How to register books of accounts in ORUS in 2026: a step-by-step guide

Since 2023, registering books is an online form. The timing differs by type of book, and a missed year-end window is a common slip. This guide is the how-to. For the choice between manual, loose-leaf and computerized books, read our guide to the three types of books. It reflects BIR issuances available on 24 October 2026.

Who registers, and when

Every business taxpayer keeps books of accounts and registers them. RMC 3-2023 amended Section 2 of RMC 29-2019 to say that all books are registered online through ORUS. It covers new registrants and existing taxpayers alike.

RMC 3-2023 adds that new sets of manual books do not have to be registered every year. If you choose to start a new set each year, you register it before use.

For loose-leaf and computerized books, RMC 3-2023 allows the Commissioner or an authorised representative to extend the deadline, on a request filed before the period lapses. For calendar-year taxpayers, the two windows close on 15 January and 30 January, so books for taxable year 2026 are due by 15 January 2027 (loose-leaf) and 30 January 2027 (computerized), unless the BIR announces otherwise.

New businesses: you can start on loose-leaf or computerized books

RMC 65-2025 (2 July 2025) clarifies that a new business can register manual, loose-leaf or computerized books. If you choose loose-leaf or computerized books, you do not have to register manual books as well. But you need authority first:

• Loose-leaf books need a Permit to Use (PTU) before use.
• Computerized books (CBA) or a CAS need an Acknowledgement Certificate (AC) before use.

These permits are issued only after you have a TIN. RMC 65-2025 adds that registering books is not mandatory during business registration itself, but a taxpayer who opts for loose-leaf or computerized books is liable for failure to make entries upon commencement of business operations without an approved PTU or AC. The AC process for a system is covered in our guide to registering Odoo as your CAS or CBA.

Step by step in ORUS

The BIR published an ORUS taxpayer guide for book registration alongside RMC 3-2023. The steps below follow that guide. It describes the first release of ORUS, so screens and labels may have changed since. If something looks different, follow what ORUS shows and ask your RDO.

Before you start. You need an ORUS account. The guide says a taxpayer with an existing TIN must create the account with the permanent email address already in its BIR registration, and only one email per taxpayer can enrol.

1. Open ORUS from the BIR website or at orus.bir.gov.ph, and log in as a taxpayer with your email and password.
2. Click Secondary Registration, choose Book of Account from the drop-down, then Register Book of Account. This opens BIR Form 1905 (Registration/Update of Books).
3. Choose the office. Pick the head office or a branch. ORUS shows its TIN, RDO code and business address. Click Add.
4. Add the books. Click Add Row and fill in the book details, then click Add Books. The guide allows up to 11 rows. The fields include:
   • the type: manual, loose-leaf or computerized;
   • the books to register (for example, a journal or ledger), picked from a list;
   • the quantity and the last volume number;
   • the validity period and the taxable year covered;
   • the PTU or ACCN number, for loose-leaf or computerized books.
5. Continue, and add other branches if they are in the same application.
6. Upload the required documents and click Review. In the guide's screenshot, the attachments page asks for an affidavit attesting the completeness, accuracy and correctness of entries in the books applied for, as PDF or JPG files of up to 25MB each. Check with your RDO beforehand what else it wants.
7. Review and submit. The summary shows your taxpayer and business information, the book details and the attachments. Tick the three agreement boxes and click Submit Application. ORUS confirms with an application reference number (ARN). Keep it.
8. Download the QR stamp from your profile page.

What the QR stamp shows, and where it goes

Under RMC 3-2023, the QR stamp carries your TIN, registered name and address, the type of book, the book registered, the permit number or ACCN and its date (for loose-leaf or computerized books), quantity, volume number, the dates registered and approved, and a QR code. Scanning the code with a smartphone opens the BIR's ORUS site, which confirms the stamp is genuine.

