—	10,000
4455	State — output VAT	—	2,000

In practice a shop does not record each receipt separately in the accounts: it records a daily total by payment method, supported by the till report. That is precisely why the split between cash, card and customer credit has to be right in the till before any accounting work begins.

3. The recurring variants

Four situations modify the entry, and two of them are not sales at all — which is exactly where the trap lies.

• A discount is granted: It reduces the base: record the net commercial amount and calculate VAT on it. A discount granted afterwards goes through a credit note.
• A credit note is issued: It reverses the original entry to the extent cancelled, VAT included. It is never recorded as a cost.
• A deposit is received before delivery: This is not revenue: it is an advance received, shown as a liability, becoming revenue on delivery.
• The sale is delivered but unbilled at closing: That is an invoice to be issued, recorded excluding VAT.

Confusing a deposit with revenue is what most often inflates turnover. Collecting is not selling: while delivery or performance has not happened, the money received is a debt to the customer, treated as deferred income where revenue has already been recorded in error.

4. When does VAT become due

This is the major difference from a purchase, and it has direct consequences for your cash position.

• Cash-received regime: VAT falls due when the customer pays. You declare it in the period of collection, not of invoicing. This is the general regime.
• Debits regime: VAT falls due on invoicing, regardless of payment. You can therefore owe VAT on an invoice that is still unpaid.
• The practical consequence: Under the debits regime, a customer paying at 90 days makes you fund the VAT. Under the cash-received regime that gap does not exist.
• For a retail shop: The question is largely theoretical: the sale is collected immediately, so both regimes give the same date.

The choice of regime is discussed with your accountant according to your customer payment terms. For a cash trade the stake is nil; for a B2B activity invoiced at 60 or 90 days, it is very concrete.

Mistakes to avoid

• Recording the sale at its VAT-inclusive amount.
• Treating a deposit received as revenue.
• Booking a credit note as a cost instead of reversing the sale.
• Confusing collection with revenue in a subscription business.
• Recording a credit sale as a cash sale.
• Declaring VAT in the wrong period for your regime.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is revenue recorded excluding VAT?

Because the VAT you charge is not yours: you collect it for the state and pay it over, after deducting the VAT paid on your purchases. Only the net amount is your turnover.

How should a day’s shop sales be recorded?

As a daily total split by payment method, supported by the till report, rather than receipt by receipt. The split between cash, card and customer credit must be accurate in the till before the accounting entry.

Is a deposit revenue?

No. While delivery or performance has not happened, a deposit received is an advance shown on the liabilities side. It becomes revenue at the moment of performance.

When should VAT on a sale be declared?

Under the cash-received regime, in the period the customer pays. Under the debits regime, in the period of invoicing. For a shop collecting immediately, the two dates coincide.

Does BelloPOS produce these entries?

BelloPOS records sales and splits them by payment method from Lite onward, which gives the daily total to be posted. Accounting journals and exports to your accountant belong to BelloPOS Pro.

What to take away

A sale is the customer debited with the gross, revenue credited with the net, and VAT credited separately. The rest is about not calling revenue what is not revenue: a deposit, a credit note, money collected in advance. The day VAT falls due depends on your regime, and that alone is worth a conversation with your accountant.

Sources

The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.

• Ministry of Economy and Finance, General Code of Accounting Standardisation, read 1 September 2026
• Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code

Read next

Other practical guides on the same subject:

• Recording a purchase in Morocco: a complete worked example
• Invoices to be issued in Morocco: recording sales not yet billed
• Deferred income in Morocco: calculation and impact on the result
• Retail cash accounting in Morocco: a practical daily close routine