As a commercial business owner subject to bookkeeping obligations, you will regularly encounter the abbreviation “GoBD.” It stands for the “Principles for the proper management and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form, as well as for data access.” The German principles of proper accounting (GoBD) were comprehensively revised in 2019. Below, I would like to outline both the key updates and the fundamental principles of the GoBD.
If you would like to determine which specific GoBD requirements apply to your company, I am happy to support you personally.
The 2019 revision of the German principles of proper accounting (GoBD) takes into account the increasing digitalization of business processes. As a result, many entrepreneurs benefit from important simplifications and new opportunities in bookkeeping and document processing.
I would be happy to discuss which digital systems can be used in your company in a GoBD-compliant manner.
Cloud-based bookkeeping and archiving systems are considered just as compliant as local (“on-premise”) solutions under the revised German principles of proper accounting (GoBD). It no longer matters whether data is processed on your own hardware or in the cloud — what matters is GoBD-compliant storage and traceability.
Digitizing documents via smartphone, tablet, or other mobile devices is treated the same as stationary scanning. Companies may use mobile capture methods fully in compliance with the GoBD, provided the images are complete, legible, and stored without alteration.
Data may be converted into a company-specific format without the need to additionally retain the original data. The prerequisite is that no visual or content changes occur during conversion and that all GoBD requirements remain fully satisfied.
Traditional paper receipts are often no longer available. Therefore, it is not objectionable if the rules of the authorized application procedure have been followed and all entries have in fact been carried out. The latter — in our view a welcome development — is particularly relevant for recurring monthly transactions, such as the posting of depreciation.
Special care must also be taken with the required process documentation. This documentation must describe all procedures related to electronic bookkeeping — from receipt of documents to posting and storage. GoBD-compliant documentation must include, among other things, a general process description as well as system and operational documentation.
I am happy to assist you with creating or reviewing your process documentation.
The requirements for electronic archiving are particularly important, as they are reviewed in every tax audit. The German principles of proper accounting (GoBD) intentionally define the scope of retention obligations broadly: all documents must be archived if they may be relevant for understanding or verifying tax-related matters. The challenge is that this relevance is often only recognizable in hindsight. A key principle, therefore, is that electronic commercial and business correspondence, as well as accounting documents, must always be stored in the format in which they were received — for example, invoices or bank statements in PDF or image format. A printed copy for paper filing does not meet GoBD requirements.
Although format conversions are generally permitted, a properly organized digital filing system is absolutely mandatory. If documents are not archived correctly, the bookkeeping is considered faulty and the tax authorities may estimate profits — a risk that should definitely be avoided.
I am happy to review whether your digital archiving complies with the GoBD requirements.
