There is no single DATEV route
Client and firm often mean different things when they say “DATEV import”. Some think of DATEV Unternehmen online, others of a posting batch, yet others of an e-mail mailbox for documents.
All routes ultimately lead to DATEV — but not all equally cleanly. Whoever clarifies this in advance saves many later queries between business and firm.
Route 1: DATEV Unternehmen online (DUO)
DUO is the established channel. Documents land in “Belege online”, the firm accesses them. For structured e-invoices that works but has limits: validation, approval and audit-proof original filing are not the core of DUO.
For many businesses DUO is still the obvious route because the firm works with it anyway. The only question is what happens before it.
Route 2: posting batch and document transfer
Here posting records — often as a DATEV format or CSV — plus document images are handed to the firm. Done cleanly this considerably reduces the typing.
The crux is data quality before export: correct accounts, correct VAT keys, a clean voucher link. If that is wrong, the posting batch only shifts the work instead of saving it.
Route 3: the e-mail mailbox for documents
Convenient but risky. Invoices are sent to a collective address and processed from there. With structured XRechnung the most is lost here: the XML original is overlooked, not checked, not archived audit-proof.
As a sole process the mailbox is not a good DATEV feeder. As an access route into an orderly process, however, it is.
Route 4: an upstream invoice intake
This is where an inbox solution comes in. It accepts every e-invoice via a fixed address, detects the format, validates against the norm, obtains approval, archives the original audit-proof — and only then hands cleanly to DATEV.
DATEV stays the bookkeeping system. The upstream intake only ensures that only checked, complete, correctly assigned documents arrive there. Exactly that lowers the queries in the month-end close.
Which route fits whom?
A rough orientation that holds in most cases:
| Route | Suitable when | Process boundary |
|---|---|---|
| DATEV Unternehmen online | Few documents and close firm coordination | Validation and approval are not DUO's core |
| Posting batch | Many documents and reliable accounting data | Data quality must be correct before export |
| Email mailbox | Only as an entry into an orderly process | Risky for XML originals as the sole process |
| Upstream inbox | Mixed formats, checks, and documented approvals | Hands off to DATEV afterwards; does not replace DATEV |
- Few documents, close coordination with the firm → DUO can suffice.
- Many documents, wish for less typing → posting batch with good data quality.
- Mixed formats, unclear approvals, GoBD worries → upstream invoice intake before DATEV.
- Pure e-mail mailbox as the only process → not recommended for e-invoices.