DATEV export and working with your tax advisor

DATEV eG is a cooperative that provides software and standards widely used by German tax advisors (Steuerberater) and their clients. When your practice asks for a “DATEV export”, they usually mean a package of booking-oriented files their tools can import, instead of retyping every invoice from PDF.

For SMBs the goal is simple: hand over complete periods with consistent accounts, tax codes, and document references. Fewer manual corrections mean faster VAT returns and fewer questions about missing invoices. The exact import format and chart of accounts still belong to the agreement with your practice.

Jupiter ERP prepares documents with chart of accounts, tax codes, and cost centres where you use them. The export follows formats common in tax advisor practices. Always confirm with your advisor which contents they want each month (invoices only, plus credit notes, plus bank transactions, and so on).

A useful export is more than a ZIP of PDFs. Advisors need machine-readable lines that map to their ledger: document dates, amounts, tax keys, counterparties, and often cost centres. Bank transactions help when they reconcile payments inside their system. Incomplete master data (missing VAT IDs, wrong tax codes) creates follow-up work before the import even starts.

Agree a rhythm: which day you close the month, who may still edit drafts, and whether bank CSV is included. Software can package the files; it cannot invent a process your team does not follow.

Closed months protect against unwanted backdating. Once records are locked, they can no longer be edited, deleted, or reset in the usual way. That supports GoBD expectations of immutability for accounting records. Every lock is logged. Locks cannot be undone, so preview carefully before you confirm.

In Jupiter ERP you can lock deliberately by period and record type, or optionally lock exported records during the accounting export. Invoices, dunning notices, credit notes, receipts, and bank transactions are in scope for locking. Align the timing with your advisor so they do not receive a package while someone is still rewriting last week’s invoice.

After the background job finishes, download the ZIP or email it directly. Recipient, subject, and body come from prepared templates. Store your tax advisor’s default email in accounting settings so the send dialog is pre-filled. That reduces “wrong attachment” mistakes at month end.

Including bank transactions in the DATEV package requires the Banking module. The export itself is included from the Business plan; Free and Basic do not include DATEV export. Check the pricing page for current package boundaries.

Ask which chart of accounts and tax keys they expect, whether cost centres must be filled, and whether they want bank lines in the same package. Clarify who locks the period: you before send, or they after import. Software does not replace that conversation.

If you are still on Free or Basic, plan the upgrade before the first DATEV month, or agree a temporary manual handover. Founders who only need invoices may stay on Free longer; as soon as the practice expects structured monthly packages, Business becomes the relevant plan for this feature.