{"id":4442,"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=4442"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:13:03","slug":"proper-bookkeeping","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/ordnungsmaessige-buchfuehrung\/","title":{"rendered":"Proper bookkeeping"},"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>Proper bookkeeping<\/strong> refers to the adherence to legal principles in keeping books and records. The aim is a complete, correct, timely, and understandable documentation of business transactions.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"grundlagen\">\n        <h2>Basics<\/h2>\n        <p>Proper bookkeeping means that business transactions are systematically recorded, clearly documented, and made traceable through supporting documents. The basis is ongoing <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/financial-accounting\/\">Financial accounting<\/a> as well as \u2013 in the case of accounting companies \u2013 the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/double-entry-bookkeeping\/\">Double-entry bookkeeping<\/a>.<\/p>\n        <p>The focus is on traceability and verifiability: an expert third party must be able to trace the business transactions within a reasonable time.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"recht\">\n        <h2>Legal framework<\/h2>\n        <p>The requirements arise from commercial and tax law provisions for bookkeeping and record-keeping. For electronic procedures, requirements for regularity are specified by administrative provisions.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"snippet tip\">\n          <p><strong>Relevant to practice:<\/strong> For digital bookkeeping, documentation, traceability of processing steps, and proper safekeeping of receipts are particularly important.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"einordnung\">\n        <h2>Systematic classification<\/h2>\n        <p>Proper book-keeping is the basis for accounting compliance and is directly related to:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/gobd\/\">GoBD<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/process-documentation\/\">Process documentation<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/retention-periods\/\">Retention obligations<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/internal-control-system-ics\/\">Internal Control System<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/digitale-archivierung\/\">Digital archiving<\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>It also forms the basis for the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/jahresabschluss-vorbereiten\/\">Annual financial statements<\/a> and for exams, for example, a <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/operational-review\/\">Company audit<\/a>.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"tools\">\n        <h2>Core requirements<\/h2>\n        <ul>\n          <li>Complete recording of all business transactions<\/li>\n          <li>Correct, clear, and understandable bookings<\/li>\n          <li>Evidence principle: Bookings must be verifiable by means of receipts.<\/li>\n          <li>Proper storage of documents<\/li>\n          <li>Understandable processes in digital systems<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"schritte\">\n        <h2>Typical procedure<\/h2>\n        <ol>\n          <li>Recording of business transactions and documents<\/li>\n          <li>Coding and accounting<\/li>\n          <li>Documentation of processes and access routes<\/li>\n          <li>Archiving and Retention<\/li>\n          <li>Ongoing checks (e.g. plausibility and reconciliation checks)<\/li>\n        <\/ol>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"praxis\">\n        <h2>Practical relevance<\/h2>\n        <p>Proper bookkeeping is a prerequisite for reliable evaluations (e.g. <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/business-management-analysis\/\">BWA<\/a>) and for structured preparation of final reports. The better the ongoing bookkeeping is organised, the more efficiently reconciliations and closing preparations can be carried out.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fehler\">\n        <h2>Typical sources of error<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet warn\">\n          <ul>\n            <li>Incomplete documentation or missing document linkage<\/li>\n            <li>Unaccount<\/li>\n            <li>Unstructured storage and unclear access rights in digital archives<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"faq\">\n        <h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Who is obligated to keep proper accounts?<\/h3>\n        <p>Companies that are legally obliged to keep books and records must do so properly.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Does regularity also apply to digital receipts?<\/h3>\n        <p>Yes. Digital receipts must be processed and stored in a way that ensures they remain traceable and auditable.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>What role does documentation play?<\/h3>\n        <p>Documentation ensures that processes, responsibilities, and processing steps are traceable.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fazit\">\n        <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n        <p>Proper bookkeeping is the foundation for accounting compliance. It ensures that business transactions are demonstrably documented, documents are properly stored, and evaluations and closing work can be carried out on a reliable basis.<\/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-4442","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-compliance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4442","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=4442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}