Accounting Services in Germany for Your GmbH

What double-entry bookkeeping (doppelte Buchführung) means

Double-entry bookkeeping records every transaction twice, as a debit on one account and a credit on another, so the books always balance and every movement can be traced from cause to effect. This is the method behind the annual balance sheet (Bilanz) and the profit-and-loss account (Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung).

The legal standard it has to meet is set by §238(1) HGB: the bookkeeping must be such that a knowledgeable third party can, within a reasonable time, gain an overview of the company's transactions and its position. In practice that means complete, ordered, traceable records, where every entry rests on a voucher and the development of each business event can be followed forwards and backwards. The same records feed your monthly VAT returns and, at year-end, your annual financial statements.

GoBD: digital bookkeeping done right

Almost all bookkeeping today is electronic, and electronic records have their own binding standard: the GoBD (Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern, Aufzeichnungen und Unterlagen in elektronischer Form sowie zum Datenzugriff). The GoBD is an administrative standard published by the Bundesfinanzministerium (BMF) interpreting §§145–147 AO; it is not itself a statute, but it is the binding yardstick the tax authorities apply, most recently updated by BMF letters dated 11 March 2024 and 14 July 2025.

GoBD-compliant records must be:

• complete, correct, timely and ordered;
• unalterable (unveränderbar): per §146(4) AO an entry may not be changed in a way that makes the original content no longer ascertainable;
• available and readable for the whole retention period, with the authorities able to access the data; and
• documented by a Verfahrensdokumentation, a written description of the accounting system and processes that a knowledgeable third party can follow.

In short, you cannot keep "real" books in an editable spreadsheet that overwrites history. Proper accounting software, an audit trail and a Verfahrensdokumentation are part of being compliant.

SKR03 vs SKR04: the chart of accounts

German bookkeeping is organised around a standard chart of accounts (Kontenrahmen). By far the most common are DATEV's SKR03 and SKR04. SKR03 is process-oriented, ordered along the flow of business operations; SKR04 is statement-oriented, following the structure of the balance sheet and P&L. The account names are largely the same; the numbering differs, so for example "Raumkosten" (premises costs) sits at 4200 in SKR03 but at 6305 in SKR04.

Both are fully accepted, and neither is "more compliant" than the other. Which one your accountant uses is a firm or software convention, not a legal question. What matters is that the chart is set up consistently and correctly for your business, which is itself reserved work (see the §6 StBerG section below).

Monthly bookkeeping and VAT advance returns

Ongoing bookkeeping is a monthly rhythm: receipts and payments are recorded, bank statements reconciled, supplier and customer invoices booked, and the figures prepared for the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (VAT advance return) under §18 UStG. The VAT advance return is filed electronically by the 10th of the period following the reporting period. You can apply for a one-month Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent filing extension) under §18(6) UStG; monthly filers who use it pay a Sondervorauszahlung of 1/11 of the prior year's advance payments as a deposit.

How often you file depends on how much VAT you paid the previous year. The thresholds below apply from 1 January 2025 (the monthly threshold rose from €7,500 to €9,000).

VAT-filing frequency

Prior-year VAT	Filing frequency
More than €9,000	Monthly
€2,000 to €9,000	Quarterly
Less than €2,000	Annual only (with the Finanzamt's approval)

Newly formed companies are often required to file monthly in their first years regardless, so a foreign-owned start-up should plan for a monthly cadence at the outset.

Bookkeeper vs Steuerberater: who can legally do what (§6 StBerG)

This is the single most important thing to understand before you hire anyone, because German law restricts who may perform tax work. Under §6 StBerG, an unlicensed bookkeeper may carry out mechanical bookkeeping work (§6 Nr. 3) and, under §6 Nr. 4, may post current business transactions, run ongoing payroll and prepare the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung (wage-tax registration). That covers a large part of day-to-day accounting.

What an unlicensed bookkeeper may not do is prepare the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung, set up the bookkeeping system or chart of accounts, prepare the annual financial statements, or submit other tax returns. Those tasks are reserved to a Steuerberater. This is why our firm uses partner framing: we run your bookkeeping, payroll and English reporting, and the reserved filings are carried by our licensed German Steuerberater partner. For where payroll fits, see our payroll services, and for the broader picture, our guide to working with an English-speaking tax advisor in Germany.

Who can do what

Task	Bookkeeper (§6 Nr. 3/4)	Steuerberater
Post transactions	✓	✓
Run payroll / Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung	✓	✓
VAT advance return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung)	✗	✓
Set up the system / chart of accounts	✗	✓
Annual financial statements	✗	✓
Other tax returns	✗	✓

How long must you keep records?

Retention periods run from the close of the calendar year in which the last entry was made or the document was created. Under §257 HGB and §147 AO, the periods are no longer uniformly "ten years": the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz, in force in 2025) reduced the period for booking vouchers from ten years to eight. Make sure your filing policy reflects the current figures below rather than the old "keep everything for ten years."

Retention periods

Document class	Retention period	Source
Books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual accounts	10 years	§257 HGB / §147 AO
Booking vouchers (Buchungsbelege)	8 years (4. BEG, 2025)	§257 HGB / §147 AO
Commercial correspondence (received and sent)	6 years	§257 HGB / §147 AO

For electronic records, the GoBD rules on unalterability and readability apply throughout the whole retention period, not just at the moment of booking.

What happens if you don't keep proper books?

Defective bookkeeping is expensive. If your records are incomplete or fail GoBD standards, the Finanzamt can reject them and estimate your tax base (Schätzung), which rarely works in your favour, and add penalties on top. Beyond the company's own bill, poor or false accounting can expose the managing director (Geschäftsführer) personally to liability, and in serious cases accounting or insolvency-related breaches can be criminal.

The flip side is the reason proper books are worth the cost: GoBD-compliant, well-documented bookkeeping is your best protection in a tax audit (Betriebsprüfung). When the auditor can follow a clean Verfahrensdokumentation and trace every entry to a voucher, the audit is shorter, calmer and far less likely to end in estimates.

Accounting in English: how we work

The HGB and AO govern what must be recorded and retained, not the language you work in, so there is no legal reason your bookkeeping cannot run in English. We keep your GmbH's books to GoBD standards, file VAT and run payroll, and produce monthly or quarterly management reports your foreign headquarters can actually read. Where work is reserved, we do not pretend otherwise: the VAT advance return, the chart-of-accounts setup, the annual financial statements and other tax returns are handled by our licensed German Steuerberater partner, while your engagement and all communication stay in English.

The bookkeeping year culminates in the Jahresabschluss (balance sheet and P&L under §242 HGB) and, for a GmbH, public disclosure; that whole obligation is covered separately in our guide to annual financial statements, and what your books ultimately feed into is explained in German corporate taxes. Foreign-owned GmbHs face exactly the same HGB, AO and GoBD rules as any other; only the language and reporting-format support differ.

This guide is written by Anna Müller, Legal Consultant, who advises foreign founders and managing directors on running compliant German companies in English.