GoBD and digital receipts in Germany: what small businesses using the EÜR need to know

The GoBD are a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance that says how bookkeeping and receipts must be kept and stored digitally. Even if you calculate your profit with the EÜR, you must keep documents under section 147 (1) AO (GoBD margin number 115). The core for practice: every entry needs a receipt, recording promptly, receipts unaltered and retrievable, digitally received receipts kept digitally. A certification or seal for software is not required.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Receipt principle: entries and records must be proven, or be provable, by a receipt (GoBD margin number 30).
Timely: recording non-cash transactions within ten days is unobjectionable (GoBD margin number 47).
Unaltered: the original content must remain identifiable (section 146 (4) AO).
Digital stays digital: invoices received electronically are kept in the format in which they arrived (GoBD margin number 131).
No seal needed: there are no positive attestations; third-party certificates do not bind the tax office (GoBD margin numbers 180, 181).

What are the GoBD and who do they affect?

GoBD stands for principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access. It is a Federal Ministry of Finance letter, not a statute; it explains how the tax administration reads sections 145 to 147 AO. It also affects freelancers and small businesses using the EÜR: anyone who treats the surplus as profit under section 4 (3) EStG must keep records and documents under section 147 (1) AO (GoBD margin number 115). The current version has applied since 14 July 2025 (margin number 185). How long you must keep documents is in Receipt retention periods in Germany.

The main requirements in plain words

Requirement	What it means	Source
Receipt principle	Every entry has a receipt, or you can prove it.	GoBD margin number 30
Complete, correct, timely, orderly	Record individually, completely, correctly, in good time and in order.	section 146 (1) AO
Prompt	Recording non-cash transactions within ten days is unobjectionable.	GoBD margin numbers 46, 47
Unaltered	Changes must not hide the original content.	section 146 (4) AO; GoBD margin number 58
Protected	You secure your system against loss.	GoBD margin number 103
Traceable	The procedure is described (procedure documentation).	GoBD margin numbers 151, 152

Digital receipts: receiving, scanning, storing

Scanning or photographing paper receipts. When a paper receipt is captured, the reproduction must match the original visually when it is made legible. The letter expressly names smartphones, multifunction devices and scanning lines as devices if the requirements are met (margin number 130). Full colour reproduction is required where the colour has evidentiary function (margin number 137). An electronic signature or time stamp is not required for tax purposes (margin number 138). After that you may work with the electronic document (margin number 139); the paper may be destroyed unless it must be kept as an original (margin number 140). More in receipt scanning apps.

Receipts received digitally. E-mail attachments and downloaded invoices are kept in the format in which you received them. Conversion into another format is allowed only under the conditions of margin number 135, among them no change to image or content and no restriction of machine evaluation (margin number 131 as amended on 14 July 2025, margin number 135). A paper printout therefore does not replace the electronic file.

E-invoices. Since the amendment of 14 July 2025: for e-invoices within the meaning of section 14 (1) sentences 3 and 6 UStG, it is sufficient to keep only the structured part if the requirements of the letter are met (margin number 119, amended). How to write invoices is in writing invoices as a small business.

OCR text. If a scan is turned into a searchable file by text recognition, the full text must be kept after verification and correction for the retention period (margin number 130). So check what the text recognition read.

Procedure documentation: how much do you need?

The procedure documentation describes the organisationally and technically intended process (margin number 152). Its form depends on the complexity and diversification of the business, the organisation and the data processing system used (margin number 151). For scanning, the letter recommends an organisational instruction that regulates, among other things, who may capture and when capture takes place (margin number 136). For a small business, a short written description of your procedure is a reasonable way to go; that is this article's assessment, not wording from the letter. If in doubt, ask your tax office or tax adviser.

Do I need GoBD-certified software?

No, there is no duty to certify. The letter says: positive attestations of proper bookkeeping are issued neither in a tax audit nor in a binding ruling (margin number 180). Third-party certificates can serve as a selection criterion for software but do not bind the tax authority (margin number 181). More important than a seal is that you follow the process: a receipt for every entry, prompt, unaltered, secured.

Common mistakes

Keeping only a paper printout of an e-mailed invoice. The electronic file must stay (margin number 131).
Overwriting or renaming receipts later so that the original is no longer recognisable. The original content must remain identifiable (section 146 (4) AO).
Booking months later. Record promptly; ten days for non-cash transactions are unobjectionable (margin number 47).
No backup. The system is to be secured against loss (margin number 103).
Relying blindly on seals. Attestations do not bind the tax office (margin number 181).

How it works with VAT GPT

You upload income and expense receipts to VAT GPT as PDF, photo or XML file. For invoices the AI reads date, amounts, VAT, currency and country and assigns expenses to one of 29 categories; you check and confirm the result. Through the data export you get a ZIP file with your income and expense receipts as original files, filed by year, quarter and month, with overview tables and a DATEV bookings file for your tax adviser.

After that it takes three steps:

Upload files: your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check the result: VAT GPT breaks down the VAT for Germany and the EU (OSS) and prepares the advance return – monthly or quarterly. You check and confirm.
Send: with VAT GPT Pro via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

With Go you use all Pro features free of charge for 30 days. Get to know VAT GPT or create an account right away.

What VAT GPT does not do

VAT GPT is not tax advice.
VAT GPT is not a GoBD archive and does not write a procedure documentation for you: the organisation of your filing and the description of your procedure stay with you.
VAT GPT does not scan paper receipts with a camera function of its own: you upload photos or scans that you made with your smartphone or scanner.

What does VAT GPT cost?

Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features), Pro €49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Do the GoBD apply to me as a small business using the EÜR? Yes, for keeping records and documents under section 147 (1) AO (GoBD margin number 115).

May I photograph receipts with my smartphone? Yes; the letter expressly names smartphones if the requirements are met (margin number 130).

Do I need a signature or time stamp? Not for tax purposes (margin number 138).

Must I keep the paper after scanning? Not unless it must be kept as an original (margin number 140).

Is the PDF enough for an e-invoice? For e-invoices the structured part is enough if the requirements are met (margin number 119 as amended on 14 July 2025).