GoBD-Compliant Accounting Software 2026

What is GoBD? Background and Legal Basis

GoBD stands for "Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern, Aufzeichnungen und Unterlagen in elektronischer Form sowie zum Datenzugriff" (Principles for Proper Bookkeeping and Retention of Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form and Data Access). The name is cumbersome, but the content is clearly defined: The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) specifies how you must keep your books digitally.

GoBD was first published in 2014 and came into force on January 1, 2015. It replaced the older GDPdU (Principles for Data Access and Verifiability of Digital Documents) and GoBS (Principles for Properly Computerized Bookkeeping Systems). There have been several updates since then: 2019 saw a fundamental revision of the BMF letter, 2024 followed with adjustments to the e-invoicing requirement. The latest version from July 14, 2025 takes into account the new requirements for structured electronic invoice formats.

GoBD applies to all taxpayers who determine their profit according to Section 4(1) EStG, Section 5 EStG or Section 4(3) EStG. In practice, this affects every company, freelancer and self-employed person who uses a computer for bookkeeping. Anyone using accounting software must ensure that it works GoBD-compliant.

The Five GoBD Requirements in Detail

GoBD formulates five central requirements for your digital bookkeeping. Each has practical consequences for the choice and configuration of your software.

1. Traceability and Verifiability

"No booking without documentation" remains the principle. Every business transaction must be documented by a receipt, and the connection between document and booking must be verifiable at any time. The tax office must be able to trace individual business transactions from their origin through booking to the annual accounts. In practice, this means: every invoice, bank statement and receipt must be stored and assigned to the corresponding booking. Your tax advisor interface must also transmit these assignments correctly.

2. Immutability

Immutability is one of the strictest GoBD requirements. Once booked, nothing may be deleted or overwritten. Corrections are made exclusively through reversal bookings and new entries. The original booking remains visible.

For software, this specifically means: it must maintain a complete change history (audit trail). Every change is logged with timestamp, user ID and the previous value. This applies not only to bookings but also to master data such as chart of accounts or debtor numbers. Excel spreadsheets do not meet this requirement, as cells can be overwritten without logging. Local file systems without versioning are also insufficient.

Cloud accounting programs like Lexware Office or sevDesk implement immutability automatically. Changes are logged in the background without you having to worry about it.

3. Completeness

All business transactions must be recorded without gaps. Consecutive invoice numbers and consecutive document numbers are mandatory. Gaps in numbering are noticed during a business audit and lead to inquiries. The software must ensure that no numbers are skipped or assigned twice.

Completeness also concerns timely recording. Cash payments must be recorded daily, cashless payments within ten days. Anyone who collects documents for weeks and then books them in blocks risks objections. Modern cloud accounting software facilitates timely recording through mobile apps and automatic bank connections.

4. Audit-Proof Archiving

Digital documents must be archived in a format that cannot be modified later. A folder on the desktop or simple cloud storage is not sufficient. The software must offer audit-proof archiving or be integrable with a document management system (DMS).

Important: If you scan a paper document, the scan becomes the leading document. You may then destroy the original paper, provided the scanning process is described in your procedural documentation and the quality of the scan remains verifiable. GoBD refers to this as the "replacement scanning" regulation.

5. Order and Timeliness

Business transactions must be recorded timely and in a systematic order. This means: the bookkeeping must follow a verifiable system, such as a chart of accounts (SKR 03 or SKR 04). The software must be able to sort and output bookings by accounts, time periods and documents.

Procedural Documentation: What It Contains and Why It Is Mandatory

Procedural documentation is the document that describes your entire digital bookkeeping. It explains to the auditor how your bookkeeping is organized, which systems you use and how processes work. Without procedural documentation, your bookkeeping is not formally GoBD-compliant, even if you use the best software.

According to the BMF letter, procedural documentation consists of four parts:

• General Description: Company data, organizational structure, involved persons and their roles.
• User Documentation: Which software you use (name, version, provider), how documents are captured (scan, photo, upload, e-mail), which interfaces are used (DATEV, bank, e-invoice).
• Technical System Documentation: IT infrastructure setup, data backups, access rights, hardware and operating systems used.
• Operational Documentation: How archiving is organized, backup procedures, emergency plans and procedures for system changes.

Procedural documentation must be kept current. An update is necessary when changing software, adding a new interface or changing the document capture process. Most accounting programs provide templates or generators for procedural documentation. sevDesk and Lexware Office offer this function in their paid plans.

Archiving Obligations: 6 Years, 10 Years and the Differences

GoBD refers to the statutory retention periods from the Fiscal Code (Section 147 AO) and Commercial Code (Section 257 HGB). Two periods are relevant:

The periods begin at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created or received. An invoice from March 15, 2026 must therefore be retained until December 31, 2036.

For archiving applies: Digitally received documents must be archived digitally. You may not print an e-invoice and only keep it on paper. In this case, the paper original would not be a valid document. Conversely, scanned paper documents may be archived digitally, provided the scanning process is described in the procedural documentation. Anyone using free accounting software should check whether the archiving function is included in the free package. Audit-proof archiving is often reserved for paid plans.

