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Documents from DATEV client files and receipts, with a future software switch in mind.

Whatever sits in DATEV DMS or in the document filing system (Dokumentenablage) – client files, receipts, correspondence, file notes – comes into your instance via an agreed export recipe. Access is read-only; nothing is changed in DATEV. DATEV has announced that it will phase out its portfolio developed specifically for Austria; once exported, your documents sit in your instance, independent of your practice software.

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DATEV

subject to a feasibility check · database export

Example question

“Which receipts are on file for client number 10245 for the 2023 financial year?”

1 Answer with source

Connection

How the connection works

For documents, DATEV essentially has two product lines: DATEV DMS and the smaller document filing system (Dokumentenablage). In both, a database manages which document belongs to which client, which document type and which year – so simply pointing to a folder is usually not enough. We check before we start whether and how DATEV can be connected – depending on installation, licence and permissions. The route is either the interface DATEV provides for third-party programs, or a scheduled export of documents and master data, sent encrypted and over outbound connections only to your instance; receipts stored in the DATEV data centre – via Unternehmen online with Belege online – can come across the same way, provided they can be exported. A person confirms the document type on the first run. Until the connection is set up, you can upload individual files, whole folders, emails, photos and voice notes.

Once set up, synchronisation runs automatically: new and changed documents from DATEV are added without anyone having to upload anything.

Set-upWe estimate the exact work involved after the feasibility check and discuss it with you before anything is set up – ideally together with your DATEV adviser. The set-up is charged on a time-and-materials basis, agreed in advance: from around €2,000 one-off and from around €100 per month ongoing.

Documents

Typical content: DATEV

  • Annual financial statements including notes and report, filed by year under the client.
  • Receipts and account statements for ongoing bookkeeping, often with the receipt image.
  • Correspondence with the tax office: assessments, requests for further information, appeals and the documents for the tax audit.
  • Payroll documents: employment contracts, payroll accounts, notifications to the ÖGK (Austrian health insurance fund).
  • Powers of attorney, engagement letters and the practice’s fee notes.
  • File notes and meeting notes on the client that are kept in the filing system.

Example questions

Questions you might ask your documents

  • “Which receipts are on file for client number 10245 for the 2023 financial year?”

    1 Answer with source

  • “How did we justify the provision in the annual accounts of Huber GmbH?”

    2 Answer with source

  • “What did we last write to Huber GmbH about the cash register requirement?”

    3 Answer with source

Start

Before a connection is set up

This connection is set up for you rather than switched on in one click. Every source has its own logins, permissions and folder structure – so before we start, we check with you whether and how it can be connected at your company. Set-up and maintenance are charged on a time-and-materials basis, agreed in advance; the amount depends on the source.

You can also upload files, whole folders, emails, photos and voice notes at any time. In the demo you see the answers using sample documents from your industry; you check them against your own documents in the first weeks after go-live.

Preliminary check

What we check in advance

Before we start, we look at what you have filed as documents. Reports that DATEV only generates from the bookings when you open them – balance lists, account sheets, interim figures – are not included: for today’s figures, the bookkeeping remains the authoritative source; the knowledge base holds the report as it was filed at the time. We also check whether the filing reference, document type and year come along in the export – that depends on installation and licence; if they are missing, documents have to be assigned to clients by hand, and that is usually where most of the work lies. Nothing is written back into the DATEV filing system: drafts – a Premium feature – come out as Word, Excel or PDF files and are filed by someone in the practice.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about this connection

We have client files going back to the 2000s. Do the older files come across?

Yes, year by year, so you decide the order. Most practices start not with the oldest year but with the one causing work right now: the latest accounts, a pending appeal, the years of an announced tax audit. Older years can follow afterwards; we check on your installation how far back the export reaches. For practices in Austria there is one more point: the vendor has announced that it will phase out the programs developed specifically for Austria and keep them usable until the end of 2028. Whatever is in your instance by then no longer depends on these programs.

Our filing is organised by client, year and document type. Is that structure kept?

Client, year and document type are what matters in the export. They come along as metadata, so the answer can say which file and which financial year it comes from – without them, a receipt from 2019 could hardly be told apart from one from 2023. Whether they come across with your installation is part of the feasibility check. If the details come along, even a receipt scan named only with a sequential number can be found by client, year and its content.

What happens with a DATEV program update or at the turn of the year?

That depends on whether an update changes filing paths or field names; if so, the export recipe is adjusted. A short note from you or your DATEV adviser before the update is installed helps avoid a gap. The turn of the year usually adds a year; the structure stays. We look more closely when a client changes practices or records are filed under a new filing reference, so that the old file stays with the right client; documents already taken in are not affected by an update.

Not every employee is allowed to see every client. Can that be reflected?

Yes, via document types and roles, and additionally via the group of clients: whoever handles a client’s payroll can see that client’s payroll documents, but not the accounts of other clients; a cut-off date, for instance for everything before someone joined, is possible. For a client handled by one person only, or a file that must not be visible across the firm, access is limited to a small group – and it then does not appear in anyone else’s results either. If the permission is missing, the system tells you so instead of silently leaving out half the file. We agree with you before we start how your client groups are reflected.

Industries

Typical for these industries

Integrations

Other integrations

Do you look after this system for clients? For IT service providers and software consultants

Request a demo – with examples for DATEV

In a 30-minute video call, we use sample documents to show what answers with sources look like. Before we start, we check whether and how DATEV can be connected at your company.

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