Services for digital processes
Digital transformation & process advisory.
Digitalising the finance function is not a one-off project but an ongoing path – from paper-bound, manual routines to end-to-end automated processes. We accompany you on that path: we analyse your status quo, make efficiency potential and media discontinuities visible, and implement lean, GoBD-compliant processes. As tax advisors we combine two worlds that rarely meet – technical process know-how and the professional eye for propriety and audit-proofness.
Artificial intelligence
Processes that think along.
AI works within our digital workflows – from document intake through pre-assignment to reporting.
What it is about
Finance processes that run more efficiently – and stay secure.
Process documentation & GoBD compliance
The German principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form (GoBD) oblige every taxpayer to document their IT-supported bookkeeping and recording processes completely and traceably. Missing or inadequate process documentation can call the propriety of the books into question and lead to additional assessments in a field audit. We produce audit-proof process documentation that maps the entire data life cycle – from creation through processing and retention to migration and deletion – in a tamper-proof way.
Complete process documentation regularly comprises a general description plus user, technical system and operations documentation. We map your specific document flows, interfaces and internal control system, document the systems and authorisation concepts in use, and ensure the immutability and traceability (audit trail) of the data.
Our services in detail:
- Preparation of GoBD process documentation – including general, user, technical system and operations documentation
- Mapping of document flows, interfaces and the internal control system
- Documentation of access and authorisation concepts as well as backup and archiving procedures
- Ensuring immutability, completeness and machine readability (German Z1–Z3 data access)
- Support during audits and in defending the propriety of your records
- Versioning and continuous updating when processes or systems change
E-invoicing & regulatorische Compliance
With mandatory electronic invoicing in domestic B2B trade, the German legislator confronts companies with a double challenge: meeting regulatory requirements on time and integrating them technically into existing system landscapes. We accompany this transformation end to end – from analysing your invoicing processes through implementing standard-compliant formats to tamper-proof archiving. A legal obligation becomes a lasting efficiency gain.
Since 1 January 2025, all domestic German companies must be able to receive and process electronic invoices. The obligation to issue them follows in stages: from 2027 for companies with prior-year revenue above 800,000 euros, from 2028 across the board. Crucially, an e-invoice within the meaning of the law is not a PDF but a structured data set under the European standard EN 16931 – for instance in the XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format. We make sure your company not only meets these requirements but uses them strategically.
Our services in detail:
- Analysis and adaptation of your inbound and outbound invoicing processes
- Setup for legally sound receipt of electronic invoices (mandatory since 2025)
- Creation and dispatch of e-invoices in standard-compliant formats (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD)
- Seamless integration into your bookkeeping without media discontinuity
- GoBD-compliant, tamper-proof archiving in the structured original format
- Ongoing advice on deadlines, exemptions (e.g. small-amount invoices) and regulatory changes
Process advisory & optimisation in finance
It begins not with software but with the process. We map your finance and accounting workflows end to end, make media discontinuities and manual loops visible, and derive a concrete digitalisation roadmap – prioritised by effort and benefit. Where it pays, we automate with data-driven methods and the targeted use of artificial intelligence. The eye for propriety and audit-proofness comes with us as tax advisors by profession.
Our services in detail:
- Analysis and optimisation of your finance and accounting processes
- Uncovering media discontinuities, double entries and manual routines
- Developing efficient, GoBD-compliant workflows
- Support in selecting and introducing suitable digital tools
- Using artificial intelligence to automate recurring tasks (e.g. document recognition, invoice checking)
Digitale Buchführung & DATEV Unternehmen online
Bookkeeping is the heart of your finance processes – and the ideal starting point for digitalisation. With DATEV Unternehmen online we digitalise the document flow between you and the firm end to end: paperless, location-independent and traceable in real time. Scattered receipts become one clear, shared data state.
Our services in detail:
- Setup and support of DATEV Unternehmen online
- Paperless, digital document exchange between you and the firm
- Digital document filing and tamper-proof archiving
- Access to reports and management figures at any time
- Location-independent, secure working
Automatisierung & Zahlungsverkehr
Recurring booking and payment tasks tie up capacity and are error-prone. With DATEV's automation services we shift these routines consistently onto the system: invoices and bank transactions largely post themselves, and payments run securely in the same integrated environment. The result is noticeably faster processing – and room for the value-adding work that calls for human expertise.
