A good accounting program basically makes sense from the very first turnover: every company has to keep accounts, keep an eye on its finances and calculate. Accounting is required by law and must follow certain rules: den Principles of Proper Accounting (GoB). AS every business needs Also an accounting software. Particularly popular I am Accounting programs online, i.e. in the cloud – here you do not need any software on your desktop computer, but work directly on the Internet.
BuchhaltungsButler – the most efficient accounting software for growth-oriented founders
Does accounting seem like a lot of effort and complicated processes to you? Then we have the solution for you: accountant butler. Because this user-friendly cloud software has everything founders need. With the online tool you can write invoices and offers, register receipts and payments and manage customers and suppliers, all in a simple and self-explanatory way. This saves you valuable time every month and gives you a clear overview of your figures.
Exclusive offer from BuchhaltungsButler for founders:
- 6 months freesave over 80% in the 1st year
- for a liquid and supple start
- Free onboarding for individual setup and account setup
- Free participation in periodic webinars
- 76% faster accounting software.
Our verdict: An accounting software that grows with your startup. For efficient accounting that will also adapt in the future.
The main advantages of cloud accounting programs: You are reachable from anywhere and there are no high purchase costs for the software. Access is possible from any computer and also from tablets and smartphones, the data does not have to be backed up separately.
All dates at a glance – our 2023 tax calendar for founders, freelancers and self-employed. Here you can find them Current list of all important tax dates in the overview including calendar reminders for download for iCal and Outlook.
More and more suppliers are working with artificial intelligence, for example to not only scan and read your receipts, but also sort them immediately. As far as data security is concerned, it is worth checking the provider's certification for cloud services.
We have leading cloud-based accounting programs ON conditions AND scope of services checked – you can find them here in our Overview 2023.
sevDesk – accounting program for invoices, customer management & Co.
sevDesk is the simple office for the self-employed and small businesses. Writing invoices and offers, entering receipts and managing customers is done in the blink of an eye. This leaves more time for the essentials and you can still keep an eye on all the important figures and changes.
“We don't want to offer just software, but a service. Our principle is that we want to make the use of sevDesk as pleasant and carefree as possible for every customer. This allows each entrepreneur to focus on the things he is really good at.
Fabian Silberer (Managing Director sevDesk)
sevDesk can do that
sevDesk it is not just a simple cloud software, but a platform for every business owner. With the postal interface, sending emails, automatic bank reconciliation or integrated VAT reporting, many daily tasks can be completed with a single click of the mouse. Should another question arise, even on general business matters, support was able to help.
With the code 9JAN23DE there is a 40% discount on all rates at the sevDesk. Save now with sevDesk »
sevDesk is GoBD certified. Respecting “Principles for the correct management and conservation of books, registers and documents in electronic format and for access to data” accounting is ensured to be complete, error-free and fully traceable.
Tip: You can find out what you have to consider as a founder regarding the GoBD in our specialized article on GoBD basics.
The sevDesk mobile office was specially developed for the needs of small businesses and is clearly positioned with excellent customer service. Installation, data backup or updates are not necessary with sevDesk. The sevDesk servers are located in Host-Europe's TÜV-certified data center in Cologne and are equipped with the most important encryption standards and security measures.
Special offers for founders
sevDesk offers a special rate for start-ups (the first 6 months for 50%). To do this, simply send an email with proof of initiation (business licence, entry in the commercial register, etc.) to support@sevdesk.de
This costs sevDesk
- You can test all packages free of charge and without obligation for 14 days.
- sevDesk invoice (from €8.90 per month) includes invoices, offers and customer management, own stationery, email interface, 1 user
- sevDesk accounting (from €17.90 per month) includes invoices, automated document recognition and classification, offer and customer management, VAT declaration, EÜR, automatic bank reconciliation, cost centers, own stationery, postal interface, 3 users
- Merchandise management sevDesk (from € 42.90 per month) includes invoices, automated document recognition and classification, offer and customer management, VAT declaration, EÜR, automatic bank reconciliation, cost centers, own stationery, postal interface, warehouse management, inventories, price maintenance, 10 users
- If you subscribe for 2 years, the monthly prices are the cheapest and you can save up to 50%.
