Accounting Software for a GmbH in Germany 2026: Yearly Prices Compared
Accounting software for a GmbH or UG in Germany: double-entry bookkeeping, annual accounts and E-Bilanz with 2026 yearly prices, a worked example against a tax advisor, and SKR03/SKR04 entries. Double-entry bookkeeping is free with Norman.
- Category
- Tools & comparisons
- Updated
- Author
- Diana Chebotareva
A GmbH or UG needs accounting software with double-entry bookkeeping in SKR03 or SKR04, annual accounts with a balance sheet and P&L, and the E-Bilanz for the tax office. An EÜR tool is not enough, not even in the first year. With Norman, double-entry bookkeeping is free; annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax cost €468 a year.
Key facts
- Double-entry is mandatory: a GmbH is a commercial company by law (§ 13(3) GmbHG) and always books double-entry (§ 238 HGB). The exemption in § 241a HGB applies only to sole traders.
- The price is in the annual accounts: ongoing bookkeeping software costs €0–311 a year. Annual accounts at a tax advisor cost a small GmbH €1,500–5,000 a year.
- Norman for UG and GmbH: double-entry bookkeeping free, Pro with management reports and DATEV export €108 a year, Max with annual accounts, E-Bilanz and all company taxes €468 a year.
- Deadlines: VAT return by the 10th of the following month, annual accounts of a small GmbH within 6 months, 2026 tax returns without an advisor by 2 August 2027, publication within 12 months.
- Corporate tax falls from 2028: from 15% by one point a year to 10% from 2032 (§ 23(1) KStG). Your software only has to apply the right rate for the year.
What the software must do for a GmbH
Each row is a legal duty. If the software lacks a feature, someone else does that job, usually for a fee.
| Duty | Legal basis | When |
|---|---|---|
| Double-entry bookkeeping with a general ledger | § 238 HGB, § 13(3) GmbHG | from incorporation |
| VAT return (UStVA) and EC sales list (ZM) | § 18 UStG, § 18a UStG | UStVA by the 10th, ZM by the 25th of the following month |
| Annual accounts with balance sheet and P&L | § 242, § 264(1) HGB | small GmbH: within 6 months of year end |
| E-Bilanz to the tax office | § 5b EStG | with the corporate tax return |
| Corporate, trade and annual VAT returns | § 149 AO | 2026: by 2 August 2027 without an advisor |
| Publication in the company register | § 325 HGB | within 12 months of year end |
| Payroll | § 41a EStG | as soon as the managing director draws a salary |
| Retention | § 147 AO | books 10 years, booking vouchers 8 years |
Then there is e-invoicing: your GmbH must be able to receive e-invoices since 2025. You must issue them from 2027 if prior-year revenue exceeded €800,000, and from 2028 in any case (§ 27(38) UStG). The duties in detail are in our article on GmbH bookkeeping obligations.
The tools compared
Most comparisons show the entry plan. For a GmbH what counts is whether the plan books double-entry and whether the software produces the annual accounts itself. The table shows the plan that covers the GmbH case and its price for one year.
| Tool | Double-entry bookkeeping | Annual accounts and E-Bilanz | Corporate and trade tax | Price per year (net) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman | free, SKR03 or SKR04 | Max: balance sheet, P&L, E-Bilanz via ELSTER | Max: via ELSTER | €0 bookkeeping, €468 with accounts and taxes |
| Lexware Office | plan L: bookkeeping, EÜR and VAT | no, through the tax firm | no, through the tax firm | L: €262.80 |
| sevDesk | from the Buchhaltung plan | no, through the tax firm | no, through the tax firm | Buchhaltung: €274.80 |
| BuchhaltungsButler | yes, balance sheet reports from Smart | no, through the tax firm | no, through the tax firm | Smart: €562.80 |
| DATEV through a tax firm | by the firm | by the firm | by the firm | bookkeeping €2,400–9,600, annual accounts €1,500–5,000 |
As of October 2026, list prices without promotions, from the providers' pricing pages. Lexware Office and sevDesk billed yearly, BuchhaltungsButler billed monthly (as of 17 September 2026). Tax firm costs from our overview of accountant costs for a GmbH.
