In short
Lexware Office is the broadest tool with the most specific hosting evidence. sevdesk is the only one with a free plan, but it receives e-invoices only on its Buchhaltung plan. BuchhaltungsButler automates most and supports balance sheets. FastBill focuses on invoices and receipts. All four were available in November 2026 and are built for German tax rules.
Accounting software for small businesses in Germany must do three things in 2026: create and read e-invoices, archive receipts in line with the GoBD and work smoothly with a tax adviser. We assessed four widely used cloud tools based on their public documentation.
- 1
Best for: Small firms doing their own books and payroll
Lexware Office
Broad feature set from invoicing to payroll. Hosting and audit information is the most specific in this comparison. No free plan, but a 30-day trial.
Pros
- Data centres near Frankfurt with ISO 27001
- Audit under IDW PS 880 and GoBD, per vendor
- Payroll and business account available
Cons
- No permanent free plan
- Bookkeeping and EÜR only from version L
- 2
Best for: Freelancers who want a low-cost start
sevdesk
The only free plan here, including ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoices. Receiving and booking e-invoices requires the Buchhaltung plan.
Pros
- Permanently free entry plan
- EÜR, P&L and VAT pre-return
- DATEV and ADDISON exports, REST API
Cons
- Receiving e-invoices only from Buchhaltung plan
- No publicly stated certification such as ISO 27001
- 3
Best for: Balance-sheet companies and retailers with many receipts
BuchhaltungsButler
Strongest automation for receipts and payments, with EÜR and balance sheet in one tool. Price level is above the others.
Pros
- AI-assisted matching of receipts and payments
- EÜR and double-entry with balance sheet
- Tax adviser access on all plans
Cons
- Higher price level
- No free plan
- 4
Best for: Freelancers whose tax adviser does the books
FastBill
Solid invoicing tool with e-invoicing on every plan, banking and VAT pre-returns. The plan overview lists no EÜR of its own.
Pros
- Create and receive e-invoices on all plans
- Automated VAT pre-return
- Hosting in Germany, two-factor login
Cons
- No EÜR or balance sheet in plan overview
- Several features only as add-ons
| Product | hosting | trialDays | eInvoice | formerName |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexware Office | Rechenzentren im Großraum Frankfurt am Main (ISO 27001, PCI DSS) | 30 Tage | ✓ | lexoffice (bis 2024) |
| sevdesk | Serverstandort Deutschland, Hosting bei AWS | 14 Tage | ✓ | – |
| BuchhaltungsButler | deutsche Rechenzentren | 14 Tage | ✓ | – |
| FastBill | Hosting in Deutschland | 14 Tage | ✓ | – |
Methodology and criteria
- Features: Invoicing, receipts, banking, VAT pre-return, EÜR or balance sheet
- E-invoicing: Create, receive and process XRechnung and ZUGFeRD, by plan
- Data protection and hosting: Server location, certifications, audit reports, data processing agreement
- Pricing model and onboarding: Free plan, trial, cancellation terms, price level
- Tax adviser collaboration: DATEV export, adviser access, interfaces
- Automation: Receipt recognition, payment matching, booking suggestions
We did not run a hands-on long-term test. The assessment is based on publicly documented features, pricing pages, security and privacy information and help centre articles (as of 13 November 2026).
Weighting: features 25 percent, e-invoicing 20 percent, data protection and hosting 20 percent, pricing model and onboarding 15 percent, tax adviser collaboration 10 percent, automation 10 percent. The ranking is an editorial assessment. See our methodology for details.
Which tool suits whom?
The four products cover different ground. Lexware Office, sevdesk and BuchhaltungsButler produce the profit calculation themselves, according to their vendors. FastBill focuses on invoicing, receipts and banking and hands bookkeeping to your tax adviser via DATEV export. All four were still available in November 2026. We checked the vendor websites and pricing pages on 13 November 2026.
All four target the German market and German tax rules, such as the cash-basis profit calculation (EÜR) and the VAT pre-return filed through ELSTER. Germany's e-invoicing mandate changes the requirements: most businesses must issue e-invoices from 2027 or 2028 and receive them already. We therefore checked whether each tool creates and reads XRechnung and ZUGFeRD. Record retention follows the GoBD.
The four tools at a glance
Criterion | Lexware Office | sevdesk | BuchhaltungsButler | FastBill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Free plan | no, 30-day trial | yes, with limits | no, 14-day trial | no, 14-day trial |
Profit calculation (vendor) | EÜR, year-end closing alone or with adviser | EÜR and P&L | EÜR and balance sheet | no EÜR listed in plan overview |
E-invoices | create and receive | create on free plan, receive from Buchhaltung plan | create on all plans | create, send, receive on all plans |
VAT pre-return | yes (from version L) | yes | yes | yes |
Hosting (vendor) | data centres near Frankfurt, ISO 27001 | servers in Germany, hosted on AWS | German data centres | hosting in Germany |
Tax adviser | DATEV export, DATEV cloud services, adviser access | DATEV and ADDISON export, adviser portal | DATEV export, adviser access included | DATEV export, adviser access |
Price level | low | low | medium | low to medium |
We do not quote exact prices because vendors change them often and use discounts. Check the current pricing page before you sign up.
