DATEV Integration for Online Shops: From Purchase to Posting
We connect your shop with DATEV Unternehmen Online and DATEV Rechnungswesen: invoices, credit notes, payments and cancellations flow automatically and correctly assigned into your accounting. No more manual typing, allocation errors and a delayed monthly close.
two-way
real-time sync
< 6 mo.
payback from 200 documents (project experience)
0
double entry in DATEV export
50+
integration projects (project experience)
Fixed price · net plus VAT
- Setup fixed price instead of an open estimate
- Invoices, credit notes, payments and cancellations transferred automatically
- Rule-based account assignment and GoBD-compliant archiving
- DATEV Unternehmen Online or DATEV Rechnungswesen
Extensive multi-channel scenarios with marketplace documents, One-Stop-Shop and payment reconciliation sit in the upper four-figure range. Extensions on a time basis 990 € per project day (hourly rate 119 €). The third-party DATEV export license (from approx. 39 € per month) is shown transparently and separately. All prices net plus VAT. The project day is a package price for a reserved working day and therefore deliberately not a multiple of the hourly rate — the rationale is on the pricing overview.
The accounting integration is where the investment in a professional interface pays off fastest. Every manually entered invoice costs time, carries error risks and delays the monthly close. Our DATEV integrations automate the entire document flow from order receipt in the shop to the finished accounting entry. This relieves your accounting team, accelerates the annual close and significantly reduces reconciliation effort with your tax advisor.
DATEV integration is usually one building block in a larger system landscape. If documents originate in SAP, SAP integration applies; for Microsoft systems it is Dynamics 365 shop integration; if you work with JTL or Lexware, JTL-Wawi shop integration and Lexware integration are the right routes. Where payments arrive from several methods, we couple payment integration directly to the document flow, and with many source systems a middleware bundles the data streams. The services page gives an overview of all building blocks.
A shop order becomes a finished accounting entry
What our DATEV integration delivers for your e-commerce
A professional DATEV integration encompasses far more than exporting a CSV file. We implement a seamless automation chain that captures every relevant business transaction in the shop, correctly assigns accounts and transfers it to DATEV. The following six functional areas form the core of our DATEV integration solution.
Invoice Transfer
Outgoing invoices are automatically transferred from the shop or ERP to DATEV. Invoice number, date, line items, amounts and tax rates are transmitted in DATEV-compatible format. Documents as PDF are directly linked.
Credit Notes and Cancellations
Partial credits, full credits and cancellations are transferred to DATEV as independent accounting documents. The link to the original invoice is preserved so your accountant can trace the relationships.
Automatic Account Assignment
Revenue accounts, tax codes and cost centers are assigned rule-based. The assignment rules reflect your individual chart of accounts: by product groups, customer types, tax zones or sales channels.
GoBD Archiving
All documents are archived in an audit-proof manner. Immutability, traceability and completeness of the document chain are ensured. The archiving meets GoBD requirements and is prepared for tax audits.
Payment Matching
Payment receipts from the shop are matched to open items in DATEV. Partial payments, overpayments and cash discount bookings are automatically processed and correctly assigned.
International Tax Handling
Intra-community deliveries, third-country transactions and reverse-charge scenarios are correctly identified and transferred to DATEV with the appropriate tax codes. Country-specific tax rates are automatically assigned.
DATEV Unternehmen Online vs. DATEV Rechnungswesen
Depending on whether your accounting is handled internally or by a tax advisor, you use different DATEV products. Our integration supports both scenarios and can continue working without fundamental changes when switching between products.
| Feature | DATEV Unternehmen Online | DATEV Rechnungswesen |
|---|---|---|
| Target group | Companies with tax advisor | Companies with own accounting |
| Document transfer | Via DATEV interface or API | Via posting batches or DATEV-Connect |
| Account assignment | Pre-assignment by interface, final by advisor | Complete assignment by interface |
| Document archiving | In DATEV cloud | Local or cloud archiving |
| Payment matching | Via bank connection in DATEV | Via open item management |
Account assignment logic: From order line to accounting entry
The quality of a DATEV integration stands or falls with the account assignment logic. An order in the online shop can contain items from different product groups, with different tax rates and from different revenue categories. Each line item must be assigned to the correct revenue account, the correct tax code and the appropriate cost center. For international customers, additional dimensions arise: intra-community deliveries (VAT ID present and verified), third-country transactions, consignment goods or reverse-charge procedures.
Four rule layers lead to a clean accounting entry
We implement account assignment not as a rigid lookup table but as a layered rule set. The product group determines the revenue account, customer type and delivery country determine the tax code, the sales channel determines the cost center, and above all sits the GoBD layer with document PDF and checksum. Each layer is configurable individually and documented together with your tax advisor in a configuration matrix. The logic stays traceable, even when new product groups, tax zones or channels are added.
