Free Accounting Software for Kleinunternehmer in Germany 2026: 7 Tools Compared

Key points

• Free usually means the invoicing part only. sevDesk, Accountable, Papierkram and easybill have free plans with limits. The EÜR and tax returns come only with a paid plan everywhere.
• Norman: bookkeeping, invoices, e-invoices, receipt scanning and the AI Autopilot are free without volume limits. The Klein plan, €108 a year, adds the bank connection, the EÜR and the income tax return via ELSTER.
• Lexware Office and WISO MeinBüro have no free plan, only a 30-day and a 14-day trial.
• Income tax from the tool: in this comparison only with Norman (€108 a year) and Accountable (€238.80 a year).
• At no cost at all: write invoices on a free plan and type the EÜR and income tax into Mein ELSTER yourself. That is allowed, but it takes time.

Free accounting software for Kleinunternehmer compared

The table shows what the free plan includes and what you pay once you need the EÜR, which you file every year as a Kleinunternehmer.

Net list prices without promotional discounts, from the vendors' pricing pages, as of November 2026. Lexware Office bills monthly, all others on yearly billing. Every tool in the table creates e-invoices as ZUGFeRD and XRechnung, Lexware Office from M.

Two things stand out. First, with most vendors "free" stops at the invoice: for the EÜR you move to a plan between €108 and €310.80 a year. Second, the tax scope often ends with a report. You then file the income tax return with a second program and copy the profit from the EÜR by hand.

What "free" means at each vendor

The word covers three different offers:

• Free for good, no limits: on the free plans of Norman and Papierkram you write unlimited invoices. Norman also books receipts with AI and connects to ChatGPT and Claude.
• Free for good, with limits: sevDesk (3 invoices a month), Accountable (5 expenses a month) and easybill (50 documents, 3 contacts). That is enough to get started or for a side business.
• Free trial: Lexware Office (30 days), WISO MeinBüro and FastBill (14 days). After that you need a subscription.

Also check what happens to your data. You keep invoices and receipts for 8 years (§ 147 AO). Switching tools every year makes that tedious.

What you really need as a Kleinunternehmer

As a Kleinunternehmer under § 19 UStG you charge no VAT. Your duties are few, but they apply:

• Invoices with all mandatory details and a note on the exemption, for example "Kein Ausweis der Umsatzsteuer gemäß § 19 UStG" (no VAT shown under § 19 UStG). No tax rate, not even "0 %". The invoice template for Kleinunternehmer already includes the note.
• Receiving e-invoices: required for all businesses since 2025. You do not have to issue them as a Kleinunternehmer, see e-invoicing for small businesses.
• Keeping receipts and recording all income and expenses.
• The Anlage EÜR sent electronically to the tax office every year (§ 60 (4) EStDV), plus the income tax return and, as a trader with more than €24,500 profit, the trade tax return.
• VAT pre-returns only in special cases: if you buy services from businesses abroad, for example ads from Google or Meta, you owe the VAT on them yourself (§ 13b UStG). For that period you file a VAT pre-return. Norman Klein includes the VAT pre-return and the EC Sales List.

To check whether you can use the scheme at all, take the two-minute Kleinunternehmer test.

Can you do it at no cost at all?

Yes. You write invoices on a free plan, collect receipts and work out the EÜR with a template. You file the Anlage EÜR and the income tax return in Mein ELSTER, the tax authority's free portal.

The price is your time. Mein ELSTER does not calculate anything from your receipts: you fill in every line of the Anlage EÜR yourself and copy the profit into the income tax return. With a few invoices a year that is doable. With bank transactions, depreciation or a side job it quickly takes a weekend.

Software saves exactly this step. Norman fills in the Anlage EÜR from your bookings, carries the profit into the income tax return and sends both via ELSTER, on the Klein plan for €108 a year. As a self-employed person you deduct the amount as a business expense.

Which tool fits you?

If your revenue passes the limit, you switch to standard VAT. At Norman everything stays in the same account: invoices with VAT, input VAT from your receipts and the VAT pre-return via ELSTER. How the switch works is in switching from Kleinunternehmer to standard VAT. The broad plan comparison for all self-employed people is in our accounting software comparison.

How to start with Norman

1. Create an account with your email address, no payment details. During setup you choose the Kleinunternehmer scheme.
2. Write invoices: Norman adds the § 19 note and numbers them in sequence, as a PDF or e-invoice.
3. Upload receipts or forward them to your receipts address. The AI Autopilot reads and matches them.
4. At year end you move to the Klein plan, connect your bank account and file the EÜR and income tax via ELSTER.

All plans and prices are on the pricing page, the connection to ChatGPT and Claude under Norman MCP.