SAP accounting software for midsize companies: posted where the document is created
In SAP Business One, goods receipts, invoices and payments create their own journal entries. Financial accounting, banking, cost accounting and reporting work on the same data as purchasing, inventory and sales.
For German tax advisors, the DATEV interface hands over postings and master data as a file. In the live demo, you see the path from document to balance sheet in the system.
SAP Business One accounting: what financial accounting covers
Accounting records every business transaction that moves money – invoices, payments, inventory movements, depreciation – and condenses it into open items, balances, the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement. If the accounting software runs separately from the inventory system, much of this is entered twice.
In SAP Business One, financial accounting is part of the ERP system. Purchasing, sales and inventory transactions trigger their journal entries when the document is posted. General ledger, accounts receivable and payable, banking, dunning, cost accounting with budgets, fixed assets and financial reports are part of the standard.
For companies in Germany, a DATEV interface supports the work with the tax advisor, and payroll runs through DATEV HR. What your company needs, and how you will work with your tax advisor in future, we clarify before the quotation.
- Core system
- SAP Business One
- Accounting in the standard
- General ledger, receivables, payables, banking, cost accounting, fixed assets, reports
- Posting logic
- Journal entries created automatically from purchasing, sales, inventory and payments
- Currencies
- Transactions and reports in multiple currencies
- Tax advisor (Germany)
- DATEV interface (file exchange)
- Payroll
- not in the standard; in Germany via DATEV HR
- Database
- SAP HANA or Microsoft SQL Server
- Deployment
- Cloud or on-premise
- Partner status
- SAP Gold Partner since 2006
Where accounting in midsize companies loses time
We hear these patterns often in first meetings. They do not prove that it is the same for you – but they are a good checkpoint before you change your accounting software.
Documents are entered twice
The invoice is created in the inventory system and posted a second time in financial accounting. Every transfer takes time, and every difference has to be tracked down later.
Month-end closing waits for other departments
Goods receipts, inventory values and open orders arrive as lists from the warehouse or sales. By the time everything is reconciled, the figures are too old for decisions.
Open items live in a spreadsheet
Who was reminded when sits in an Excel list or in a colleague’s head. Incoming payments are matched to invoices by hand, and dunning letters are written one by one.
The tax advisor receives folders instead of data
Documents are collected, copied and delivered. Questions from the tax advisor come back weeks later, and cost centres can only be assigned after the fact.
Functions of SAP Business One financial accounting
The following areas are part of SAP Business One and need no add-on. Which of them are set up in your project depends on your processes and on how work is shared with your tax advisor.
General ledger and journal
The chart of accounts starts from a country-specific template and can be adapted. Purchasing, sales and inventory transactions create their journal entries when the document is posted. For manual postings there are posting templates with percentages, recurring postings with an execution date, journal vouchers for review before posting, and the reversal of journal entries.
Receivables, payables and dunning
Receivables and payables are shown per business partner with their age. The system creates dunning letters based on days overdue, payment terms and the amount due. Payments that do not match automatically – such as payments on account – are assigned to open items through reconciliation.
Banking and payments
Incoming and outgoing payments by bank transfer, cheque, cash or credit card. The payment wizard clears invoices in batches; a payment method in the business partner is required. Electronic bank statements are imported and reconciled with the open items.
Taxes
Tax is calculated per document line in all business transactions, following country-specific assignment and reporting rules. In Germany, the advance VAT return is sent to the tax office electronically through an ELSTER add-on – see Tax advisor and tax office.
Foreign currencies
Transactions can be processed and reported in multiple currencies – including invoices, payments and bank statements. The currency of customers and vendors is kept in their master record.
Cost accounting and budgets
Profit centres and cost centres are kept in the system. Distribution rules allocate direct and indirect costs and revenues automatically. Budgets can be defined and monitored; if a limit is exceeded, the system warns or blocks the transaction.