The rules are defined together with you and your tax advisor and documented in a configuration matrix. Typical rule parameters are: product group, customer type (domestic, EU, third country), delivery type, sales channel and payment terms. The result: your tax advisor receives clean posting batches that can be imported without queries.
GoBD compliance: What the interface must deliver
The GoBD (German principles for proper keeping and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form) set clear requirements for digital document flows. Our DATEV integration meets these requirements: immutability of transferred documents through digital signatures and checksums, complete traceability of all processing steps through detailed logging, and completeness of the document chain from order through invoice to payment.
Additionally, we create a procedural documentation describing how data travels from the shop to accounting, what transformations occur and which controls ensure the accuracy of the transfer. This documentation is mandatory for tax audits and is created as a standard component of every DATEV integration project.
Common challenges in DATEV integration
The most common challenge in our DATEV projects is correct tax treatment for international transactions. An online shop selling to customers in the EU and third countries must apply the correct tax rate and accounting scheme for every transaction. Intra-community deliveries to companies with valid VAT IDs are tax-exempt, but only if the VAT ID has been verified. Deliveries to private individuals in the EU are subject to the destination country's tax rate under the One-Stop-Shop procedure. Third-country transactions are tax-exempt but require proof of export.
Another challenge involves partial deliveries and partial invoices. When an order is fulfilled in multiple shipments, the partial invoices must be correctly linked to the original order and the account assignment split proportionally. Credit notes referring to individual items of a partial invoice must also be correctly allocated in the DATEV system. Our integration solution handles these scenarios automatically and documents every step in an audit-proof manner.
Integration into existing system landscapes
DATEV integration is rarely an isolated interface. In most projects, it is part of a broader integration architecture that also includes ERP connectivity and the shop platform. Documents for DATEV can be generated directly from the shop, from the ERP or from a central middleware. The optimal source depends on which system controls invoicing and where the most complete data resides.
When SAP Business One or S/4HANA is used as the ERP system, SAP typically generates the invoices, and the DATEV transfer occurs from SAP. In scenarios without an ERP or with simpler inventory systems, the shop generates the invoices and our integration layer handles preparation and transfer to DATEV. In both cases, we ensure consistent account assignment and full GoBD compliance.
Measurable benefits of DATEV automation
The math behind the automation
Manual entry versus automated document flow
The difference is not only time but data quality. Manual entry produces typos, wrong tax codes and forgotten documents that only surface at the close or during a tax audit. The automated document flow assigns every transaction by the same rules, links the original document and logs every step. At a volume of 500 documents per month, this eliminates 16 to 40 hours of pure entry time (project experience) — and the monthly close is available sooner.
Beyond time savings, you benefit from significantly higher data quality. Manual entry errors, incorrectly assigned tax codes and forgotten documents become a thing of the past. The monthly close is accelerated because all posting batches are available promptly and completely. And during tax audits, you can present a seamless, machine-generated document chain that meets high compliance requirements. Request a non-binding assessment of your DATEV integration project.
What a DATEV integration costs
Anyone who has to sign off a budget needs more than a rough effort range. That is why we name a clear setup fixed price for the DATEV integration. The final price depends on your document volume, the number of tax scenarios and your system landscape, and it is fixed reliably after a free analysis — with no hidden items. Ongoing third-party licenses for the DATEV export are shown transparently and separately from the fixed price.
Fixed prices for your DATEV integration
All prices net plus VAT. Every connection starts with a free analysis of your document volume and account assignment — and a binding setup fixed price.
DATEV Setup
The predictable entry point for a shop with one DATEV target system.
- Invoices and credit notes transferred automatically
- Rule-based assignment: revenue account, tax code, cost center
- GoBD-compliant archiving including document PDF
- DATEV Unternehmen Online or DATEV Rechnungswesen
- Test on DATEV test environment included
DATEV Complete
The full automation package for international and multi-channel shops.
- Payment matching and open item allocation
- International tax: One-Stop-Shop, reverse charge, third country
- Payment provider and fee reconciliation
- Marketplace documents and partial invoices
- Historical document migration during initial setup
Extension & Operations
Further development and ongoing care after go-live.
- Hourly rate 119 € for smaller adjustments
- Adaptation to new DATEV formats
- Monitoring of export cycles
- Quarterly data quality reviews
- Training for your accounting team
Extensive multi-channel scenarios with marketplace documents, One-Stop-Shop and payment reconciliation sit in the upper four-figure range. The third-party DATEV export license (from approx. 39 € per month) is shown transparently and separately. A binding fixed price follows after the free analysis. All prices net, plus VAT.
How quickly does your DATEV integration pay off?
In the free analysis, we review your document volume, your account assignment and your system landscape — and give you a concrete fixed price before development starts.
