Ordinary Excel spreadsheets are hard to bring into line with the German GoBD requirements, which demand that financial records cannot be altered. Verified cloud software automates invoicing, receipt recognition and passing data to your tax adviser.

Key GoBD requirements for accounting systems

The German principles for proper bookkeeping (Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern, GoBD) require every financial transaction to be recorded promptly, completely, in the correct chronological order and protected against undetected changes. The software must keep a log of changes (audit trail) and provide long-term, legally compliant storage of digital copies of receipts and documents.

Lexware Office: features, interface and independence

Lexware Office (called lexoffice until 2024) from Haufe-Lexware is one of the most popular solutions for freelancers, small businesses and start-ups. It offers instant receipt scanning from a smartphone with recognition of amounts and VAT, automatic matching with bank transactions, ELSTER integration for submitting advance VAT returns directly and convenient DATEV export for your accountant.

sevdesk: stock management and flexible settings

sevdesk offers extended features for retail and service businesses: stock levels, customer contact management (a light CRM), recurring invoices (Abo-Rechnungen) and customisable templates. The service supports AI-based document recognition and generates the income statement (EÜR).

Connecting with DATEV Unternehmen online and your tax adviser

Most German tax advisers work within the DATEV ecosystem. Modern cloud services can set up a direct DATEV data service connection: at the end of each month, all invoices, statements and scanned receipts are sent to your adviser digitally over a secure channel at the click of a button.

What to check

  • Choose software with confirmed GoBD compliance (for example, an auditor's report under IDW PS 880).
  • Connect your bank account for automatic matching of incoming and outgoing transactions.
  • Agree with your tax adviser on the format and frequency of data exports via DATEV.
  • Use a mobile app to capture receipts at the moment of payment.

Example situation

An agency owner replaced scattered folders of receipts with Lexware Office, connected the bank account directly and cut the monthly time spent preparing records for the tax adviser from eight hours to 40 minutes.

Next step

Integrating GoBD-compliant cloud accounting saves hundreds of euros in tax adviser fees and protects the company from penalties in tax audits.

Official information on this topic

Checklists and examples are organisational recommendations. Requirements depend on the procedure, the city and your situation; check them with the relevant office before you act. Please discuss legal and tax questions with an authorised professional.

This article was prepared with the help of AI. The example illustrates the approach and does not describe a client case.