# Software for Bookkeeping and Annual Accounts of a Small GmbH or UG in Germany: 2026 Comparison
Source: https://norman.finance/de/en/blog/best-accounting-software-gmbh-germany
Author: Diana
Published: 2026-05-29
Updated: 2026-11-06

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**For bookkeeping and annual accounts of a small GmbH or UG, tools fit that book double-entry and build the annual accounts with the E-Bilanz and the company tax returns themselves, such as Norman.** With Norman, double-entry bookkeeping is free; annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax cost €468 a year. An EÜR tool is not enough for a GmbH, not even in the first year.

**About this comparison:** Norman publishes it and is part of it. Facts about the other tools come from their own product, pricing and help pages, as of November 2026.

## 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 builds the annual accounts and taxes itself:** for €468 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. The app works in German and English.
- **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](/de/en/blog/gmbh-bookkeeping-obligations-double-entry).

## 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; you submit via ELSTER | Max: you submit via ELSTER | **€0** bookkeeping, **€468** with accounts and taxes |
| **Lexware buchhaltung** (desktop) | yes | yes, you build them in the software | no; annual VAT return from plus | plus: €364.80 |
| **[Lexware Office](/de/en/lexoffice-alternative)** | plan L: bookkeeping, EÜR and VAT | no, through the tax firm | no, through the tax firm | L: €262.80 |
| **[sevDesk](/de/en/sevdesk-alternative)** | from the Buchhaltung plan | no, through the tax firm | no, through the tax firm | Buchhaltung: €310.80 |
| **[BuchhaltungsButler](/de/en/buchhaltungsbutler-alternative)** | 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 November 2026, list prices without promotions, from the providers' pricing pages. Lexware Office billed monthly, Lexware buchhaltung billed yearly, sevDesk at the same price billed monthly or yearly. BuchhaltungsButler billed monthly, as of September 2026. Tax firm costs from our overview of [accountant costs for a GmbH](/de/en/blog/accountant-costs-gmbh-germany). Accountable is left out on purpose: by its own help pages it offers neither double-entry bookkeeping nor annual accounts for a UG or GmbH.

What the table means: Norman prepares the annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate and trade tax itself, for €468 a year. They are ready as soon as your books are. Lexware buchhaltung builds the balance sheet and E-Bilanz, but not the corporate and trade tax returns. 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](/de/en/blog/datev-alternative-gmbh-germany) comparison. Norman builds the annual accounts from the same books your AI Bookkeeper keeps all year. If you are looking for balance sheet software with the E-Bilanz, the page [balance sheet software for GmbH and UG](/de/en/balance-sheet-software) shows how Norman builds the balance sheet, P&L and E-Bilanz from your postings.

## 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](/de/en/blog/tax-advisor-vs-software-germany).

For comparison, from our study of [business expenses of entrepreneurs](/de/en/blog/business-expenses-entrepreneurs-germany): 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](/de/en/blog/skr03-skr04-gmbh-chart-of-accounts).

## AI for GmbH bookkeeping: what it does today

AI that prepares your GmbH's bookkeeping and taxes exists. AI that files without you does not: as managing director you approve the annual accounts and returns and submit them yourself. Norman books receipts and payments in SKR03 or SKR04, checks for missing receipts and duplicates before every VAT return and builds the annual accounts, E-Bilanz and all taxes, also from ChatGPT and Claude. You approve and submit. For many incoming invoices that several people approve, there are tools like Candis. They do not build the annual accounts or tax returns.

What good AI bookkeeping looks like is in our comparison of the [best AI accounting software](/de/en/blog/best-accounting-software-ai-mcp). How Norman builds the annual accounts with AI is in [GmbH annual accounts with AI](/de/en/blog/gmbh-annual-accounts-ai).

## 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](/de/en/blog/accounting-software-comparison-germany).

## How to do it with Norman

1. **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**.
2. **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](/de/en/blog/banks-self-employed-germany) 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.
3. **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.
4. **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.
5. **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](/de/en/annual-accounts) page, and everything for your company is on [Norman for a GmbH](/de/en/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](/de/en/blog/gmbh-tax-return-germany) guide. How day-to-day GmbH bookkeeping works is in our guide to [GmbH bookkeeping](/de/en/blog/gmbh-bookkeeping-germany).