Try sevDesk for free
Accounting Butler: Manage receipts digitally
Accountant Butler can do that
BuchhaltungsButler takes care of online, automated and GoBD-compliant financial accounting. The cloud-based accounting software is particularly efficient, recognizes receipts, sorts them automatically for account transactions and generates posting proposals that only need to be confirmed by the user. In this way the accounting flows almost effortlessly, almost sideways.
“Our focus is entirely on process automation. Most people stack receipts throughout the month and pay their accountant or bookkeeper to sort and post them. With BuchhaltungsButler you can continue stacking, because our technology takes care of the sorting and pre-booking.”
Maximilian Zielosko (founder of BuchhaltungsButler)
- receipt recognition: Receipts are read via OCR, recognized and sorted automatically based on the associated account transaction.
- Automatic account assignment: The application generates booking proposals which only need to be confirmed. Unrecognized business transactions can be accounted for using keywords (e.g. “restock”).
- Document archive with full-text search: With full-text search of the document archive, any document can be found in seconds using any keyword on the invoice.
- billing: With just a few clicks you can create invoices with your logo and colors. Upon receipt of payment, the invoice is automatically marked as “paid”.
- Bank online: Over 5,000 banks, various credit cards and wallets such as PayPal can be integrated into BuchhaltungsButler.
- VAT pre-registration: BuchhaltungsButler calculates all values for the advance tax return with Elster.
- Data Export/Tax Advisor: Data can be exported in DATEV compliant format and imported into any control software.
- numerous addons: for example for club accounting, Paypal and Amazon accounts
Special offers for founders
BuchhaltungsButler is the professional software for growth-oriented founders. For a free and flexible start, there is the exclusive startup offer:
- 6 months free, then €14.95 instead of €39.95/month. The prices are net, there is a term of one year with monthly billing. If you don't switch to another package or cancel by the end of the year, you will automatically switch to our annual “Self-booker” package at €29.95 (instead of €39.95)/month billed annually.
The following services are included:
- Free onboarding for individual setup and account setup worth €99
- Free attendance at regular webinars, extensive knowledge database and award-winning support for all questions
- GmbH, freelancers, small businesses
- smart to-do lists and maximum automation
- Accounting access
- Sales tax journals and valuations updated daily
- EÜR and balance sheet, BWA, summary report, invoice release, asset management Industry-specific packages for complex e-commerce requirements or special club needs
This costs BuchhaltungsButler
- Trainer: from 12.95 euros per month
- Advance booking: from 19.95 euros per month
- Self-bookers: from 24.95 euros per month
- Premium: from 63.95 euros per month
- 14-day free trial period
Try AccountingButler for free
To the offers of BuchhaltungsButler!
FastBill – online accounting with automated processes
FastBill can do it
FastBill is a well known and widely used accounting tool. Invoices can be designed with your own design or with templates. Numerous e-commerce systems can be connected via interfaces and a DATEV compliant export is also possible. FastBill auto-fills your advance tax return so it can be sent to the tax office with just a few clicks.
With time tracking you can manage your projects. You can set up your service areas for your customers, where they can call up their invoices and pay them immediately using the online payment function (Paypal, Klarna or credit card).
This costs FastBill
- appetizers: from €8.99/month (unlimited invoices or receipts, unlimited number of customers, free email invoices, sending invoices by post currently costs €1.20 per invoice)
- For: from 26.99 euros/month (more users, more bank accounts or more storage space)
- Prize: from 53 euros/month (plus, among others, automated import of documents, automated reminder, optionally with full financial accounting)
- You can test all packages free of charge and without obligation for 14 days.
