Prepare construction paperwork for accounting

Handover begins when the document arrives

A material invoice in email, a receipt in the van and an interim-payment record with site management need more than a folder. The office needs the transaction, review state, unresolved questions and actual payment state.

Agree required documents, dates and responsibilities with accounting or your tax adviser. Preparation supports bookkeeping; it does not replace tax classification or the monthly close.

1. Give incoming documents an owner

Choose a person and deputy to review new documents regularly and tell suppliers the agreed billing email. Give site employees a clear route to the office. Check completeness, known supplier and connection to an order or actual work. Record questions immediately, such as a quantity check with site management.

2. Keep originals and attachments

Retain XRechnung as its original XML and hybrid ZUGFeRD as the complete document with embedded data. Printing or generating a new PDF view must not discard structured data.

The official GoBD guidance addresses electronic records, auditability and documented procedures. Keep relevant attachments accessible. Read the format comparison.

German VAT rules generally require invoices to be retained for eight years from the end of the issuing year. Other rules and special cases can add requirements; do not set a blanket deletion of all business records after eight years. See § 14b UStG.

3. Check the invoice against the work

§ 14(4) UStG lists general invoice particulars. Review supplier, recipient, number, dates, work and performance period, ordered quantities and prices, taxes and totals, and whether the same invoice already exists through another channel.

For e-invoices, include structured data in the review. A plausible PDF total is insufficient if XML differs. Refer unclear tax cases, including special construction-service arrangements, to the appropriate adviser.

4. Reconcile payments separately

An invoice and a payment answer different questions. Preserve the full invoice and allocate partial receipts or payments alongside it. For example, a €1,190 invoice with €500 paid does not become a €500 invoice. Check discounts, partial payments and combined bank transfers before closing a transaction.

Distinct document numbers and projects help reconcile your outgoing invoices. Read project invoicing.

5. Confirm the handover

Agree formats, recipient and supporting information. List open questions and distinguish reviewed from unresolved documents. Confirm complete, readable receipt.

The inbox supports document review and forwarding to configured email recipients. The feature labelled DATEV forwarding sends email; a send confirmation does not prove successful processing or posting. Agree the destination and downstream steps with your accountant.

At a regular monthly check, ask what is missing, disputed or unmatched and whether handover is confirmed. Document owners, filing and backup for a deputy. Explore invoicing, help, plans and German e-invoicing deadlines. As of 6 October 2026.