We have compiled the five most important principles for the effective management of data and documents. In this article, you will learn how to bring your accounts up to date, as the principles governing the proper maintenance and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form, as well as data access, in brief GoBD, must also be complied with by small businesses.

5 key principles for effective data management and what SMEs must bear in mind when processing data.

Adhere to timeframes

The GoBD has a direct impact on companies„ accounting practices, primarily through the introduction of a time limit for posting incoming invoices. Whilst most small businesses traditionally post entries once a month, when the advance VAT return is due, the GoBD require “prompt recording’ within eight to ten days. The entry must be finalised in the following month. Users of accounting software with online banking integration have the advantage that a large proportion of the posting processes are carried out automatically.

Stay informed

Some small business owners have not yet looked in detail at the numerous changes relating to accounting and taxation, and in particular the GoBD. However, ignorance is no defence against unpleasant surprises – for example, in the event of a tax audit. That is why, shortly before the end of the financial year, all SMEs that archive their business records digitally rather than on paper really ought to take a close look at the GoBD requirements.

Check the accounts

It is not enough simply to be familiar with the regulations governing the handling of tax-related documents – they must also be put into practice. Many tradespeople, doctors, solicitors and other self-employed professionals and small businesses sometimes find it difficult to assess whether they are doing so. Sage’s Red Tape Check provides important guidance here to help you assess your own situation.

Electronic archiving

The GoBD provide a further argument in favour of the digital archiving of tax-relevant documents, as they treat digital documents as formally equivalent to traditional paper documents. Whilst all tax-relevant documents must be retained in their original form, scanned paper documents may replace the original. The reverse is not true. A telephone bill received as a PDF must be retained in that format, or it must be printed out and filed in paper form. Anyone who does not work exclusively with paper documents therefore needs an electronic archive that meets the requirements of the GoBD.

Implementing GOBD software solutions

The tax authorities do not prescribe any specific software, but they do set out principles for an electronic archive. These include the immutability, completeness, traceability and availability of the archived data and documents. As the archiving requirement applies not only to accounting but also to applications such as inventory management, payroll systems and email clients, companies should ensure that their archive is not only GoBD-certified but also designed to work seamlessly with their software solutions.

CTA Box Process Documentation

If you are aiming for a paperless, digital office in accordance with GoBD and a Procedural documentation Once this has been established, an internal control system should be put in place. This includes access and authorisation controls, as well as data entry and plausibility checks. Furthermore, protective measures must be taken against the deliberate and inadvertent tampering with programmes, data and documents. What may at first glance seem particularly time-consuming and troublesome can prove extremely helpful not only during a tax audit, but also in legal disputes or even in day-to-day business operations – for example, when it comes to tracing, in the event of a complaint, when and what changes were made to an order. For the first time, the GoBD explicitly permit paper documents to be scanned and subsequently destroyed. This enables companies and self-employed professionals to save a great deal of office space. However, the process of paper destruction must be documented in the same way as all other procedures relating to bookkeeping. To this end, companies must draw up what is known as ‘procedural documentation’ so that tax inspectors can quickly understand and follow the processes.

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

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