Try FastBill for free
Sage 50 Connected: Online accounting for the self-employed and startups
Sage 50 Connected can do it
Sage's accounting program is aimed at freelancers, small business owners and startups, i who have little or no prior knowledge of accounting, order processing, orders, and the like. There cloud based online solution helps you to cover the entire business management with one software. What is particularly noteworthy about Sage is the integrated online banking, which allows the recording of incoming and outgoing payments by comparing bank details.
Particularly noteworthy is the good overview with the help of the dashboard and statistics. Sage 50 Connected Accounting also simplifies all tax-relevant assessments, such as the income statement, balance sheet, DATEV and the advance VAT return via Elster.
Special offers for founders
As with all users, there is the option to test Sage 50 Connected Accounting for 30 days without obligation (no automatic renewal).
This costs Sage 50 Connected
- 20 euros per month (plus VAT)
- 220 euros per year (plus VAT)
Try Sage 50 Connected for free
lexoffice order and finance
lexoffice can do that
lexoffice is a crowdsourcing success story: the accounting solution was developed together with 800 entrepreneurs. Thanks to the feedback functions in the application itself, all customers still have the opportunity to actively influence what is happening and vote for new additional features. Also, acts www.lexoffice.de as a comprehensive information portal and partner for founders, small business owners and tax advisors with valuable services, free templates and tools, as well as the Lexware pay card payment solution.
“Order & Finance was built on the different wishes and needs of our customers. This means that small business owners and start-ups who want to tackle the subject of accounting more intensively now have many more options.
Isabel Blank (managing director of Haufe-Lexware GmbH & Co. KG)
Special features
- Cash book (registration of cash receipts and payments, as well as cash receipts)
- Determine the VAT payment burden for the VAT advance declaration
- List of open items (open incoming and outgoing invoices)
- Financial planning and forecasting
- Unlimited users
- Unlimited number of bank accounts
Special offers for founders
The lexoffice platform offers free information, templates and tools for start-ups in the website's service center
This costs lexoffice
- Interested parties can test the billing and accounting program free of charge for 30 days. The trial period ends automatically – there is no switch to a subscription.
- lexoffice offers the S, M, L packages AND XL with a different range of functions. Prices range from EUR 5.02 to EUR 21.16 per month (each plus VAT) Employee payroll accounting can be booked as an option. lexoffice can be terminated manually.
Try lexoffice for free
Papierkram.de – Accounting for everyone
Papierkram.de can do this
Instead of many independent tools, Papierkram offers a reasonable combination of the most important accounting functions for the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses in one package. Thanks to the simple interface, reduced to the most important functions, Paperwork is aimed at people who don't really want to deal with accounting. Paperwork is bookkeeping for normal people, so no accountants 😉
With the paperwork you can conveniently manage your customer data, offers, invoices, receipts, projects and time recording. Finally, you can use the program to easily create EUR and VAT. You can already work productively with the free version.
“We have been working in the field of web development for many years and even after a long search we could not find a tool that met our needs. Usually in projects, offers have to be written, tasks in projects worked out, project budgets must be kept in mind, recorded times and written invoices.As none of the tools we tested followed this logic, we decided to create one ourselves.This then led to paperwork.
Dr Michael Kaiser (founder and managing director)
Special features
- The free version can be used permanently for free.
- The paperwork has already integrated a time recording. You no longer need an additional time logging tool.
- The clear design and simple interface make Paperwork suitable even for people with no prior accounting knowledge.
- The logic in the paperwork follows the normal processes in freelance and agency projects.
Special offers for founders
Paperwork offers a free version that can be used permanently for free and can map the normal accounting processes of most self-employed and small agencies. This means that initially there are no costs for accounting.
This costs Papierkram.de
- Free: The free version is permanently free and the range of functions is already sufficient for many self-employed people.
- Pro+: from 8 € / month
- squad: from 20 € / month
- Business: from 40 € / month
Use Papierkram.de for free
To the offers of papierkram.de!
