Skip to content
SimpleERP
Start free trialTalk to us
SimpleERP
Sign inStart free trial

SimpleERP for Germany

Simple ERP for small businesses in Germany

Invoices with VAT worked out, stock, books, payroll and your team in one login, set up for Germany from the first screen.

Start free trialSee pricing

In short

SimpleERP is simple ERP software for small businesses in Germany. Choose Germany at sign-up and it sets up VAT, your USt-IdNr., EUR, a January financial year and local payroll components.

Illustration of invoice INV-2026-0213 to Northside Retail with VAT 19% and the amount in words.

What you get on day one

Pick Germany when you create the business. Everything below is seeded for you and editable in Settings.

  • VAT rates seeded. VAT 19%, VAT 7% (reduced), VAT 0% (zero-rated) and Exempt, with VAT 19% as the default.
  • Invoice with your USt-IdNr. The USt-IdNr. is checked for format when you enter it and printed on every invoice.
  • EUR amounts, DD/MM/YYYY dates. A total prints as €1,250,000.00, in words as euros and cents.
  • A January to December financial year. Numbering runs per year: the first invoice is INV-2026-0001.
  • Payroll components ready. Salary, Bonus, Wage tax (Lohnsteuer), Pension insurance, Health insurance, Unemployment insurance, Long-term care insurance, Solidarity surcharge, Church tax, Employer pension insurance, Employer health insurance, Employer unemployment insurance and Employer long-term care insurance.
  • Phones with +49. Customer, supplier and employee numbers take the +49 format; you and your team sign in with your email.

VAT

VAT on every line, worked out as you type

Each product carries its VAT rate. Pick the customer, type the item, press Enter: VAT, totals and the amount in words fill in as you go.

  • Output and input VAT posted to their own accounts
  • A tax summary by rate for whoever files your returns
  • Credit notes reverse the tax with the sale

Illustration of the keyboard-first invoice editor with a focused line, live tax totals and shortcut hints.

VAT in Germany

VAT in Germany: what you need to know

The rules the product is set up around, in plain words. Your accountant confirms what applies to you. Sources: § 19 UStG (small businesses), § 12 UStG (rates), § 14 UStG (invoices), § 27 (38) UStG (e-invoice transition), BZSt: USt-IdNr..

  • Small businesses. Since 1 January 2025 you may stay outside VAT (Kleinunternehmer, § 19 UStG) if last year's turnover was €25,000 or less and this year's stays at €100,000 or less. You then charge no VAT, reclaim none, and say so on the invoice.
  • Rates. 19% standard. 7% reduced for most food, books and newspapers, and since 1 January 2026 for food served in restaurants (drinks stay at 19%).
  • Your numbers. Your Finanzamt issues a tax number; the USt-IdNr. (DE and nine digits) comes from the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) and is needed to trade with businesses in other EU countries.
  • Invoices. Show your tax number or USt-IdNr., a unique sequential number, the date of supply, net amounts by rate, the rate and the VAT, or why no VAT is charged (§ 14 UStG).
  • E-invoices. Every business must be able to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD) since 1 January 2025. Paper and PDF invoices to other businesses stay allowed until the end of 2026, and until the end of 2027 if last year's turnover was €800,000 or less.
  • Returns. Advance VAT returns (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) go to ELSTER monthly when last year's VAT was over €9,000 and quarterly from €2,000 to €9,000. At €2,000 or less the tax office can waive them. An annual return follows in every case.
  • Reverse charge. For services bought from a business abroad the VAT moves to you (§ 13b UStG). SimpleERP self-assesses it on bills from suppliers in other countries.

Price

Priced in EUR

Every module is free for 7 days with no card. Premium is then €45 per user per month, the fixed equivalent of USD 50, counted on the people who sign in.

Books

Books that keep themselves

Every invoice, bill and payment posts its own journal in EUR. Profit and loss, the balance sheet and the VAT summary are ready any day of the January to December year.

Payroll

Payroll set up for Germany

Salary components for Germany are seeded when you create the business. Runs build each payslip from the structure and post salary expense and payables when you approve.

  • Salary, Bonus, Wage tax (Lohnsteuer) and Pension insurance ready to use
  • Social insurance split in half between employee and employer, seeded at the 2026 rates: pension 9.3%, unemployment 1.3%, long-term care 1.8% (employees without children pay 0.6% more)
  • Health insurance seeded at 8.75% each: 7.3% plus half the 2026 average additional contribution of 2.9%. Set your employee's fund's own figure
  • Wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax depend on the tax class: you enter them per run
  • Attendance and leave feed paid days
  • Payslips in employee self-service

Illustration of a payslip with Salary, Bonus and net pay of €2,919.

Honest limits

Honest limits

  • Filing VAT returns or submitting e-invoices to a government system
  • Statutory payroll tax tables: you enter the deduction amounts
  • Prices that include tax: product prices are entered before tax
  • Invoices in a second currency: one currency per business
  • XRechnung or ZUGFeRD e-invoices: invoices are PDF, so B2B invoicing needs another tool once the transition ends (2027 or 2028)
  • German-language screens and documents
  • Payroll reports (Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung, social insurance notifications) to ELSTER or the health funds

Getting started

Start in three steps

  1. Sign up

    Your name, your email and a password. No card.

  2. Tell us about the business

    Business name and your USt-IdNr. if you are registered.

  3. Send your first invoice

    Add a customer and a product, then bill. The invoice is ready to print or share.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Do I need to be registered for VAT to use SimpleERP?

No. Setup asks whether you are registered. Small businesses may stay outside VAT (Kleinunternehmer, § 19 UStG) while last year's turnover was €25,000 or less and this year's stays within €100,000. Above that, or by choice, you charge VAT. If that changes, switch it in Settings; your USt-IdNr prints on every invoice once you add it.

What does a SimpleERP invoice show?

Your business name and address, your USt-IdNr., the customer, a number from a sequence that never repeats, the date, each line with its VAT rate, the tax by rate and the amount in words. Your accountant can confirm what your business must show.

How much does SimpleERP cost in Germany?

Every module is free for 7 days with no card. After that Premium is €45 per user per month (€540 per user per year), the fixed equivalent of USD 50, counted on the people who sign in. See pricing.

Does SimpleERP file my VAT returns?

No. It keeps the records and gives you a tax summary by rate and the sales and purchase registers, all exportable to CSV, for whoever files your returns.

Can I use SimpleERP as a Kleinunternehmer?

Yes. Answer No to "VAT registered?" at setup and choose the Exempt rate on your products, so invoices carry no VAT. The law asks you to state that you apply § 19 UStG: put that sentence in the invoice notes, which print on every document. Add your USt-IdNr. in Settings if you switch to charging VAT later.

Are invoices in German, and can I send XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?

No to both today. SimpleERP and its documents are in English (Invoice, not Rechnung) and it produces PDF invoices. PDF invoices to other businesses stay allowed until the end of 2026, or 2027 if last year's turnover was €800,000 or less; after that they must be structured e-invoices.

Where is my data stored?

In a PostgreSQL database on the hosted service, where row-level security keeps each business to its own rows. Ask us where the service is hosted and how it is backed up, and export your reports to CSV whenever you like.

Related

Run your business in Germany from one simple place.

Seven days free. No card. Then €45 per user per month.

Start free trialTalk to us