The technical process of DATEV transfer
The technical implementation follows a defined process from document capture in the shop through preparation in the integration layer to transfer to DATEV.
- 1
Event capture in the shop
An order is confirmed, an invoice created, a payment received or a credit note issued. Each of these events triggers a defined processing workflow in the integration layer.
- 2
Preparation and account assignment
The assignment rules are applied: revenue account by product group, tax code by customer type and delivery country, cost center by sales channel. In parallel, data is transformed into DATEV format with correct field assignments, date formats and character encodings.
- 3
Transfer and status sync
Transfer happens via DATEV API, posting batch files or DATEV-Connect depending on the product. Document images are linked to the entries, and the status in the shop shows which documents have already been transferred.
Special cases in e-commerce accounting
E-commerce brings accounting scenarios that rarely occur in traditional business. Cancellations after goods dispatch, partial refunds, voucher redemptions, payments via third-party payment systems and fee settlements from payment providers generate accounting transactions that must be correctly assigned and transferred to DATEV.
An example: a customer orders three items, receives an invoice and pays via SEPA direct debit. They return one item and another is partially credited. Meanwhile, payment provider transaction fees are incurred. Our integration layer generates the correct accounting entry for each of these events: revenue booking for the original invoice, reversal booking for the return, partial credit booking, payment receipt booking and fee booking. All documents are linked so the business transaction is fully traceable.
Long-Term Maintenance and Evolution of the DATEV Integration
A DATEV integration is not a one-time project but a permanent interface that must keep pace with updates from both systems. DATEV regularly updates formats and interfaces, Shopware CE receives core updates and plugin changes. Our maintenance packages include monitoring of DATEV export processes, adaptation to format changes and further development as new requirements arise. During Shopware updates, we verify that export processes continue to function correctly and adapt the integration as needed. Quarterly reviews check data quality and identify optimization potential in the booking process.
Monitoring per export cycle
Missing or incorrect booking exports lead to rework and delay monthly closings. Our monitoring supervises every cycle and alerts on anomalies before they become problems.
Team training
We train your accounting team in working with the exports: what data is transferred when and how special cases like partial deliveries, returns or credits are recorded.
Combined packages
Operators who need technical shop support alongside the DATEV integration receive bundled maintenance and integration packages, with minimal coordination between providers.
Project workflow for DATEV integration
Analysis and Account Assignment Workshop
In a joint workshop with you and your tax advisor, we capture the chart of accounts, tax codes and assignment rules. We document all business cases processed through the shop and define the accounting for each type.
Interface Specification
Based on the assignment rules, we specify the data flows, transformation rules and formats. The DATEV interface specification is created as the binding foundation for implementation.
Implementation and Testing
The integration layer is implemented and validated with test documents on a DATEV test environment. All document types and tax scenarios are systematically tested. Your tax advisor validates the generated accounting entries.
Go-Live and Validation
After approval by your tax advisor, we go live. In the first accounting period, automatically generated entries are checked in parallel with the previous manual process to verify correctness.
Regular Operations
After successful validation, the automated interface takes over regular operations. Monitoring alerts report processing errors. Quarterly reviews ensure assignment rules remain current.
Evolution
When the chart of accounts changes, new business cases arise or regulatory adjustments are needed, we adapt the assignment rules. All changes are documented and tracked in the GoBD procedural documentation.
This structured project workflow ensures the DATEV integration works correctly from day one and functions reliably even with growing document volumes and new business cases. Involving the tax advisor in the validation process eliminates the risk of assignment errors that would only surface during a tax audit.
Frequently asked questions about DATEV integration
We cover the accounting details on the blog: DATEV Connection in E-Commerce describes the automated document flow, E-Invoice Mandate 2027 puts the upcoming format obligations in context, and GoBD Process Documentation shows what an interface has to document for a tax audit.
Three ways to get documents into accounting
All three variants are common. They differ mainly in how much rework is left at the month-end close.
A batch of PDFs for the tax advisor
- No project effort, works from the very first document
- Full control over every document handed over
- Account assignment only happens at the tax advisor, queries pile up
- Incoming payments are assigned separately and manually
- The month-end close depends on the completeness of the batch
Standard export module
- Produces an importable document format without a development project
- Reliably covers simple cases with a single tax rate
- Ongoing licence costs, which we always show separately
- Custom account assignment rules can only be stored to a limited extent
- Marketplace documents, partial invoices and One-Stop-Shop cases stay manual
Rule-based document connection
- Revenue account, tax key and cost centre are defined per case
- Credit notes, cancellations and payments take the same route
- Audit-compliant archiving of the document included
- Setup fixed price from 1,490 € net after a free analysis
- The account assignment rules have to be agreed properly once
Typical starting points in accounting
Illustrative scenarios from typical project histories (project experience), anonymized and without client details.