{"id":4440,"date":"2026-04-20T08:46:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=4440"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:13:02","slug":"gobd","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/gobd\/","title":{"rendered":"GoBD"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\">\n<h2>Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n        <li><a href=\"#einleitung\">Brief definition<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#grundlagen\">Basics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#recht\">Legal framework<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#einordnung\">Classification<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#tools\">Requirements<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#schritte\">Procedure<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#praxis\">Practice<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fehler\">Sources of error<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fazit\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n\n<section id=\"einleitung\">\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n          <p><strong>GoBD<\/strong> stands for <strong>Principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form, and for data access<\/strong>. The GoBD specify requirements for digital accounting, electronic records, retention and data access in the context of tax audits.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"grundlagen\">\n        <h2>Basics<\/h2>\n        <p>The GoBD apply to all tax-relevant data and documents that are generated, received, processed, or stored electronically. This includes, for example, digital receipts, booking data, reports, and electronic invoices.<\/p>\n        <p>Essentially, it's about managing digital records in such a way that they <strong>understandable<\/strong>, <strong>complete<\/strong> and <strong>verifiable<\/strong> remain and are available within the retention periods.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"recht\">\n        <h2>Legal framework<\/h2>\n        <p>The GoBD are administrative provisions from the tax authorities and are related to tax accounting and record-keeping obligations, as well as data access during audits. They supplement the principles of <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/proper-bookkeeping\/\">proper bookkeeping<\/a> for electronic procedures.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"einordnung\">\n        <h2>Systematic classification<\/h2>\n        <p>Within the compliance cluster, the GoBD are closely linked with:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/process-documentation\/\">Process documentation<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/internal-control-system-ics\/\">Internal Control System<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/retention-periods\/\">Retention obligations<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/digitale-archivierung\/\">Digital archiving<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/operational-review\/\">Company audit<\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>In practice, the GoBD apply wherever processes, systems, and interfaces influence the creation and storage of booking and voucher data.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"tools\">\n        <h2>Core requirements<\/h2>\n        <ul>\n          <li><strong>Understandability and verifiability<\/strong> Business transactions and their processing steps must be clearly reconstructible.<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Completeness<\/strong> All tax-relevant data and documents must be completely recorded and retained.<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Order and documentation<\/strong> Processes, responsibilities, systems and interfaces should be documented (e.g. via the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/process-documentation\/\">Process documentation<\/a>).<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Protection against unnoticed changes:<\/strong> Data must be stored in such a way that unauthorised changes are detectable.<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Documents must be retrievable within the retention period.<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Data Access:<\/strong> During audits, legally permissible access to tax-relevant data must be enabled.<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <div class=\"snippet tip\">\n          <p><strong>Practical<\/strong> GoBD-relevant are not only the accounting software but also the upstream processes \u2013 e.g. <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/digital-receipt-processing\/\">digital document processing<\/a> or dealing with <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/erechnung\/\">E-invoices<\/a>.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"schritte\">\n        <h2>Typical workflow in practice<\/h2>\n        <ol>\n          <li>Recording of tax-relevant business transactions (receipt, invoice, payment).<\/li>\n          <li>Processing in systems (e.g. document workflow, accounting, archive).<\/li>\n          <li>Checks and balances (e.g. via defined checks in the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/internal-control-system-ics\/\">IKS<\/a>).<\/li>\n          <li>Storage in a structured filing or archive system<a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/digitale-archivierung\/\">digital archiving<\/a>).<\/li>\n          <li>Template and data access capability for audit purposes<a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/operational-review\/\">Company audit<\/a>).<\/li>\n        <\/ol>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"praxis\">\n        <h2>Practical relevance<\/h2>\n        <p>For an organisation that complies with GoBD, it is crucial that processes align across system boundaries. A common focus is on the complete audit trail, clear responsibilities, and comprehensible documentation of processing steps.<\/p>\n        <p>In financial accounting, analyses such as <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/summen--und-saldenliste-susa\/\">Trial balance<\/a> Or <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/business-management-analysis\/\">BWA<\/a> while the controls, but do not replace documented processes and controls.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fehler\">\n        <h2>Typical sources of error<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet warn\">\n          <ul>\n            <li>Unclear or missing process documentation (e.g., missing <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/process-documentation\/\">Process documentation<\/a>).<\/li>\n            <li>Media breaks without a traceable chain of evidence (scan, email, upload, archive).<\/li>\n            <li>Unstructured storage or missing storage regulations<a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/retention-periods\/\">Retention obligations<\/a>).<\/li>\n            <li>Changes to data without logging or an identifiable history.<\/li>\n            <li>Missing or unclear responsibilities for controls (IKS).<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"faq\">\n        <h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Apply the GoBD only to large companies?<\/h3>\n        <p>No. In principle, any organisation that electronically processes or stores tax-relevant documents is GoBD-relevant. The scope and design should be tailored to the company's size and process complexity.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Is it enough to save receipts as PDFs?<\/h3>\n        <p>Crucially, tax-relevant information must be retained in full and be available in the event of an audit. For certain electronic documents, a structured data part may also exist, which must also be retained.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>What is the most important measure for getting started?<\/h3>\n        <p>Clear process descriptions (procedural documentation) and defined controls (internal control system) are typical starting points for systematically ensuring traceability, responsibilities, and retention.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fazit\">\n        <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n        <p>The GoBD are the central framework for digital regularity in accounting. They require traceable processes, complete and auditable records, proper retention, and the possibility of permissible data access in the event of an audit.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <footer class=\"author\">\n        <strong>Author<\/strong>\n        <span>the BAS editorial team<\/span>\n        <span class=\"note\">Services pursuant to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG, no tax or legal advice.<\/span>\n      <\/footer>\n\n      <p class=\"disclaimer\">\n        Brasser Accounting Solutions GmbH is a specialised accounting service provider and part of a corporate group with Quint GmbH (tax consultancy\/auditing) and Service Place \u00c5rj\u00e4ng AB (Swedish tax office). BAS exclusively performs services according to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG and does not provide tax or legal advice.\n      <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","glossar-kategorien":[21],"class_list":["post-4440","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-compliance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}