Small-business scheme (§19 UStG) in bookkeeping

Kleinunternehmer is the German small-business VAT exemption under §19 of the VAT Act (UStG). It is not the same as “small company” in everyday English, and it is not a legal form. A sole trader, GbR, or other eligible business can use it when turnover stays within the statutory limits and the other conditions of §19 are met.

In plain terms: you usually do not show VAT on sales invoices, and you cannot reclaim VAT from purchase invoices. The VAT your suppliers charged becomes part of your cost. That is the trade-off for simpler VAT handling.

Limits, options to waive the scheme, and special cases change over time and depend on your facts. This article explains how bookkeeping and Jupiter ERP behave under the scheme. Whether you should use §19 is a question for your tax advisor or a qualified counsellor, not for software marketing.

Regular taxable businesses show net, VAT rate, and VAT amount (or a tax-exemption note for other grounds). Kleinunternehmer invoices follow a shorter mandatory list in §34a UStDV: parties, tax number or ID, date, quantity and nature of the supply, the consideration in one sum, and the note that the small-business exemption applies.

A continuous invoice number is still good practice and is how Jupiter ERP number ranges work, even where §34a does not list it as a minimum field. Do not invent a VAT line “for looks”; that confuses customers and advisors.

On the purchase side you do not deduct input VAT. In Jupiter ERP, once taxation type is small business, reports treat operating expenses gross, and the EÜR omits the separate lines for received VAT and paid input VAT that regular taxation would show.

Because input VAT is not deductible, it becomes part of acquisition cost for small businesses. Jupiter ERP therefore uses a gross depreciation base for linear depreciation and for immediate GWG write-off.

The €800 low-value-asset threshold is still assessed on the net amount, regardless of whether input VAT is deductible. That distinction surprises people who assume “everything is gross now.” Keep the net check for the threshold; book the asset gross when §19 applies.

Fixed assets and GWG features sit in the accounting area (Enterprise and trial for the fixed-assets package note on the product pages). The taxation-type switch still matters on Business reports even when you are not running a full asset register yet.

Set the taxation type once in accounting settings: small business under §19 UStG, or accrual/cash taxation for regular cases. New line items then start at 0% VAT. Invoices and credit notes without VAT include the §19 note. You can turn the note off and place the sentence in a text template if your advisor prefers a fixed wording.

Reports and depreciation follow the setting. You do not maintain a parallel “gross spreadsheet” for the same documents. If you leave the scheme later, change the setting with your advisor’s guidance and review open templates, recurring items, and customer expectations.

Founders often combine Free or trial invoicing with later accounting. Quotes and plan limits (documents per month, users, DATEV from Business) are described on the founders page and pricing. The taxation type is independent of whether you already export to DATEV.

Exemption from charging VAT is not exemption from orderly records. You still need invoices, expense evidence, bank matching, and retention that fits GoBD and your advisor’s process. Cash-basis EÜR remains common for many Kleinunternehmer; accrual GuV may apply if you are balance-sheet obliged for other reasons.

Customer-facing clarity matters: state that no VAT is charged under §19 so buyers do not try to deduct input VAT that is not there. Internally, tag contacts and projects as you would under regular taxation so service and documents stay searchable.

Jupiter ERP helps with number ranges, PDF preview, ZUGFeRD in PDF where e-invoicing applies, and DATEV export from Business. It does not decide whether §19 is optimal, and it does not replace a checklist before you tick “small business” permanently.