Fixed assets
Machinery, vehicles and equipment are managed as fixed assets in SAP Business One and depreciated. Fixed asset accounting is part of financial accounting, not a separate program.
Financial reports and cash flow
Balance sheet, profit and loss statement, period comparisons, profitability reports and aging of receivables and payables – as standard or from your own report templates. Drill-down takes you from the report to the underlying data. The cash flow forecast shows expected inflows and outflows.
The function descriptions follow the product description and the training material of SAP SE for SAP Business One. Sources are listed under “About this page”. init consulting AG also offers training in financial accounting and fixed assets (in German).
DATEV interface: SAP Business One and your tax advisor in Germany
Many German midsize companies do their own bookkeeping and leave closing, tax returns or payroll to their tax advisor – who works with DATEV. SAP Business One exchanges the data as files.
DATEV export of financial accounting
Postings and master data are exported as a DATEV file that the tax advisor imports. For this to work, DATEV tax codes, business partners and G/L accounts are mapped once.
Payroll through DATEV HR
SAP Business One does not calculate payroll. Employee data goes to DATEV Lohn und Gehalt or LODAS, and the finished payroll comes back as a posting document. Details on the Payroll accounting page.
Advance VAT return via ELSTER
The advance VAT return is sent to the German tax office electronically with an ELSTER add-on – after a test run, using the tax number from the company details. The add-on is not part of the SAP Business One core.
E-invoicing in Germany: receiving now, issuing from 2027
Since 1 January 2025, companies in Germany must be able to receive domestic e-invoices. From 1 January 2027, companies with prior-year revenue above €800,000 must issue e-invoices in domestic B2B business, and from 1 January 2028 all companies must. How init consulting AG implements this with SAP Business One is described on the page E-invoicing with SAP Business One.
From the live demo to running financial accounting
init consulting AG supports the project from the first demo to well beyond go-live – consulting, implementation, training, hosting, maintenance and support come from one company.
Live demo
We show the path from document to balance sheet in the system: incoming invoice, payment, bank statement, open items, dunning and monthly report. Bring a typical month, and you will see your own cases instead of a sample.
Requirements analysis
We clarify the chart of accounts, cost centres, payment methods, foreign currencies and how work is shared with your tax advisor. Ideally, your tax advisor joins this meeting.
Concept and quotation
Processes are documented and mapped to SAP Business One. You receive a quotation with licences, implementation effort and running costs; the choice between cloud and on-premise is made here.
Setup and data migration
Chart of accounts, tax codes, posting periods, payment methods, dunning levels and cost centres are set up, and the DATEV mappings are stored. Customer and vendor master data, opening balances and open items are usually migrated from the legacy system.
Training, go-live and operation
Training in financial accounting and fixed assets takes place at the headquarters in Kösching or remotely. After go-live we remain your contact: ticket support, hotline, remote access, maintenance and release upgrades.
What financial accounting in SAP Business One does not do
We would rather answer these points here than in the first meeting.
No payroll in the standard
SAP Business One does not calculate wages and salaries. In Germany, payroll runs in DATEV; SAP Business One supplies the employee data and posts the result.
DATEV by file, not online
Postings and master data go to the tax advisor as a file. The interface does not include an ongoing online connection to DATEV; the exchange is started deliberately.
ELSTER is an add-on
The electronic advance VAT return is not part of the SAP Business One core. It is sent through an ELSTER add-on that has to be maintained and kept up to date.
No replacement for the tax advisor
Balance sheet and profit and loss statement are available as reports. Annual financial statements, tax returns and tax advice remain with your tax advisor or tax department.
DATEV and ELSTER apply to Germany
Both connections belong to the German localisation of SAP Business One. Companies in Austria, Switzerland or other countries have their own reporting and exchange routes, which we clarify separately in the project.