• Manual books: paste the stamp on the first page (RMC 3-2023).
• Loose-leaf books: affix the stamp to the first page of the bound books (RMC 3-2023 and RMC 4-2026).
• Computerized books: RMC 3-2023 said the stamp is attached to a transmittal letter listing what is on a USB drive holding the books. The 2023 ORUS guide's screens also told users to submit DVDs or other optical media holding the electronic books to the RDO within 30 days after year-end. RMC 4-2026 now says the stamp is printed and kept for record purposes, and does not mention a drive or letter. Ask your RDO whether it still wants the media and letter.

Year-end for loose-leaf and computerized books

RMC 4-2026 (15 January 2026) restates that permanently bound loose-leaf books and computerized books are registered strictly and mandatorily online through ORUS within the deadlines. If ORUS is down or shows an error, you may apply for manual stamping at the RDO where your TIN or branch TIN is registered. The RDO accepts it only if the BIR has issued an advisory that ORUS is unavailable, or you present a screenshot of the error.

For taxable year 2025, RMC 4-2026 extended the deadlines because of ORUS log-in issues: loose-leaf books from 15 to 31 January 2026, computerized books from 30 January to 17 February 2026. Those dates have passed. That was last year's one-off extension, not a rule for taxable year 2026, so plan for 15 and 30 January 2027. It also says loose-leaf invoices, receipts and other accounting records are not yet in ORUS and are still processed manually at the RDO.

A practical year-end order for loose-leaf books:

1. Close the year and post the last adjustments.
2. Print the journals and ledgers for the year.
3. Bind them permanently.
4. Register them in ORUS within 15 days after year-end.
5. Affix the QR stamp to the first page.

After registration, keep the books for five years. Under RR 7-2024, manual and loose-leaf books are kept as hard copies and computerized books as electronic copies. Our BIR audit readiness guide covers what examiners ask for, and the BIR tax calendar keeps January's dates in view.

Common mistakes

• Leaving it to the last day. ORUS had log-in problems in January 2026. Register early, and screenshot any error.
• Using loose-leaf or computerized books without a PTU or AC. Under RMC 65-2025 you are liable for failing to make entries from the start of operations.
• Registering with the wrong email. The ORUS account must use the email in your BIR registration.
• Forgetting branches. Each book is registered for the head office or a specific branch.
• Losing the ARN and stamp. Keep both with the year's books.

Where Odoo helps

ORUS registers the books. Odoo produces them. In Odoo, invoices, bills, payments and adjustments are posted as journal entries, and the books are reports over those entries.

• Printing for loose-leaf books. Odoo's accounting reports, including the General Ledger, export to PDF or XLSX (Odoo 19 documentation). Those are the pages you print and bind.
• Closing the year cleanly. A hard lock date stops changes to a closed period and, per Odoo's documentation, is irreversible. Set it before you print, so the bound books match the system.
• Computerized books. Odoo 20's release notes add a Book of Accounts for CBA and CAS users in the Philippines and a partner ledger reformatted for BIR requirements.

Odoo does not register your books in ORUS. You do that yourself, and your accountant or RDO confirms what your registration needs. Odoo's documentation does not describe how the Book of Accounts is laid out for the BIR, so we review the output with you and your accountant before year-end.

You don't need to hire your own team. A TechNext adviser reviews how you keep your books today, then our team in Taguig City sets up Odoo so year-end printing or computerized books come from your posted entries. See how we set up Odoo as your CAS, or read about Odoo in the Philippines.

Sources

• RMC 3-2023: online registration of books of accounts and the BIR ORUS taxpayer guide: registration of books of accounts (copies hosted by Grant Thornton)
• Forvis Mazars: RMC 3-2023 summary
• RMC 65-2025: books of accounts for new business registrants (BIR)
• RMC 4-2026: mandatory ORUS registration and extended deadlines (BIR) and Grant Thornton's summary
• Grant Thornton: preservation of books under RR 7-2024
• Odoo 20 release notes, and Odoo 19 documentation: reporting and PDF/XLSX export and year-end closing and lock dates

Common questions