Help centre › Accounting

FEC, DATEV and tax return exports

This screen generates the files required by the tax authorities or your accountant: the FEC (Accounting Entries File, mandatory in the event of a tax audit), the DATEV export for German companies, the Zusammenfassende Meldung (ZM) for intra-Community supplies, a BWA management analysis export, as well as the standardised tax return (balance sheet and profit and loss account, forms 2050 to 2053).

What it is for

Certain accounting documents have a specific statutory format and purpose. The FEC (Article L.47 A of the Book of Tax Procedures) is a standardised flat-file containing all your journal entries, to be produced on request during a tax audit or submitted to your chartered accountant; you select the financial year and the file is generated on demand from the posted entries. For companies based in Germany, a DATEV ‘Buchungsstapel’ export is available, to be imported by the Steuerberater, with a preliminary check of entries lacking a contra account (Gegenkonto) to be completed. The ‘Zusammenfassende Meldung’ summarises your intra-Community supplies of goods by customer, with a check for missing intra-Community VAT numbers; this is an informative export, as you must still carry out the official electronic submission yourself. The tax return bundles your accounts by CERFA section (balance sheet assets/liabilities, profit and loss account) to align with the format expected by the tax authorities; the mapping from accounts to headings must still be validated by your chartered accountant, as indicated by a permanent warning banner.