GoBD

In 30 seconds

• Issued by: Bundesfinanzministerium (BMF)
• Applies to: Every business in Germany using digital bookkeeping
• Core rules: Completeness, accuracy, immutability, traceability
• Retention: 10 years for accounting records, 6 years for business letters
• Audit trigger: Failure means rejected books in a tax audit

What GoBD requires

The GoBD doesn’t dictate which software to use — it dictates how the data must behave. Specifically:

1. Vollständigkeit (completeness): every business transaction is recorded
2. Richtigkeit (correctness): figures match real events
3. Zeitgerechtheit (timeliness): bookings happen close to the event
4. Nachvollziehbarkeit (traceability): each entry is auditable back to source
5. Unveränderbarkeit (immutability): once booked, no silent edits — only documented corrections
6. Aufbewahrung (retention): 10 years for invoices, ledgers, balance sheets

Why immutability matters

The most-cited GoBD rule. If your bookkeeping tool lets you edit a posted invoice without leaving an audit trail, your books are not GoBD-compliant — and the Finanzamt can reject them in a Betriebsprüfung (tax audit).

GoBD-compliant systems

A tool is GoBD-compliant if it:

• Logs every change (who, when, what)
• Prevents deletion of posted entries
• Supports digital signatures or hashing for receipt archiving
• Provides a complete export for tax audits (Z3 export)

DATEV, lexoffice, sevdesk, and KontoMatch all aim for GoBD-compliant data handling.

What “GoBD-konform” certification means

There is no official certification issued by the Finanzamt. “GoBD-konform” is a vendor self-claim, sometimes audited by IDW (Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer). Always check whether the vendor has a current IDW PS 880 certificate or detailed Verfahrensdokumentation.