CashCtrl – accounting tool from Switzerland
CashCtrl can do it
CashCtrl is online business management and accounting for SMEs, trustees and the self-employed. Data is in the cloud (server location in Switzerland), invoices can be created with your templates and logos. CashCtrl supports keyboard commands, is platform independent and now has 15,000 users. Most of the functions are made available free of charge and without restrictions. There is also the PRO version, which has order processing, mail sending and is compatible with more clients.
We love order, which is visible everywhere – in the CashCtrl interface, usability and communication.
Raphael Amport, Managing Director CashCtrl
Special features
- Permanent free version available
- Financial Accounting (FIBU)
- Invoices, offers, delivery notes, etc.
- Swiss QR-bill and EU GiroCode
- Contact and address management
- Article and asset management
- Interactive reports with graphs
- Import bank transactions as camt.052/camt.053/camt.054, MT940 and zip files according to ISO 20022
- use foreign currencies
- Multi-tenant
- APIs
Special offers for founders
Permanently free unlimited version available.
This costs CashCtrl
- CashCtrl FREE
- CashCtrl PRO 275 euros per year
Use CashCtrl for free
meintagwerk – freelancers only
meintagwerk can do that
mein-tagwerk is online accounting that you can do yourself. The Hamburg and Berlin-based company offers a complete solution for freelancers and founders with a central focus on the project.
characteristics
- low cost tax advice through our network
- Digital tax return via ELSTER
- own EÜR as EXCEL or PDF export
- streamlined accounting of travel expenses
- easy billing for projects
“We are the economic basis for every freelance work project, everything important in one place. Our users reward us with their high level of loyalty”.
Gerald Moll (founder)
Special offers for founders
- create a personal business plan on an annual basis
- Calculate your individual rate using the hourly rate calculator
- Team work
This costs my working day
- Try it for free
- Packages from 7.50 euros per month
Try meintagwerk for free
little count! with an extra start-up kitchen voucher
Kontolino can do it!
little count! he's a Accounting software for sole proprietorships, partnerships and freelancers. With the help of numerous assistants and business case examples, the books are kept right from the start fast and simple, even for beginners and laymen manageable. Internally, Kontolino relies on double-entry bookkeeping according to international standards.
“At Kontolino we have more than 15 years of experience as a self-booker. Our goal is tight integration with the tax office using a full Elster interface. We cover all types of self-booking, from simple account assignment for the tax advisor to fully independent accounting and tax processing.
Joachim Tuchel (Founder Kontolino.de)
Special features
The software focuses on the fundamental issues of regular accounting and reporting to the tax office. Kontolino's primary goal! is to make the accounting workflow as simple as possible. The software offers the following features:
- billing
- Import of bank statements
- Automatic comparison of invoices when posting bank statements
- Integrated booking assistant with hundreds of booking templates for the most common commercial transactions
- Individual booking templates
- Search existing bookings for recurring business cases
little count! supports charts of accounts SKR03, SKR04 and IKR. With the help of the integrated DATEV interface, the Buc lies to the tax advisor. The following returns and tax returns may with just a few mouse clicks via ELSTER online at the tax office be sent:
- Advance tax reporting (incl. reverse charge sales within the EU)
- VAT declaration (incl. reverse charge sales within the EU)
- summary report of intra-community deliveries (ZMDO)
- Surplus income account (EÜR)
little count! manages tax appointments and provides a list of open items for your invoices. So offers Kontolino! the perfect overview of all your accounting including taxes.
Special offers for founders
- For start-ups and companies that are less than a year old, Kontolino! with trial (e.g. a business license) a 25 percent discount on the first year in the form of three free months (ie 15 months for the price of 12).
- Anyone can make Kontolino! First free trial for two monthsincluding filing a tax return via Elster Online.
Kontonlino offers a special offer for all readers of Gründerküche: When you purchase a new Kontolino! package, you get a 2-month contract extension, i.e. from 12 to 14 months! Just register a new account here and then the coupon code Ku-21 crane Come in and take advantage as a Gründerküche reader!
This costs Kontolino!
