Startups & e-commerce

It determines tax burden, liability, the admission of investors and the later treatment of shareholdings – and can only be corrected afterwards with effort. We advise you before this decision falls and align the structure with what you have in mind: fast growth, external capital, employee participation or a later sale.

• Tax advice on the choice of legal form – GmbH, UG, GmbH & Co. KG, holding structures – with a view to growth, financing and exit
• Tax burden comparisons between partnership and corporation as a basis for the decision
• Tax evaluation of holding structures, for instance regarding the partial income method and sec. 8b German Corporate Tax Act for later share sales
• Support with the tax side of formation formalities – registration with the tax office, tax onboarding, allocation of tax numbers and the VAT ID
• Setting up the tax foundations: opening balance sheet, chart of accounts, advance return periods
• Coordinating the corporate structuring with your lawyers and notaries – we contribute the tax perspective; the legal drafting is done by counsel
• Clarifying the social insurance status of founders and managing shareholders

We organise your bookkeeping so that this data converges largely automatically, structured and audit-proof. The result: current, reliable numbers – the basis for every steering decision and every investor conversation.

• Building a digital bookkeeping system connected to common shop and marketplace systems – such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon and other platforms
• Integrating payment providers (e.g. PayPal, Stripe, Klarna) and correctly recording fees, payouts and refunds
• Automated document and data flow into DATEV via established interface tools to minimise manual entry
• Structuring the books by sales channel and country as the basis for correct VAT treatment
• Setting up GoBD-compliant, audit-proof processes for document capture and data archiving
• Monthly management reports (BWA) and individual reporting aligned with your business model's KPIs
• Ongoing adaptation of the bookkeeping structure as new channels, markets or payment methods are added

We prepare your annual accounts and tax returns to match your legal form and stage of development: from cash-basis accounts in the early phase to full accounts once the thresholds are crossed – always with an eye for the particularities of online trade.

• Annual accounts under German commercial law (HGB) or cash-basis accounts (sec. 4 (3) German Income Tax Act) – depending on legal form, size and accounting obligation
• Tax balance sheet and electronic transmission (E-Bilanz) to the tax authorities
• All corporate tax returns: corporate income, trade and VAT (for partnerships: separate and uniform profit determination)
• Inventory valuation and stocktake support – a particularly audit-relevant item in e-commerce
• Forming provisions for returns, warranties and outstanding invoices
• Accrual-based cut-off, for instance for vouchers sold but not yet redeemed
• Monitoring the accounting-obligation thresholds and switching from cash-basis to full accounts in good time
• Fulfilling the disclosure obligations vis-à-vis the German company register
• Personal year-end meeting with KPI review and recommendations for the following year

As soon as you sell across borders, distribute via marketplaces or hold stock in foreign warehouses, rules interlock whose interplay is demanding – and whose errors multiply with every transaction. We make sure your supplies and services are correctly classified for VAT, correctly reported and cleanly documented.

• Advice on and handling of the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) procedure for intra-EU distance sales to consumers
• Handling the Import-One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) procedure for low-value consignments from third countries
• Monitoring the EU-wide distance-selling threshold and assessing when registration or the OSS procedure becomes necessary
• VAT treatment of intra-Community supplies and the reverse charge procedure for cross-border services
• Support with foreign warehouses and fulfilment structures (e.g. Pan-EU and FBA programmes) including the resulting registration and filing obligations abroad – in coordination with local partners where local representation is required
• Assessment of platform liability and the record-keeping and evidence obligations under secs. 22f, 25e German VAT Act
• Preparation of advance VAT returns, EC sales lists, OSS filings and annual returns
• Ongoing classification of new sales channels and target markets within the existing VAT concept