German accounting demands HGB-compliant statements and disciplined VAT advance returns. We keep DATEV-compatible records and prepare your Jahresabschluss for your Steuerberater. You get a written quote within 24 hours.
Core bookkeeping
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DATEV
Germany is the one market where the international stack does not apply — DATEV is the interchange standard between companies and their Steuerberater, and GoBD requires audit-proof, unalterable record keeping.
| Obligation | Frequency | Due | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (VAT advance return)VAT-registered businesses; frequency depends on prior-year VAT | Monthly | 10th of the following month, or the 10th of the second following month with a Dauerfristverlängerung | ELSTER |
| Umsatzsteuererklärung (annual VAT return) | Annual | 31 July of the following year, extended when filed through a Steuerberater | Finanzamt |
| Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung (payroll tax return)Employers | Monthly | 10th of the following month | ELSTER |
| Körperschaftsteuererklärung (corporate income tax return)GmbH, UG and other corporations | Annual | 31 July of the following year; end of February of the second following year via a Steuerberater | Finanzamt |
Last reviewed against the source . These are the standard dates. Extensions through a registered agent, a non-calendar year end, and volume-based filing frequencies all shift them — confirm your own dates with Finanzamt. This is general information, not tax advice.
Thirteen services across three teams, each described for Germany specifically rather than in general. Compliance is deliberately a separate team from bookkeeping, so liability and pricing stay clean.
German bookkeeping is judged against GoBD: records must be complete, traceable and unalterable, which is why a correction is posted as a reversing entry rather than an edit. We keep DATEV-compatible records so your Steuerberater gets a clean handover, and so the monthly Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung due on the 10th is produced from the ledger rather than estimated around it.
Bookkeeping in GermanyCatching up in Germany is bounded by GoBD before anything else: you cannot quietly restate history, so corrections go in as documented reversing entries with an intact audit trail. We rebuild each Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung period in DATEV-compatible form, reconcile to the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung, and hand your Steuerberater a file that supports the Körperschaftsteuer return.
Catch-Up Bookkeeping in GermanyA German cleanup is bounded by GoBD: the original entries stay, and every correction is a documented reversing posting with an audit trail. We reconcile the Umsatzsteuer accounts back to the Voranmeldungen already filed, correct HGB classification, and deliver a DATEV-compatible file your Steuerberater can work from without re-doing the year.
Accounting Cleanup in GermanyQuoted in 24 hours · EUR
We turn bill-paying from a scramble into a controlled, scheduled process.
Get a quote for accounts payable in GermanyQuoted in 24 hours · EUR
We shorten your cash-collection cycle and keep DSO under control.
Get a quote for accounts receivable in GermanyGerman payroll is where an international software stack stops being enough. The Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung is due through ELSTER by the 10th of the following month, and social insurance contributions run on their own cycle with their own agencies. We work with DATEV or Personio and reconcile payroll to the ledger monthly, so the Jahresabschluss does not open with an unexplained accrual.
Payroll in GermanyA German controller works to HGB, which is not IFRS with different labels — provisioning, capitalisation and the relationship between Handelsbilanz and Steuerbilanz all behave differently. We own month-end close in DATEV-compatible form, keep the monthly Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung reconciled, and produce management accounts that roll cleanly into the Jahresabschluss.
Controller in GermanyGerman CFO work is dominated by timing. Corporate income tax prepayments, the monthly Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung and trade tax prepayments each draw cash on their own cycle, while the annual returns are not due until 31 July of the following year — later again through a Steuerberater. We forecast that cash calendar against HGB accounts so nothing lands unfunded.
Virtual CFO in GermanyThe Körperschaftsteuererklärung is due 31 July of the following year, or the end of February of the second following year when filed through a Steuerberater, alongside the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung. We prepare the HGB Jahresabschluss and the tax workpapers in DATEV-compatible form, so your Steuerberater reviews and submits rather than rebuilding the year from scratch.
Tax Preparation in GermanyGermany applies no registration threshold to a business that is not established there, so a foreign seller registers from the first taxable supply. The Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung is due through ELSTER by the 10th of the following month, or the 10th of the second month with a Dauerfristverlängerung, and the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung follows on 31 July.
Read the Germany sales tax · vat · gst guideQuoted in 24 hours · EUR
We make your numbers investor-grade so diligence accelerates the round instead of stalling it.
Get a quote for fundraising finance in GermanyQuoted in 24 hours · EUR
We rebuild your finance stack so the data flows automatically and the books stay clean by design.
Get a quote for tech stack migration in GermanyGerman Steuerberater practices are staffed for advisory, not for the reconciliation and coding a DATEV mandant needs before anyone senior opens it. We work inside your DATEV environment under your own client numbering, keep records GoBD-compliant, and deliver bookkeeping and VAT-ready workpapers to your review queue. Your Steuerberater keeps the mandate, the tax advice and the ELSTER filing — the Steuerberatungsgesetz reserves that role to them, and we do not compete for it.
Read the Germany white-label accounting guidePriced per engagement
Germany is priced per engagement, so the price comes from the file rather than a tier — a written quote in EUR within 24 hours of us seeing it.
Built for the German pain points we hear most: HGB local-GAAP rigour · Monthly VAT advance returns · DATEV ecosystem expectations.
We prepare to HGB (German GAAP), with GoBD record-keeping rules. These are the bodies that set that framework and the authorities you file with — linked so you can verify the standard rather than take our word for it.
Listed for reference. Salt Accounting Group is not stating membership, registration or affiliation with any of these organisations. Where a filing must be lodged by a registered local agent, it is — your agent keeps the lodgement and the professional sign-off.
Tell us where you trade and what shape the books are in. You get scope, price and a start date in writing within one business day — no obligation.
