Frequently asked questions, answered honestly.

ZepDesk is cloud-based accounting and ERP software for the self-employed, small businesses, and mid-sized companies in Germany. It covers invoices, receipts, bookkeeping, German taxes (EÜR, UStVA, KSt, GewSt, E-Bilanz), payroll, and multi-company management, all under one login, with no per-module pricing on the self-service plan.

Yes. When you set up the company, you enable the small-business regulation (Kleinunternehmer-Regelung). All invoices are then issued without VAT and carry the corresponding note. The advance VAT return is dropped automatically, while the annual tax preparation is still generated.

You can output any invoice with one click in the standard format that authorities can read (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD). With the routing ID (Leitweg-ID) in the customer profile, you get a valid e-invoice for public-sector clients in Germany, Austria, and the EU.

ZepDesk generates official ELSTER XML for 14 data types: UStVA (advance VAT return), UStE (annual VAT return), USt 1 H (permanent filing extension and special advance payment), Anlage EÜR, the trade tax return (Gewerbesteuer), the corporate income tax return (Körperschaftsteuer), the capital gains tax filing (Kapitalertragsteuer-Anmeldung), the payroll tax filing (Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung), the assessment declaration under § 180 AO (Feststellungserklärung), business income tax (Anlage S and G), E-Bilanz (XBRL), the recapitulative statement (ZM), OSS, and the property tax assessment declaration (Grundsteuer). You upload the file directly in the Mein ELSTER portal, or ZepDesk transmits it directly via ERiC. The complete personal income tax return (Anlage N, KAP, V, and more) is not part of ZepDesk. You file that as usual in Mein ELSTER or with your tax advisor.

All German banks, because ZepDesk relies on the standard export formats every bank supports (CSV, MT940, CAMT). You upload the file once a month, all transactions are included and are automatically matched with receipts. Alternatively, you can fetch your transactions directly via finAPI (PSD2).

Yes. Every plan includes one company; you add more companies at the plan price per month each (sole proprietor €29.00, association €39.00, partnership €49.00, corporation €79.00 per additional company). Each company has its own logo, its own colors, its own tax settings, and its own numbering range. Switch via the company menu at the top right, with no re-login.

All plugins are included free in every ZepDesk plan and are activated per company with a single click. Currently available: Point of Sale (POS with barcode scanner and TSE per § 146a AO), Compliance (GDPR process documentation and data processing agreement generator), Purchasing, Inventory, Projects, and Workflow Automation. All plugins are developed and maintained exclusively by ZeptronIT. Want a specific plugin? Email us at plugins@zepdesk.de and we'll add suggestions to the roadmap.

Yes. For every record (invoice, customer, receipt, bank transaction, and more) there is an open REST API with filters, pagination, and authentication via API key. For deeper extensions, there are also free plugins available on all plans.

The AI assistant completes tasks directly in the software (for example, preparing entries, creating reports, handling recurring workflows) and explains every step as it goes: what it's doing, why, and how it's structured. That way you take work off your plate while still understanding your books, instead of handing them off blindly. This combination of doing and explaining is unique. You provide the AI yourself (see "Which AI does ZepDesk use?" under Security & Data); without a stored key the assistant stays inactive, and the rest of the software works independently.

Yes. Invoices, receipts, and bank movements are automatically assigned to the correct categories. The report can be exported as a PDF or for upload to the tax office. Allowances, special depreciation, and mixed private use are taken into account.

Accounting → Export → select "For tax advisor" → period (month / quarter / year) → download the ZIP. It contains all entries, master data, and open items, ready to import directly into their software (for example, DATEV).

Yes, with all social insurance contributions for 2026 (health, pension, unemployment, and long-term care insurance, including the childless surcharge) and automatic social insurance reporting. Add an employee, run the month's payroll, get the payslip as a PDF plus the payroll tax file for the tax office: done.

For registered associations (e. V.) and foundations, at €39.00 per month plus VAT. It includes four-sphere accounting under § 64 AO, donation receipts in the official format as PDF, the exemption-limit monitor for the €50,000 threshold (rule effective 2026), plus fund appropriation and AO reserves. Member and dues management with SEPA direct debit is coming soon. gGmbH and gUG stay on the corporation plan and get the nonprofit features included there.

Through Mollie we accept SEPA direct debit, card payment (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx), PayPal, Klarna, and Sofortüberweisung. Payment by invoice in advance is available for annual plans on request.

Yes. With an annual plan you pay for ten months instead of twelve and save two monthly fees (effectively a 16.7% discount off the list price). The benefit is shown automatically at checkout.

Yes. You can cancel at any time, effective at the end of the current billing period, with a click in the customer portal or by email to support@zepdesk.de. No minimum term, no hidden clauses.

Within the first 14 days after signing up: yes, a full refund with no reason required. After that, the monthly cancellation term applies.

Portal → Subscription → Change plan. Upgrades take effect immediately, downgrades at the end of the billing period. The difference is prorated to the day.

When you want to run the software on your own infrastructure (for example, in your own data center or with a designated cloud provider) or need special configurations. Indicative minimum price from €500.00 per month, depending on scope. Consultation on request via the contact form.

On the self-service plans (sole proprietor, association, partnership, corporation): no. For Enterprise/On-Premise, setup effort and migration depend on scope. We provide a fixed-price estimate up front.

Daily encrypted backups at a second location; on self-service, 30 days of retention with point-in-time recovery per day. Tax-relevant accounting and invoice data is retained for ten years regardless, per § 147 AO. Extended backup history on the Enterprise plan.

You get a subdomain in the format shortcode.zepdesk.de. SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt) are provisioned and renewed automatically. You can set up your own domain (for example, accounting.yourcompany.de) on request.

During the beta phase we pursue best-effort availability. Monthly uptime reports are available on the status page. SLA commitments (for example, 99.9%) will be expanded contractually as we move out of beta.

Yes. You receive the data processing agreement (a GDPR-mandated document under Art. 28) automatically at signup as a PDF, fully signed. Data exclusively in the EU, no third countries, and the right to data deletion with a click in the portal.

You do (BYOK, "bring your own key"). ZepDesk supplies the assistant and the integration but runs no AI of its own: you connect your own API key (for example, Claude or OpenAI) or a local or self-hosted model. That way you choose the model, provider, and region yourself, and AI requests go exclusively to your provider, not to ZepDesk AI services. The OCR receipt recognition runs separately on EU servers. The assistant is included in all plans; costs for AI usage arise directly with your chosen provider.

TLS 1.3 for data transfer, AES-256 for databases and backups. Passwords are never stored in plaintext (Argon2 hashing). Login by email and password, with optional two-factor authentication (TOTP).

Yes, TOTP-based (Google Authenticator, 1Password, Authy), enabled in your profile.

In the portal → Account → "Delete account", you start the process. Within 30 days, all personal data is irreversibly deleted. Accounting and invoice data must be retained by law for up to ten years (§ 147 AO); during that time it is stored anonymized.

Yes, unlimited users, with no per-seat surcharge. Standard roles: Admin (everything), Accountant (invoices, receipts, bank), Tax advisor (read access plus export), Sales (invoices, quotes), Read access (view reports only). Roles are configurable per company.