E-Invoicing: The New Requirement Since 2025

In addition to traditional GoBD requirements, companies must since 2025 be able to process electronic invoices in the B2B sector. The e-invoicing requirement was introduced through the Growth Opportunities Act and affects all domestic B2B transactions. The Federal Ministry of Finance answers frequent questions about e-invoicing in a comprehensive FAQ document.

Timeline and Transition Periods

XRechnung and ZUGFeRD: The Approved Formats

Two formats are approved for e-invoicing, both based on EU standard EN 16931. XRechnung is a purely machine-readable XML format without visual layout. ZUGFeRD (from version 2.0.1) combines a readable PDF with embedded XML data, so the invoice can be read both by humans and software.

Which format you choose is up to you. Both meet legal requirements. In practice, ZUGFeRD is more common among small and medium-sized companies because the PDF additionally enables visual control. Bitkom reports on digital transformation, noting that SMEs in particular benefit from hybrid formats like ZUGFeRD.

E-Invoicing and GoBD: Interaction

The e-invoicing requirement and GoBD work together. E-invoices must be archived GoBD-compliant: unchangeable, audit-proof and with a 10-year retention period. This means your software must not only receive e-invoices but also archive them correctly. Simply storing them in an e-mail inbox is not sufficient. The invoice must be imported into the accounting system and assigned to the corresponding booking.

More on cloud-based processing versus local solutions can be found in our comparison Cloud vs Desktop Accounting.

GoBD-Compliant Software Compared

All established providers on the German market meet the GoBD requirements. The differences lie in the details: certification, e-invoice support, DATEV connection and availability of procedural documentation.

Detailed tests of individual providers can be found at Lexware Office, sevDesk, DATEV, BuchhaltungsButler, FastBill and Papierkram. An overview is available in our accounting software overview. Those specifically looking for affordable solutions will find all prices at a glance in our cost comparison for accounting software.

GoBD Audit: What Happens During a Business Audit?

During a business audit, the tax office checks your digital bookkeeping for GoBD compliance. The auditor has three access options to your data:

• Direct Access (Z1): The auditor works directly on the system and performs queries. Your software must enable read access for the auditor.
• Indirect Access (Z2): You perform queries and evaluations on behalf of the auditor and provide the results.
• Data Transfer (Z3): You provide the data in a machine-readable format, e.g., via DATEV export. The auditor evaluates it with their own software.

In practice, auditors most commonly use data transfer (Z3). This means: your software must be able to create a complete export of your accounting data. The DATEV export via the tax advisor interface is the common way to do this.

Consequences of GoBD Violations

If your bookkeeping does not meet GoBD requirements, there are concrete consequences:

• Rejection of Bookkeeping: The tax office can reject your bookkeeping partially or completely. This happens especially with missing procedural documentation or untraceable changes.
• Additional Assessments: With rejected bookkeeping, the tax office estimates the tax bases. This usually works out to your disadvantage because estimates are based on safety surcharges.
• Tax Back Payments: Back payments incur interest (currently 0.15% per month or 1.8% per year according to Section 238 AO, as amended since 2022).
• Fines: In serious cases, fines for regulatory offenses according to Section 379 AO may apply.

Anyone using established accounting software and keeping their procedural documentation current is on the safe side. Problems arise with Excel spreadsheets, self-built solutions or outdated desktop software without an update contract.

GoBD Checklist for Your Company

Check with this checklist whether your bookkeeping is GoBD-compliant:

• Using accounting software with GoBD certification or TUV examination?
• Bookings stored immutably (change history available)?
• Documents digitally and audit-proof archived (10-year retention)?
• Consecutive invoice and document numbers without gaps?
• Procedural documentation created, complete and current?
• Able to receive and process e-invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD)?
• E-invoice sending prepared (mandatory from 2028 at the latest)?
• DATEV export for tax advisor and for business audits set up?
• Access rights documented (who has access to which data)?
• Backup strategy available and documented?

If you are uncertain at any point, speak with your tax advisor. Or check whether your software covers the function automatically. Most providers offer assistance and templates for GoBD-related topics directly in the software.

Data Security and Liability

GoBD-compliant software protects your bookkeeping from formal deficiencies. But digital bookkeeping brings additional risks: customer data in the cloud, bank login data in the software, tax-relevant documents on servers. If a cyber attack compromises this data or an IT outage blocks access to your bookkeeping, economic damage quickly occurs.

Especially freelancers and small companies underestimate this risk. A cyber insurance for SMEs covers costs in case of data breaches, hacker attacks and business interruptions. It also covers IT forensics necessary after an attack to clarify the incident and restore business operations.

For errors in your own work, such as an incorrect booking that causes damage to a client or customer, there is professional liability insurance. In particular, tax advisors, bookkeepers and financial accountants should be covered here.

Conclusion: Ensuring GoBD Compliance