If you work with a German Steuerberater (tax advisor), you’ve probably heard the word “DATEV” without anyone explaining what it actually is. Here’s the short version: it’s the software almost every German accounting practice runs on, and it changes what your tax advisor wants from you.
What DATEV actually is
DATEV eG is a cooperative founded by German tax advisors, and its accounting software — DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen for the practice, DATEV Unternehmen Online for the client-facing side — is the de facto standard in German bookkeeping. The vast majority of German Steuerberater run their client ledgers through it. If you have a German accountant, there’s a strong chance DATEV is where your invoices end up, one way or another.
Why this matters to you
Your tax advisor doesn’t want a folder of PDF invoices. They want data they can import directly into the client’s ledger without retyping every line — date, amount, VAT treatment, account, counter-account. Handing over a stack of PDFs means someone (often billed by the hour) manually keys in each transaction.
Handing over a properly structured DATEV-format CSV export instead means that same data drops into their software through DATEV’s own import wizard — no manual entry, fewer transcription errors, and less of your invoice cost eaten by bookkeeping admin.
What “DATEV format” means technically
It’s a CSV file following DATEV’s defined column structure — the specific fields, order, and encoding that DATEV’s import tool expects (booking date, amount, VAT code, account and counter-account references, and so on). It is not a live sync or an API connection to DATEV’s servers — it’s a file you generate once per period and hand over, either directly to your Steuerberater or, if you have DATEV Unternehmen Online access yourself, import into your own instance.
This is a meaningfully different thing from software that claims “DATEV integration” via a direct API — for most freelancers and small businesses, a correctly formatted export file achieves the same practical outcome (your accountant’s software reads your data without retyping) at a fraction of the complexity.
What to do with the file
- Export the file for the period your accountant needs (usually quarterly, or annually at tax return time)
- Send it to your Steuerberater the same way you’d send any other document — email attachment is standard practice
- If you use DATEV Unternehmen Online yourself, upload it directly
Ask your tax advisor once whether they want the DATEV-format export specifically, or whether a plain transaction journal is fine — some smaller practices are flexible, but most will prefer the DATEV file since it’s what their software is built around.
In Billino
Billino’s compliance export — in the web dashboard under Settings → Compliance, or the equivalent screen in the mobile app — generates a DATEV Buchungsstapel (EXTF) file for any period you select, alongside a general journal CSV and your invoice PDFs. No consultant or client number setup needed: pick a business profile with a German jurisdiction and a date range, and the file is ready to hand straight to your Steuerberater.
