Bookkeeping software for Germany: bank feeds, receipts and euro accounts
Finn keeps a double-entry ledger in euros. You import bank and card statements as CSV or PDF, and Finn reads whatever layout your bank uses, so there is no per-bank setup to maintain. Each transaction is categorised using the context of your business, your open invoices and your earlier activity. You only see the items Finn is unsure about.
Receipts do not need a special app. Forward them by email, or send a photo through WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack, and Finn extracts the supplier, date, amount and Umsatzsteuer, then links the document to the matching bank transaction. Stripe, Wise, Mercury and Revolut can also be connected where you use them. Foreign currency amounts are converted and recorded against the euro ledger.
10 OctThe USt-Voranmeldung Q3 lands on 10 Oct. Finn puts it on your calendar and reminds you ahead of it.
Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung software: 19% and 7% VAT, advance returns and E-Rechnung
The standard Umsatzsteuer (VAT) rate is 19%, with a reduced 7% for food, books, newspapers and public transport. Exports outside the EU and supplies to VAT-registered businesses in the EU are zero-rated. Financial, healthcare and educational services are exempt. Finn tracks VAT on every sale and purchase and prepares the figures for each advance return.
The Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (advance VAT return) is monthly if last year's VAT exceeded €9,000, quarterly if it was between €2,000 and €9,000, and may be waived below €2,000. Each return is due by the 10th of the following month or quarter, and a Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent extension) moves that by a month. You file through the Finanzamt's online service, and Finn does not submit the return for you.
Reverse charge applies when you buy services from an EU business, and Finn flags those items. Germany is also phasing in structured electronic invoicing, the E-Rechnung. Since 1 January 2025 every business must be able to receive one, and the obligation to issue them phases in through 2027 and 2028. A plain PDF is not a compliant e-invoice, so check your invoicing tool.
Körperschaftsteuer and Gewerbesteuer: corporate tax, solidarity surcharge and prepayments
A GmbH, UG or AG pays Körperschaftsteuer at a flat 15% of taxable profit. On top sits the Solidaritätszuschlag at 5.5% of that tax, about 0.825% of profit, which corporations always pay. Gewerbesteuer is the base figure of 3.5% multiplied by the municipality's Hebesatz, which averages about 400%, so roughly 14% of profit. The combined burden is typically around 30%, and it varies by municipality.
The 15% rate is fixed through 2026 and 2027, then falls by one percentage point a year from 2028 to 10% by 2032. Prepayments for corporate tax fall due on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December, and Gewerbesteuer prepayments on 15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November. Annual returns are due 31 July of the following year, or later through a Steuerberater. Finn prepares the profit figures and dates.
German payroll: Lohnsteuer and Sozialversicherung contributions
Employers withhold Lohnsteuer (wage tax) and the employee's share of social security from each salary and report them in a Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung. The frequency is set by last year's wage-tax volume, and each return is due by the 10th of the following period. For 2025 pension is 18.6%, health 14.6% plus an average Zusatzbeitrag of 2.5%, unemployment 2.6% and long-term care 3.6%, split about equally between employer and employee.
Childless employees over 23 pay 4.2% for long-term care, with the surcharge carried by the employee. The 2026 contribution ceilings are €8,450 a month for pension and unemployment and €5,812.50 a month for health and care insurance. Finn records payroll in your books and prepares the figures, while running the payroll and filing stays with you or your payroll provider.
Handelsregister and Unternehmensregister: GmbH, UG and annual accounts
A GmbH needs €25,000 of share capital, of which at least €12,500 is paid in at registration. A UG (haftungsbeschränkt), the mini-GmbH, can start with €1 but must keep 25% of annual profit in a statutory reserve until capital reaches €25,000. An AG needs €50,000. All are registered in the Handelsregister under HRB and must keep full double-entry books. Partnerships such as the OHG and KG sit under HRA.
GmbH, UG and AG must publish annual accounts on the Unternehmensregister within 12 months of the financial year-end. The scope depends on company size, and small companies file an abridged balance sheet and notes. Missing the deadline starts an Ordnungsgeldverfahren (fine procedure) run by the Bundesamt für Justiz. Finn prepares the figures from your ledger and reminds you of the date.
Kleinunternehmerregelung: small-business scheme, EÜR and sole traders
Under the Kleinunternehmerregelung, from 2025, a business is exempt from charging VAT if last year's turnover was €25,000 or less and this year's stays at €100,000 or less. Kleinunternehmer charge no VAT and cannot reclaim input VAT. The €25,000 limit is hard. If you pass €100,000 the scheme ends at once, and turnover above that is taxed normally. Finn watches your turnover against both limits.
Sole traders and partnerships that are not registered merchants need double-entry books only once they exceed €800,000 turnover or €80,000 profit in a year. Below that they may use the simpler Einnahmen-Überschuss-Rechnung (income minus expenses). Personal Einkommensteuer for 2025 is 0% up to €12,096, then rises progressively, with 42% from €68,430 and 45% above €277,826.
lexoffice alternative for Germany: switching from sevDesk or DATEV
Most German small businesses arrive from lexoffice, sevDesk, DATEV or a spreadsheet. Export your transactions, chart of accounts and contacts as CSV files and upload them to Finn. Finn maps your accounts and columns to its own structure, so you do not build a mapping by hand, and it asks you about anything it cannot place with confidence.
There is no lock-in. Your data stays exportable, and you can run Finn alongside your current software until you are comfortable. If you work with a Steuerberater, keep sharing the exports they need. Finn then takes over the bookkeeping, VAT tracking and deadline reminders, and you review what it prepares rather than typing it in.