SNAP is the US food benefit program, paid with EBT cards. A grocery store that accepts it often does a large share of its sales on the days benefits are loaded. This article sets up the register side. It applies to US stores only.
What we do and what we do not do
| Who | Does what |
|---|---|
| USDA FNS | Authorizes your store to accept SNAP and checks your stock against the staple food rules |
| Your certified EBT processor | Processes the EBT card, approves or declines it, and settles the money |
| Your state | Runs the EBT program and any state food restriction waiver |
| GetGroceryPOS | Keeps track of which items are eligible, splits the basket, records the EBT payment, reports totals |
GetGroceryPOS works with your certified EBT processor. It is not a processor, and it does not hold any FNS approval for your store.
Step 1: get authorized
Your store must apply to USDA FNS and be approved before taking SNAP. FNS checks, among other things, that you stock enough staple foods. From November 4, 2026 most stores must carry at least seven varieties in each of four staple categories, with perishables in three. Read the SNAP/EBT feature page for the details and check the official FNS pages.
Step 2: choose an EBT processor
Once authorized, you need a way to take the EBT card: a certified third-party processor, or the equipment option your state offers. Ask the processor which card terminal they use. On your demo, tell us who your processor is and we set up the matching payment method.
Step 3: mark eligible products
Most of your food is eligible; household goods, alcohol, tobacco, vitamins and hot foods are not.
- Start with categories: Produce, Meat, Dairy, Dry goods, Frozen are usually eligible; Household, Health and beauty, Hot food are not.
- Mark the eligible products. You can include this in your import spreadsheet.
- Check the tricky ones by hand: energy drinks with a supplement label, prepared meals, gift baskets.
Step 4: 2026 state restrictions
Several states received USDA waivers that remove soda, candy or both from SNAP, with different start dates in 2026, 2027 and 2028, and one federal court order in June 2026 stopped two of them. Retailers must update their own item lists. Definitions differ by state: some count protein bars as candy.
- Check your state agency’s retailer page and the FNS waiver list for your start date and definitions.
- Before the start date, find the affected products (category Soft drinks, Candy).
- On the start date, mark them as not eligible.
Our 2026 guide lists the dates we found, checked October 17, 2026.
Step 5: split tender at checkout
- Ring up the whole basket as normal.
- The eligible items form the SNAP part of the total.
- Charge the SNAP part to the EBT card on your processor’s terminal and record it as the EBT payment.
- Charge the rest to cash or card.
- Print one receipt showing both payments.
Items paid with SNAP are not charged sales tax. Check with your processor how tax shows on mixed baskets.
Step 6: reconcile every day
At closing, compare the register’s EBT payment total with your processor’s daily report. Fix any difference the same day, while the cashier remembers the sale.
Common problems
A restricted soda went through as SNAP. The product was still marked eligible. Update the item and check its whole category.
The EBT total does not match the processor. A payment was recorded as EBT but declined on the terminal, or the reverse. Match by time and amount.
Customers ask about EBT cash benefits. Some states also load cash benefits on the EBT card. Ask your processor whether your terminal accepts them.
Related: Tax rates and tax groups · Custom payment methods · SNAP/EBT feature