- Free trial for two months
- little count! Base for small entrepreneurs (no sales tax): 9 euros/month
- little count! Standard (invoices, bank import, sales tax, reverse charge, EÜR): 12 euros/month
- little count! Classic (asset accounting, cost centres): 16 euros/month (This package can be expanded as the number of bookings and invoices increases.)
All prices plus VAT and for a period of 12 months. Packages can be renewed every 12 months, they do not renew automatically.
little count! Try it for free
Click here for Kontolino offers!
Online accounting with freeFIBU
freeFIBU can do it
freeFIBU is an online accounting program for small businesses, founders and freelancers. The program was developed by a tax consultancy and is designed to be particularly easy to use. Unlike commercial software providers, the use of the software itself is free with all features offered.
“Our offering is perfect for founders who want to do the day-to-day accounting themselves, but prefer to leave tax optimization to the professionals at the end of the year.”
Christian Wieland (managing director and tax advisor)
Special features
In addition to the free use of the software, Wieland Direkt Steuerberatungsgesellschaft offers tax services such as the professional preparation of annual financial statements with associated tax returns, auditing of self-created accounts, preparation of payslips or even complete mbH accounting packages.
Special offer for founders
For the preparation of annual financial statements with the associated tax returns, company founders can be granted a discount of up to 30 percent in the first year of establishing a company, depending on the amount of income and field of work.
This costs freeFIBU
- Free use of the software with all functions
- Annual budgets from tax consultants from 25 euros per month
- additional tax service from Wieland Directt
Use freeFIBU for free
To the demo version of freeFIBU.
Conclusion: Accounting Software 2023: Which Accounting Program Is Best for Startups Now?
Accounting is probably the least favorite activity of most founders and at the same time the biggest bugbear for many, if they are not currently self-employed as an auditor or tax consultant. For those who don't want to test every program, we've handpicked what we consider to be the most popular accounting programs, making sure there's something for everyone: the starter, solo founder, startup team, etc. .: Startup Accounting Software Comparison: Our Top 5 Recommendations (As of April 2023).
This overview of accounting software For 2023 is broad, but not conclusive. Do you use another service that you can recommend? Is your software not included here? Write to us: redaktion@gruenderkueche.de
Frequently Asked Questions about Accounting Programs
Why Accounting?
Both the need for orderly accounting and the accounting system in use today were discovered as early as the Middle Ages. Today it is a legal obligation for every business owner to keep accounts in one way or another.
This makes the orderly conduct of a business visible and verifiable for the authorities and also creates a basis for determining the tax burden. As an entrepreneur, you always have an up-to-date and reliable overview of the company's financial situation through neat accounting.
What do you have to consider in accounting?
Accounting must follow certain rules set out in the principles of good accounting (GoB). They define the basis for accounting under commercial law and are intended to ensure that the preparation and publication of the annual financial statements takes place correctly.
The most important points are: You must maintain your books so that they are clear and concise and can be understood even by expert third parties. Your business transactions must have actually occurred and be deductible from your books. The accounting must be complete, i.e. without gaps. You must post all your business transactions promptly and in chronological order.
In addition to the GoB, there are also the GoBDs, the “Principles for the Proper Management and Retention of Electronic Books, Records and Documents and for Data Protection”, which became necessary when accounting went electronic.
What is Simple Accounting?
Simple accounting is used for small businesses with manageable business processes. With simple accounting, expenses are recorded and classified, and the corresponding payments are recorded in cash or through bank accounts.
What is meant by double-entry accounting?
All companies that are required to keep accounts must implement double-entry bookkeeping (Doppik). The name derives from the fact that every commercial transaction appears twice in the books: once in debit and once in credit of the accounting accounts.
If you take a closer look at the principle, you can see that double-entry accounting always “balances” in the single area. Credit and debit are compared in each individual area.
Commercial transactions are recorded in both single-entry and double-entry accounts. In this case, an account is a category for certain transactions, such as travel expenses.
When do you have to deliver the accounting?