Implementation is not a software update
Chart of accounts, tax codes and opening balances are agreed with the tax advisor, users are trained, legacy data is cleaned up. Part of the effort lies with your team – so the changeover date is chosen deliberately, often at the start of a year or quarter.
Terms used on this page
- Accounting
- The recording and analysis of all business transactions that move money. Its core is financial accounting, complemented by cost accounting, fixed asset accounting and reporting.
- Journal entry
- A posting in the general ledger with a debit and a credit side. In SAP Business One it is created automatically by purchasing, sales, inventory and payment transactions, or entered manually.
- Open item
- A receivable or payable that has not been fully paid. Open items are the basis for dunning, payment runs and reconciliation.
- Journal voucher
- A journal entry that has been entered but not yet posted to the general ledger. Several journal vouchers can be reviewed and posted together.
- Distribution rule
- A rule that automatically allocates costs or revenues to cost centres or profit centres.
- DATEV interface
- The data exchange between SAP Business One and the software of DATEV eG, which many German tax advisors use. It runs through files in DATEV format.
- Advance VAT return
- The regular VAT report to the German tax office (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung). It is transmitted electronically via ELSTER, the procedure of the German tax administration.
What companies want to know before changing their accounting software
Can our German tax advisor keep working with DATEV?
Yes. You post in SAP Business One and hand over postings and master data to your tax advisor as a file through the DATEV interface. So that the tax advisor can import the data without rework, tax codes, G/L accounts and business partners are mapped once. Ideally, we agree this together with your tax advisor.
What does the live demo show?
The path from document to balance sheet in a running system: incoming invoice, payment and bank statement, open items and dunning, cost centres and monthly report. If you bring a typical month, we work through your cases. The demo is non-binding.
Is financial accounting included in SAP Business One or a separate module?
It is included. General ledger, accounts receivable and payable, banking, dunning, cost accounting, fixed assets and financial reports are part of the SAP Business One standard. Not part of the core are the ELSTER add-on for the German advance VAT return and payroll, which in Germany runs in DATEV.
Is payroll included?
No. SAP Business One does not calculate payroll. In Germany, the route is DATEV HR: employee data goes to DATEV Lohn und Gehalt or LODAS, and the payroll returns as a posting document. Details on the Payroll accounting page.
What does SAP Business One cost?
There are two models: cloud as a running fee per user and month, or on-premise as a one-time licence per user. Implementation, training and maintenance come on top, plus licences for add-ons where needed. A reliable figure is only possible after the requirements analysis. The cost factors are listed on the Prices and costs page.
Can we switch in the middle of the financial year?
It is possible, but switching at the start of a year or quarter is simpler. Opening balances and open items are then migrated, and the history for the current year stays in the legacy system. We set the date in the requirements analysis together with your tax advisor.
What does the German e-invoicing mandate mean for our accounting?
You must be able to receive domestic e-invoices since 2025. From 2027, companies with prior-year revenue above €800,000 must issue e-invoices, and from 2028 all companies must. init consulting AG implements this with SAP Business One; details are on the E-invoicing page.
Cloud or on-premise – which makes more sense?
Both are possible, including hosting operated by us. Predictable running costs and no own server operation speak for the cloud; existing infrastructure and internal data storage requirements speak for on-premise. More on the Cloud ERP page.
Who supports us after go-live?
The same team that implemented the system. init consulting AG offers ticket support, a telephone hotline and remote access as well as ongoing maintenance, patch management and release upgrades. Go to support
See your accounting in the live demo
Bring a typical incoming invoice, a bank statement and the list you currently use to track open items. We show you in the system what SAP Business One covers in the standard and what the exchange with your tax advisor would look like.
Direct contact
- Phone
- +49 8456 2 78 04-0
- Head office
- Ruppertswies 14
85092 Kösching, Germany - Locations
- Ingolstadt · Munich · Regensburg · Remscheid · Hanover · Rheine · Limburg an der Lahn · Innsbruck · Vienna · Switzerland
