Glossary

Bookkeeping & Tax Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the bookkeeping, accounting and tax terms freelancers and small businesses in DACH actually need.

D

DATEV DATEV is a German cooperative founded in 1966 in Nuremberg whose accounting software is used by approximately 88% of German tax advisors (Steuerberater).

E

EXTF EXTF (Export-Format) is DATEV's standardized CSV format for moving bookkeeping data — invoices, expenses, journal entries, and chart-of-account postings — between accounting software and tax advisors.

G

GoBD GoBD (Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern) is the German Federal Ministry of Finance's binding rulebook for digital bookkeeping — covering completeness, immutability, traceability, and 10-year retention of business records.

K

Kleinunternehmerregelung The Kleinunternehmerregelung (§ 19 UStG) lets German businesses with prior-year revenue under €22,000 (and current-year projected under €50,000) skip charging Umsatzsteuer (VAT) entirely — simplifying paperwork at the cost of Vorsteuer deductions.

S

U

Umsatzsteuer (VAT) Umsatzsteuer is the German term for VAT (Value Added Tax) — a consumption tax of 19% (standard) or 7% (reduced) added to most goods and services and remitted monthly or quarterly to the Finanzamt.