What are companies’ main concerns when it comes to digitalisation? And how can software solutions help to streamline processes, particularly when it comes to drawing up procedural documentation?

Digitalisation is becoming increasingly important

The Digitisation of business processes has become increasingly important in recent years. More and more companies are exchanging data electronically with their business partners, primarily to enable them to carry out their processes more quickly and efficiently. Workflows in offices and administration are being digitised on a significant scale. Electronic invoicing, in particular, is expected to offer significant potential for cost savings, including for many SMEs. Electronic invoices, for example, are now considered equivalent to paper invoices, the regulations governing the sending of electronic invoices have been simplified, and the guidelines for handling electronic documents have been revised. Unfortunately, not every business is prepared for digitalisation or possesses the necessary expertise. As a software provider, we are aware of this, and this is precisely where we aim to assist small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the rapid and effective creation of procedural documentation.

The fact is that electronic invoicing is becoming increasingly widespread in Germany, and it is also clear to many small and medium-sized enterprises that the digitalisation of processes brings with it numerous cost and efficiency benefits. However, for many business owners, this process is also very complex and requires additional resources or, at the very least, a certain amount of time to get to grips with it. This is precisely where hsp has stepped in: our software solutions, in particular Opti.Tax.Docs for the preparation of procedural documentation and Opti.View for archiving, help to simplify processes, within a software environment that enables even non-experts to achieve their goals quickly.

Process documentation? Not a chance!

An example from the study by the Mittelstand 4.0 agency illustrates the situation: despite the GoBD regulations, around half of all companies do not have Procedural documentation. 48 per cent of the companies surveyed have not documented a single invoice processing and archiving procedure in writing. Among small businesses, as many as 68 per cent have no written procedural documentation at all. Even amongst large companies, only six in ten have written procedural documentation for the archiving of electronic invoices. Yet the creation of such procedural documentation is mandatory! When it comes to archiving, companies frequently breach retention regulations: only seven in ten companies archive incoming electronic invoices in their original digital form. There is a need for information, particularly amongst small and medium-sized enterprises. Companies would like to receive this information through general, non-competitive information sessions and via e-learning.

Creating added value with Opti.Tax

The consequences of missing or incorrect procedural documentation can vary. However, to ensure that disputes with a tax inspector do not arise in the first place, every effort must be made to ensure that the relevant documentation is kept on file. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to draw up procedural documentation before an audit takes place. This is precisely why we have developed Opti.Tax.Doku and Opti.View.

Opti.View supports regular checks of the accounts as part of an internal control system. The results of the macro-assisted audits are transferred to Opti.Tax Doku via an interface and kept as an appendix to the procedural documentation.

Would you like to find out more about Opti.Tax.Doku? Contact us today for a Live demo.