Automating DATEV integration: hand over receipts and booking data without retyping
In many small German businesses, invoices arrive by email, get printed, scanned and sent to the tax advisor in a folder at month end. That costs hours and produces queries. Almost every tax firm in Germany works with DATEV, and DATEV offers official ways to hand over receipts and booking data automatically. This article shows what they are and how to connect your systems.
The official routes into DATEV
DATEV partner programs mainly use three routes:
- Receipt image service: digital receipts such as invoices go from your software straight into DATEV Unternehmen online, where the tax firm processes them.
- Booking data service: structured booking data with matching receipts goes into DATEV accounting as booking proposals.
- DATEV-format export: a file with booking batches that the firm imports; simpler, but with a manual step.
Important for 2026: according to DATEV partners, Rechnungsdatenservice 2.0 is being discontinued at the end of 2026, with the booking data service as its successor. If you're planning an integration now, go straight to the current services.
Typical automations
What pays off most in practice:
- Detect invoices in the email inbox automatically and pass them to DATEV Unternehmen online.
- Transfer outgoing invoices from shop, POS or invoicing software with booking data.
- Match payments from providers like Stripe or PayPal with the right receipts.
- Request missing receipts from the responsible employee automatically.
GoBD and e-invoicing
Under Germany's GoBD bookkeeping rules, receipts must be kept unalterable and traceable; accounting vouchers for eight years. Since the finance ministry's letter of 14 July 2025, for e-invoices it's generally enough to keep the structured part, as long as the image part contains no additional tax-relevant information. Record the process in a procedure documentation, especially when automation changes the receipt flow and archiving.
Agreeing with your tax firm and cost
Before starting, agree with your tax firm which services it uses, who checks booking proposals and how account assignments are set. For partner interfaces DATEV checks that data imports technically, not that it is correct in substance; that check stays with you and the firm.
We connect your systems to DATEV via DATEV partner solutions or automation tools like n8n. Such an integration starts at €600 with us.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I book directly in DATEV?
- As a business you usually work with DATEV Unternehmen online; the bookkeeping itself is normally done by the tax firm. What gets automated is the handover of receipts and data to it.
- Do I need DATEV-certified software?
- For the official services you need software that offers the interface as a DATEV partner. Many invoicing, shop and receipt tools already have it.
- What about e-invoices in XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format?
- They're machine-readable and can be processed without OCR. Your software should receive them, validate them and pass the structured data to DATEV.
Sources
Tell us your invoicing, shop and POS systems and how receipts reach your tax firm today. We show what can be automated and estimate the effort.
Check my DATEV integration