While the receipt of e-invoices will become mandatory for domestic B2B sales starting January 1, 2025, a transitional arrangement is planned for outgoing invoices. (Photo: © Andriy Popov/123RF.com)
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Datev continued its sustained growth in 2023. A record number of more than 500.000 companies joined "Datev Unternehmen online." The IT service provider expects mandatory e-invoicing in business transactions to boost digitalization.
The Federal Council has passed the Growth Opportunities Act , which mandates e-invoicing in business-to-business (B2B) transactions. IT service provider Datev welcomes this step. The company expects e-invoicing to give a "digitalization boost" to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to CEO Prof. Dr. Robert Mayr, who presented the preliminary business figures.
"We absolutely need such impulses in Germany, because the economic conditions here are anything but rosy at the moment. We also hear this reflected back to us by our tax advisors and their clients from the German Mittelstand," Mayr emphasized.
While receiving e-invoices will become mandatory for domestic B2B transactions from January 1, 2025 , a transitional arrangement is planned for outgoing invoices. Law firms and companies are already preparing for the necessary change. Suitable solutions are already available.
"The effort required to implement the legal requirements also depends on the level of digitalization and could prove particularly challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises. We therefore recommend addressing the necessary process changes related to e-invoicing early on . Only in this way can the respective law firms and companies directly benefit from the cost savings associated with its introduction, such as the elimination of costs for paper, files, or postage, and ensure that the processes are legally compliant."
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It goes even further: "According to the plans of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the exchange of invoice data in the B2B sector will take place via platforms in the future – and presumably will be mandatory from 2028 ," Mayr reported. Datev is therefore already working on such an e-invoicing platform.
Datev eG itself achieved sustained growth in the 2023 fiscal year. The Nuremberg-based IT service provider increased its revenue by €126,4 million to €1,439 billion, representing growth of 9,6 percent. "Despite the ongoing challenging economic climate—such as the energy crisis and inflation—we were able to continue our steady success and sustainable growth of recent years," emphasized Mayr. The number of members (tax firms, etc.) remained stable, and the cooperatively organized company's customers increased by 80.000 to approximately 620.000.
Cloud-based solutions were a key driver of growth . Robert Mayr cited Datev Unternehmen online as an example . This is a browser-based application package specifically designed for businesses and their tax advisors, enabling efficient, real-time collaboration.
In January 2024, the number of its users exceeded half a million for the first time . "This is a milestone that reflects the growing relevance of digital platforms, but also the trust placed in our solution," said Mayr. More than 76 million documents are exchanged via the DATEV cloud every month . It now stores around four billion documents from a total of approximately 1,2 million companies.
The human resources department has also grown. CFO Diana Windmeißer reported that 14,5 million payroll statements are now generated monthly using Datev software . "This means that, on average, around 300.000 more employees receive a Datev payslip than last year," said CFO Windmeißer. An increasing number of employees are receiving their payslips digitally: At the end of 2023, approximately 4,1 million employees were registered with Datev Arbeitnehmer online – the digital platform for providing salary documents. This represents an increase of around 25 percent compared to the previous year.
Besides e-invoicing, artificial intelligence (AI) is an important topic for Datev and its customers. Many applications already incorporate AI, emphasized Dr. Robert Mayr. Datev members, such as tax advisors and auditors, now have access to an AI workshop. There, they can test applications based on generative AI.
Furthermore, the CEO criticized the ever-increasing number of regulations. Tax advisors report that their medium-sized clients are under considerable pressure, primarily due to overregulation and bureaucracy. Therefore, it is all the more imperative that policymakers create tangible relief for businesses and the consulting profession itself .
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