Lexware Office: broad coverage
Lexware Office was called lexoffice until 2024. Its maker Haufe-Lexware says it renamed the product to bundle its cloud offering under the Lexware brand, with contracts and features unchanged. It covers invoicing, receipts, bookkeeping, EÜR and VAT, with payroll and a business account as add-ons.
Lexware provides the most specific data protection information in this group. According to the vendor, data is stored in data centres in the Frankfurt am Main area certified to ISO 27001 and PCI DSS. An audit firm reviews data protection and security under the German standard IDW PS 880 and the GoBD. There is no permanent free plan.
sevdesk: free entry point
sevdesk, based in Offenburg, is the only tool here with a permanently free plan. It allows three invoices or e-invoices per month in ZUGFeRD and XRechnung. Bookkeeping with EÜR, VAT pre-return and AI-assisted receipt capture costs extra. One limitation: according to its help centre, receiving and processing e-invoices requires the Buchhaltung plan. Read the full assessment in our sevdesk review.
BuchhaltungsButler: heavy automation
BuchhaltungsButler targets small and growing companies with many receipts. It matches receipts and payments with AI and suggests entries. Besides EÜR it supports double-entry bookkeeping with a balance sheet. The vendor states that it is part of the Visma Group. Its price level is higher, but every package includes tax adviser access.
FastBill: invoicing first
FastBill is an invoicing tool with receipt management, banking and automated VAT pre-returns. ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoices can be created, sent and received on every plan. The plan overview lists no EÜR or balance sheet. FastBill suits freelancers whose tax adviser closes the books.
Which tool suits which business?
Freelancers with few invoices: sevdesk on the free plan, upgrading once you need to receive and book e-invoices.
Small companies doing their own books: Lexware Office, if documented hosting and payroll matter to you.
Limited companies with a balance sheet or online shops with many receipts: BuchhaltungsButler.
Freelancers working with a tax adviser: FastBill for invoices and receipts, bookkeeping stays with the adviser.
What to check before you decide
A trial of 14 or 30 days is enough for a real test run. Use it to check five points:
E-invoicing on your target plan: Can the plan you intend to pay for create e-invoices and read incoming XRechnung files?
Profit calculation: Is cash-basis accounting enough, or do you need a balance sheet? Pure invoicing tools then drop out.
Bank connection: Is your bank supported, and are payments matched reliably to invoices?
Tax adviser: Ask your adviser which export or access they prefer.
Exit: Can you export all receipts and entries in a machine-readable format if you cancel? The GoBD require access for the full retention period.
All four are cloud services that process personal data of your customers, so under the GDPR you need a data processing agreement. More comparisons are listed on our comparisons overview.
If you keep your own books, Lexware Office or sevdesk are good choices. Companies with a balance sheet and many receipts should look at BuchhaltungsButler. If your tax adviser handles bookkeeping, an invoicing tool such as FastBill may be all you need. Test your favourite with real receipts and a real e-invoice before migrating data.
Frequently asked questions
Is lexoffice the same as Lexware Office?
Yes. Haufe-Lexware renamed lexoffice to Lexware Office in 2024. According to the vendor, features, contracts and terms stayed the same.
Which of these tools is free?
Only sevdesk offers a permanently free plan, limited to three invoices per month and without bookkeeping. The others offer trials of 14 or 30 days.
Can all four tools handle e-invoices?
All four create e-invoices, according to the vendors. Receiving differs: sevdesk processes incoming e-invoices only from its Buchhaltung plan, FastBill on all plans.
Are these tools suitable for companies outside Germany?
They are designed for German tax rules, including EÜR, ELSTER VAT filings and DATEV exports. Businesses without German tax obligations will usually be better served by local software.
Sources
- Neuer Name, gleiche Leistung: lexoffice heißt jetzt Lexware Office , Haufe-Lexware
- Lexware Office: Fakten , Haufe-Lexware
- Lexware Office Preise und Versionen , Haufe-Lexware , 2026-11
- Datenschutz und Datensicherheit bei Lexware Office , Haufe-Lexware
- sevdesk Preise und Tarife , sevdesk GmbH , 2026-11
- E-Rechnung empfangen (sevdesk Hilfecenter) , sevdesk GmbH
- BuchhaltungsButler , BuchhaltungsButler GmbH
- BuchhaltungsButler Preise , BuchhaltungsButler GmbH , 2026-11
- FastBill , FastBill GmbH
- FastBill Preise und Tarife im Überblick , FastBill GmbH , 2026-11