What the table means: Norman is the only tool in this comparison that prepares the annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax itself. Lexware Office, sevDesk and BuchhaltungsButler keep your ongoing books; the tax firm prepares the annual accounts and returns from an export, and you pay for that on top. You do not use DATEV yourself but through your tax advisor; more in our DATEV alternative for a GmbH comparison. Norman builds the annual accounts from the same books your AI Bookkeeper keeps all year.
Worked example: one year of a small GmbH
A GmbH with one managing director, monthly VAT returns and about 50 receipts a month. Four routes through 2026:
| Route | Ongoing bookkeeping | Annual accounts and tax returns | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everything at the tax advisor | €2,400–9,600 | €1,500–5,000 | €3,900–14,600 |
| Lexware Office L, accounts at the advisor | €262.80 | €1,500–5,000 | €1,762.80–5,262.80 |
| Norman Pro, accounts at the advisor | €108 (DATEV export to the firm) | €1,500–5,000 | €1,608–5,108 |
| Norman Max | included | included | €468 |
The gap between the first and the last row is at least €3,432 a year. The biggest lever is the annual accounts, not the software: whoever prepares them saves the largest item. If you would rather have your first annual accounts checked, take Pro and give the firm read access or the DATEV export. When that pays off is covered in tax advisor vs software.
For comparison, from our study of business expenses of entrepreneurs: 78% of businesses paid for software within twelve months, a median of €330 per quarter (business expenses of Norman users, July 2025 to June 2026). The sample consists of digital businesses, so the software share is more likely overstated than understated.
What GmbH entries look like in SKR03 and SKR04
Double-entry means every transaction hits two accounts, debit and credit. Three entries every GmbH has in its first year:
| Transaction | SKR03 | SKR04 |
|---|---|---|
| Share capital of €25,000 paid in | 1200 Bank to 0800 Subscribed capital | 1800 Bank to 2900 Subscribed capital |
| Software subscription €100 plus €19 VAT | 4806 Hardware and software maintenance €100 and 1576 Input VAT €19 to 1200 Bank €119 | 6495 Hardware and software maintenance €100 and 1406 Input VAT €19 to 1800 Bank €119 |
| Managing director salary €5,000 gross | 4127 Managing director salaries to 1740 Wages and salaries payable | 6027 Managing director salaries to 3720 Wages and salaries payable |
Good software suggests these accounts as soon as receipt and payment are in, and you only confirm. The basics of the two charts are in our guide to SKR03 and SKR04 for a GmbH.
Which tool fits your GmbH?
| Your situation | Good fit |
|---|---|
| You want to do bookkeeping and annual accounts yourself | Norman Max: accounts, E-Bilanz and all taxes for €468 a year |
| You book yourself, the tax firm does the annual accounts | Norman Pro with DATEV export and advisor access, €108 a year |
| Your tax firm does everything in DATEV | DATEV through the firm, €3,900 a year and more |
| Company being formed, no revenue yet | Norman free: opening entries, bank reconciliation and e-invoices at no cost |
For freelancers with an EÜR and all legal forms side by side, see the accounting software comparison 2026.
How to do it with Norman
- Set up your books. Under Accounting → Setup you check the legal form and financial year and choose SKR03 or SKR04. Coming from DATEV or another system, you import opening balances and booking batches via Opening & migration.
- Connect your business account. Norman reconciles it automatically, for free. UGs and GmbHs most often connect Qonto (31%), Sparkasse (15%), Finom (14%) and Vivid (11%), according to our bank monitor with bank connections through September 2026; neobanks are over-represented in it. No account yet? With the code NORMAN50 you get a €50 bonus at Qonto.
- Let the books run. Your AI Bookkeeper books receipts and payments double-entry to the accounts of your chart. You review the suggestions under Accounting → Transactions. With Max, Norman also creates the VAT returns and payroll for the managing director and employees.
