Decision & Evidence Engine

    Which rule applies, what to do, and why

    Centsless is the Decision & Evidence Engine for operationalizing cash-rounding rules. Centsless determines which supported rule governs a transaction, calculates the rounding outcome and generates the decision evidence behind it. The transaction system applies the returned result.

    Centsless is commercial software. We start with a paid, scoped pilot rather than a free trial, then move to recurring per-location subscriptions.

    POS and Merchant Portals Now Live

    Explore our demo dashboards to see how Centsless compliance infrastructure works from both the POS vendor and merchant perspective.

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    What it is

    Cash-Rounding Decisions, Calculations, and Evidence. One Engine.

    The end of the penny did not produce one rounding rule. Federal, state, and local authorities differ in scope, method, tender treatment, and timing. Centsless turns that research into context-sensitive decisions a transaction system can act on.

    The regulatory research is the foundation. The product is the decision, the calculated result for supported rules, and the evidence that comes with it.

    Conceptual flow

    Cash sale

    Amount and tender

    Register

    • In-person purchase
    • Exact total$10.02

    $10.02 Cash

    Tax & fees

    Included where applicable

    No separate tax rounding

    Centsless

    US-AL · Future-effective illustration

    • Rule determined
    • Result calculated
    • Illustrative evidence

    Supporting evidence

    Alabama · Permits

    Evidence pending

    Transaction system

    Applies the returned result

    Cash payable

    Pending

    Receipt · Cash sale

    Exact total
    $10.02
    Tax & fees
    Exact amount preserved
    Rounding adjustment
    Pending
    Cash payable
    Pending

    Symmetric five-cent digit rule · General retail; excludes government

    HB 545 / Act 2026-548

    Enacted, not yet operative. Applies Apr 16, 2026.

    Illustrative, not a live decision. Statutory activation conditions assumed satisfied on or after applicability. Not all tracked frameworks are executable.

    Cash sale. Register and sales tax, then cash-rounding rule determination, calculation, supporting evidence and the returned result.

    Centsless activates after sales tax is computed, only when cash is tendered, and returns the calculated result with its evidence for the transaction system to apply.

    Conceptual illustration only.

    What goes in

    Transaction context

    Illustrative categories, not a published format. Exact inputs are agreed during pilot scoping.

    Jurisdiction

    Where the transaction occurs. Location information, including ZIP-level awareness where supported, helps identify potentially relevant state and local authorities; ZIP codes do not always match legal boundaries.

    Actor

    Who is transacting, for example a retail merchant or a public agency.

    Direction

    Cash coming in, change going out, or a refund being returned.

    Tender

    Cash, noncash, or a split between them.

    Amount

    The exact transaction amount before any adjustment.

    Date

    When the transaction occurs, relative to effective and operative dates.

    How a decision is resolved

    Hierarchical authority resolution

    One jurisdiction can carry several authorities at once. Each is weighed on its own terms.

    1. 01

      Authority hierarchy

      Federal, state, and local authorities are considered together. A local authority can coexist with a state merchant framework.

    2. 02

      Scope

      Each authority is checked against who it covers. A local policy for government collections does not reach private retail sales. Location alone does not make a rule apply.

    3. 03

      Activation

      Some authorities apply only after a future date or a local adoption. Those conditions are evaluated, not assumed.

    4. 04

      Transaction context

      Tender, direction, and transaction type determine whether the governing rule reaches this transaction.

    What comes out

    A decision with a reason

    Applies

    A governing rule covers this transaction. Centsless calculates the outcome under that rule and returns it to the transaction system.

    Does not apply

    No governing rule reaches this transaction, for example a noncash tender. The exact amount stands.

    Not yet active

    An enacted authority exists but its activation condition is not met.

    Context required

    A decision depends on a fact the transaction did not supply, such as local adoption status.

    Sanitized decision examples

    Retail cash sale, enacted state framework

    Merchant · cash · sale · after the operative date

    Decision: Applies. Centsless calculates the rounded cash amount using the method the governing authority prescribes; the transaction system applies it.

    Evidence: Authority citation, scope, the reason it applied, verification date.

    Same sale, paid by card

    Merchant · card · sale

    Decision: Does not apply. The exact amount is charged.

    Evidence: The tender condition that excluded the transaction.

    Payment to a local agency in California

    Local agency · cash in · adoption status not supplied

    Decision: Context required. A scoped local-agency authority exists, but it applies only after the agency adopts it.

    Evidence: The authority, its activation condition, and the missing fact.

    Examples are illustrative and simplified.

    Evidence

    Traceable regulatory evidence

    Each decision is designed to carry the context needed to explain it later.

    • • The authority that governed the decision and its citation
    • • The scope and conditions that made it apply, or not
    • • A plain-language reason for the outcome
    • • The date the underlying research was last verified
    • • A link to the primary government source

    Preserving the rule version in effect at the time of each decision is a design objective.

    Integration

    Keep the transaction system

    Compatibility with existing transaction systems is an architectural objective. Centsless is designed to return the calculated rounding result and its evidence. The transaction system applies the returned result within its payment or checkout workflow. Interface and deployment details are confirmed privately during pilot scoping.

    Why it differs from POS rounding

    Centsless calculates applicable cash-rounding outcomes and generates the supporting decision evidence.

    A configured rounding feature applies one setting. Centsless resolves the rule for supported jurisdictions, calculates the outcome and records the authority and reasoning behind it. Where a transaction falls outside supported executable scope, Centsless does not presume a valid rounding outcome.

    Read the full comparison

    Enterprise questions

    What evaluators ask

    Which jurisdictions are covered?
    Centsless tracks enacted and pending cash-rounding authorities across U.S. jurisdictions. Executable coverage for a pilot is agreed in scope rather than assumed for every tracked jurisdiction.
    How is the regulatory research maintained?
    Every authority record links to its primary government source and carries a last-verified date. Changes are reviewed before they reach decision logic.
    What happens when a rule is pending or unclear?
    The engine reports that state explicitly, such as not yet active or context required, rather than guessing.
    Does Centsless change our ledger or payments?
    No. Centsless returns the calculated result and its evidence. It does not collect or process payments, settle transactions or alter the ledger.
    Security, data handling, and service terms?
    Discussed under NDA during pilot scoping. Centsless does not claim independent security certification. Security inquiries: security@centsless.org.

    Scope a pilot

    A paid, scoped pilot defines the jurisdictions, transaction types, and evidence needs for your environment.

    Prefer email? pilot@centsless.org