{"id":4444,"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=4444"},"modified":"2026-09-07T16:09:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T16:09:56","slug":"process-documentation","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/verfahrensdokumentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Process documentation"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"definition\">\n  <div class=\"snippet info\">\n    <p>The use of <strong>Process documentation<\/strong> It describes the organisational and technical procedures of an IT-supported Buchf\u00fchrung or recording process. It is intended to make it traceable how tax-relevant data and documents are generated, processed, stored, protected and retrieved.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"bedeutung\">\n  <h2>What is a Procedural documentation?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The Procedural documentation is a component of the requirements for the traceability and verifiability of Buchf\u00fchrungs and recording procedures.<\/p>\n\n  <p>After <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/gobd\/\">GoBD<\/a> it must be described in a comprehensible manner for a relevant IT system how the deployed procedure actually works. The documentation must be sufficiently understandable that an expert third party can comprehend and verify the procedure within a reasonable timeframe.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"inhalt\">\n  <h2>What does a Procedural documentation describe?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The documentation describes the organisational and technical procedures intended for a process. This may include, for example, how electronic documents are created or received, processed, stored, retrieved, protected against loss or alteration, and reproduced.<\/p>\n\n  <p>Following the GoBD, a Procedural documentation generally consists of a general description, user documentation, technical system documentation and operational documentation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"aktualitaet\">\n  <h2>Does a Procedural documentation need to be kept up to date?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The documented process must match the process actually used. Changes to systems or processes must therefore remain historically traceable.<\/p>\n\n  <p>The GoBD provide in particular a versioning system or a traceable change history for this purpose. The documentation must also be available for the required <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/retention-periods\/\">retention period<\/a> remain in place insofar as it is necessary for the understanding of the documents in question.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"iks\">\n  <h2>Procedural documentation and ICS \u2013 what is the difference?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The Procedural documentation describes the procedure used and makes its organisational and technical process transparent.<\/p>\n\n  <p>A <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/internal-control-system-ics\/\">Internal Control System<\/a> on the other hand, comprises the established controls designed to ensure or monitor compliance with defined procedures and requirements. Control measures can be described within the Procedural documentation, but the two terms are not synonymous.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"gobd\">\n  <h2>What is the legal basis for Procedural documentation?<\/h2>\n\n  <p>The requirements are related to the statutory regulations for Bookkeeping and records, in particular \u00a7\u00a7 145 et seq. AO and the corresponding commercial law provisions.<\/p>\n\n  <p>The GoBD guidelines set out the administrative position on these requirements for electronic Buchf\u00fchrung and recording procedures. In particular, they require the procedures used to be documented in a manner that is transparent and verifiable.<\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"snippet info\">\n    <p><strong>Important:<\/strong> A missing or inadequate Procedural documentation does not automatically lead to the rejection of a Bookkeeping following the GoBD. The decisive factor, in particular, is whether this impairs traceability and verifiability.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"template":"","glossar-kategorien":[21],"class_list":["post-4444","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-compliance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4444","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=4444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}