- Build the annual accounts. Under Annual close Norman builds the balance sheet and P&L from the general ledger and shows you the trial balance, balance sheet total and equity at a glance.
- Lock and submit. Lock the year freezes the figures, Submit E-Bilanz sends them to the tax office. Then you file the corporate, trade and annual VAT returns. For publication, you download the condensed balance sheet as a PDF.
Double-entry bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and e-invoices cost nothing. Annual accounts, E-Bilanz and all company taxes cost €39 a month, billed yearly. The close step by step is on the annual accounts with Norman page, and everything for your company is on Norman for a GmbH.
Can I prepare the annual accounts and E-Bilanz myself?
Yes. As managing director you prepare the annual accounts (§ 264(1) HGB) and submit the E-Bilanz and tax returns yourself, with Norman straight from the app. A small GmbH does not need an audit (§ 316(1) HGB), and the Tax Advisory Act does not stop you from handling your own company's taxes.
What a mistake costs: if you file the corporate tax return late, the tax office can charge a late-filing surcharge of 0.25% of the assessed tax per month started, at least €25 (§ 152(5) AO). If you publish the accounts late, a fine of €2,500 to €25,000 can follow (§ 335 HGB). How the returns fit together is explained in our GmbH tax return guide. How day-to-day GmbH bookkeeping works is in our guide to GmbH bookkeeping.
Changelog
- October 2026: Rewritten: comparison table by annual accounts and E-Bilanz with yearly prices (as of October 2026), a worked example for a small GmbH, SKR03 and SKR04 entries, deadlines 2026 to 2028 including the corporate tax cut from 2028, numbers from our research and the steps in Norman. Collmex and FreeFinance left the table because their pricing pages list no closing features. Lexware Office, sevDesk and BuchhaltungsButler prepare neither the annual accounts nor corporate and trade tax.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best accounting software for a GmbH?
- The best one books double-entry and produces the annual accounts with the E-Bilanz itself, and in this comparison only Norman does that. With Lexware Office, sevDesk or BuchhaltungsButler you pay for the annual accounts on top at a tax advisor, usually €1,500–5,000 a year. With Norman, double-entry bookkeeping is free; annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax cost €468 a year with Max.
- Is there free double-entry accounting software in Germany?
- Yes. For a UG or GmbH, double-entry bookkeeping is free with Norman: a general ledger in SKR03 or SKR04, bank reconciliation, unlimited e-invoices and the AI autopilot. You pay only when you need reports for your advisor (Pro, €9 a month) or the annual accounts and taxes (Max, €39 a month), both billed yearly.
- Which provider handles GmbH bookkeeping and annual accounts in one place?
- Either a tax firm that does both, or software that builds the annual accounts from the same books. Among the tools in this comparison only Norman does that: Max builds the balance sheet and P&L from the general ledger, plus the E-Bilanz, corporate, trade and annual VAT returns, and you submit everything via ELSTER straight from the app.
- Can I file the E-Bilanz myself as managing director?
- Yes. A small GmbH or UG does not have to have its accounts prepared or audited by a tax advisor; the audit duty starts with medium-sized companies (§ 316 HGB). With Norman you submit the E-Bilanz straight from the app.
- SKR03 or SKR04: which is better for a GmbH?
- Both are allowed. SKR04 follows the balance sheet layout of § 266 HGB and is common for corporations; SKR03 is organised by business process and widely used by tax firms. What matters is that your software supports both and that you do not switch mid-year.
- How much does GmbH accounting software cost per year?
- For ongoing double-entry bookkeeping you pay €0 with Norman, €262.80 with Lexware Office L and €274.80 with sevDesk Buchhaltung, net per year, as of October 2026. The annual accounts decide the total: if the software does not produce them, €1,500–5,000 at a tax advisor come on top.
Bookkeeping and annual accounts for your GmbH, no tax firm needed
Your AI Bookkeeper books receipts and payments double-entry in SKR03 or SKR04, reconciles your business account and writes e-invoices, for free. With Max, Norman is the only tool in this comparison that also builds the VAT returns, annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax, and you file everything straight from the app: €39 a month, billed yearly.