Our services in detail:
- DATEV automation service for invoices – automated posting of inbound and outbound invoices
- DATEV automation service for banking – automated matching of bank transactions
- Payments via DATEV Bank online
- Provision of wage and salary payments
- Noticeably less manual entry – and thus fewer errors
Digitale Personalprozesse
Digital transformation does not end at the borders of accounting. With the digital personnel file and DATEV Arbeitnehmer online we transfer your payroll and HR processes into end-to-end digital workflows too – privacy-compliant, tamper-proof and available at any time, for HR administration and for your employees alike.
Our services in detail:
- Setup and support of the digital personnel file
- DATEV Arbeitnehmer online – digital delivery of payslips
- Secure employee access to their documents
- Digital exchange of HR-relevant documents
- Relief for your HR administration
Four phases to a digital finance organisation.
1. Analysis & assessment
Complete as-is survey, maturity assessment against established criteria, media discontinuities and compliance gaps made objectively prioritisable.
Result: maturity assessment, process map and prioritised potential analysis.
2. Strategy & roadmap
Target picture, to-be processes and measures in a prioritised roadmap with milestones, responsibilities and effort-benefit analysis.
Result: target picture, to-be concept and prioritised implementation roadmap.
3. Implementation & integration
Configuring systems, setting up interfaces, automating routines, GoBD-compliant processing – including training and change support.
Result: productive, integrated and fully documented processes.
4. Operation & further development
Stable operation, process quality tracked via KPIs, regular reviews, continuous optimisation.
Result: stable operation, measurable process quality and lasting future-proofness.
Our standard
Digitalisation with substance, not as an end in itself – audit-proof from the very first filed document.
In focus
E-invoicing: what applies now – and what to do.
Mandatory e-invoicing fundamentally changes how companies exchange invoices. We convert your processes – from the ability to receive through dispatch in the right format to an end-to-end workflow in DATEV Unternehmen online.
Read the article: rules, exemptions, conversion
With the Growth Opportunities Act, the German legislator made electronic invoicing mandatory in domestic business-to-business trade. Since 01/01/2025 every company in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices – the previous priority of the paper invoice has ended. What matters since then is the structured electronic data set, no longer the invoice image.
An e-invoice within the meaning of the law contains the invoice data as structured XML under the European standard EN 16931. Two formats have become established in practice: the XRechnung (a pure data set without an invoice image) and ZUGFeRD 2.x (a hybrid format with an additional PDF image). A plain PDF or paper invoice, by contrast, now counts only as an 'other invoice' – and is expected to no longer be permissible in national B2B trade from 2028.
For dispatch , transition rules apply from 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2027. Exempt from the obligation are in particular:
- tax-exempt supplies and services,
- small-amount invoices up to 250 euros,
- travel tickets.
Small businesses are permanently exempt from the obligation to issue e-invoices – but they too must be able to receive them. The Federal Ministry of Finance has clarified the application in several circulars, most recently in October 2025.
Public-sector clients: In business with the federal government and the states, e-invoicing has applied for some time – suppliers and service providers to public-sector clients must invoice electronically, at federal level in the XRechnung standard. An overview of implementation across the states is provided by e-rechnung-bund.de.
Further links
- DATEV: e-invoicing information portal (German)
- DATEV: legal rules on e-invoicing (German)
- FeRD: mandatory contents of an e-invoice (German)
- Federal Ministry of Finance circular of 15/10/2025 on e-invoicing (PDF, German)
- Federal Ministry of Finance circular of 14/07/2025 amending the GoBD (PDF, German)
Note
Do not wait until the end of the transition periods: inbound invoices, outbound invoices and archiving should be thought of as one process. We set up the e-invoicing workflow together with you – digitally via DATEV Unternehmen online. More on our Digital Firm page.
Online tools
Digital Firm
Logins. Guides. Forms.
DATEV logins, step-by-step guides and forms for digital collaboration can be found on our Digital Firm page.
Contact
Let's talk about your processes.
A first conversation shows where the greatest potential lies in your workflows – without obligation and in concrete terms. Tell us how you work today; we will get back to you promptly.