Every month and every quarter, there are some reports, advance notifications and returns to the tax office. These include trade, income and sales tax, as well as capital gains, payroll tax and property tax.
To give you an overview, we have summarized all important tax dates for you. You can download it as a calendar file or save the overview as a PDF. You can find the link in the green hint box at the top of the article.
Which accounting software is the best?
With a good accounting program, you can securely and reliably record and process receipts. It should be as easy to use as possible and offer a high level of automation options. An integrated banking module and, if possible, online banking capabilities are ideal. This simplifies a lot.
Advance tax returns, ELSTER and a DATEV interface with a connection to the tax advisor are always worthwhile – this area is also covered quite efficiently and saves a lot of effort. Very important: Make sure that your accounting software is GoBD certified and therefore meets current legal requirements.
SevDesk is one of the best online accounting programs for startups, freelancers and self-employed. The software is equipped with extensive functions and can be used intuitively even without accounting knowledge.
Are small business owners required to keep accounts?
Small business owners are not required to keep accounts. But you have to do an “informal determination of profit”.
For small business owners, regular bookkeeping obligations would be a disproportionate effort. That's why the legislator has created some simplifications for small business owners.
As a small business owner, you can determine your profits for the tax office the simplest way possible: add up all your income and simply subtract all your expenses.
It is not necessary to take an inventory or evaluate inventories or debts. You don't even need to prepare a budget.
Which Small Business Accounting Program?
Simple accounting programs are usually sufficient for small businesses: In principle, the software only needs to create invoices, record expenses and manage receipts. Many free versions of online accounting programs, for example from papierkram.de, can do this
What kind of accounting do sole proprietorships have to do?
Small traders and freelancers are exempt from the obligation to draw up annual accounts; simple accounting with an income surplus account (EÜR) at the end of the year is sufficient for them.
Similarly, sole proprietorships are not required to draw up annual financial statements if they have not generated more than EUR 600,000 in sales or EUR 60,000 in net profit on the reference dates of two consecutive financial years.
If you are a sole proprietorship and are subject to double-entry bookkeeping, you must prepare your annual accounts at the end of a financial year. This is regulated in § 242 HGB. Sole proprietorships that exceed the aforementioned sales limits are obliged to do so.
Why aren't freelancers required to keep accounts?
The legislator makes it easier for freelancers to keep accounts because they are not traders and are not subject to the obligation to keep accounts under the German Commercial Code (HGB) and tax law. For freelancers, therefore, simple bookkeeping is sufficient to determine operating profit. All you have to do is create a EUR.
What program do accountants use?
Tax consultants use complex software solutions that combine payroll accounting and payroll accounting, financial accounting, sales tax calculation, surplus income calculation (EÜR) etc. DATEV is very popular in Germany.
How much does accounting software cost?
Aside from a few open source vendors, accounting software is almost exclusively available as a subscription and/or cloud service. Prices vary according to the range of functions and start at around 5 euros for simple requirements (lexware).
What is a EUR?
The surplus income calculation (EÜR) is a simplified and statutory method of calculating profit. In a EÜR, operating income and expenses are compared. The legal basis lies in § 4 para. 3 Eink Income Tax Act (EStG).
An EER results in a profit when revenue exceeds expenses and a loss when revenue is less than expenses.
Which program is suitable for a EÜR?
With most of the accounting programs presented in the comparison article, you can create a EÜR with just a few clicks. It is important that the program records income and expenses correctly.
What is Buhl data?
Buhl Data is a software provider best known for the “WISO” series of tax return programs. Programs are often offered as annual subscriptions.
Which cash book is suitable for gastronomy?
The tax office wants to rule out possible manipulations in cash-intensive industries. Therefore, POS systems in the restaurant industry must meet the following requirements:
– all canceled reservations must be saved as such
– All withdrawals must be documented and saved
– all returns must be saved
– the payment method must be saved (cash, check or credit card)
– Individual articles must always be listed
– all end of day assessments must be saved without exception
– So-called “Z-Bons” must be issued for the daily total.
DISCLAIMER
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