I set up BuchhaltungsButler for clients and record their ongoing business transactions in it. Here’s what works well in everyday use and where the limits are, based on projects with freelancers and small businesses.
To be upfront
I’m an official partner of BuchhaltungsButler. The limits are still listed below, because you should know them before you decide.
What I use BuchhaltungsButler for
Mostly for GmbHs, UGs and businesses with double-entry bookkeeping, lots of receipts or online sales. For sole traders with very simple bookkeeping, simpler software is often enough.
What works well day to day
- Receipts come in automatically. By email, upload or through GetMyInvoices. BuchhaltungsButler reads the data and suggests the booking.
- Bank transactions come in too. They arrive in the system automatically and can be matched with rules.
- VAT return straight to ELSTER. No detour through other software.
- Trickier cases too. Reverse charge, intra-EU acquisitions and fixed assets are covered.
- Cost centres. Every booking can be assigned to a project or a construction job.
- Handover to your tax advisor. DATEV data export and separate access for your tax advisor.
Where the limits are
- Year-end closing only partly covered. Closing entries and the balance sheet as a report are possible. The E-Bilanz (the electronic filing of the balance sheet) is submitted through the external service eBilanz+. You prepare the tax returns with other software or through a tax advisor.
- Reading receipts isn’t error-free. On some foreign invoices, day and month get swapped. BuchhaltungsButler doesn’t recognise early-payment discounts on its own, so the full invoice amount is booked at first. That’s why receipts should be checked before they’re booked.
- Not every bank can be connected. For one client, the business account couldn’t be connected. There I import the bank statements as a file.
- The direct handover to DATEV has its quirks. Several invoices in one payment caused problems with the direct interface. The monthly data export as a file runs more reliably.
- Long cost centre names. If the names are longer than the tax advisor’s DATEV allows, the tax advisor has to adjust the field length.
My verdict
For most of my clients BuchhaltungsButler is the best choice, as long as it’s set up properly and receipts are checked before they’re booked. With a clear process, the limits are easy to work around. You can see what that looks like in the case studies from my projects.
I set up BuchhaltungsButler for you and, if you like, can take over the ongoing bookkeeping.
I record your day-to-day business transactions and prepare your VAT returns and year-end closing up to the final step. You or a tax advisor of your choice then submit them.
Moving fixed assets from DATEV to BuchhaltungsButler? The free template for transferring assets gives you the right carry-over amount for each asset.
