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Please be aware that this resource is informational only, and many external factors, unique to your company might apply.
Each company must make their own decisions about how they meet their tax obligations.

Table of contents
  1. Paperless

Table of contents
  1. Paperless

Paperless

In Germany, according to the GoBD (Principles of the proper management and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access), it is possible to carry out paperless expense reports. In order to do so without keeping the original receipts, there are a few requirements that need to be taken into account.

Examples of such requirements set by the GoBD are:

  • Scanned documents must match the originals.
  • Documents must be made available, in a readable and machine-readable form, whenever requested.
  • The data must be kept for 10 years regardless of any system changes in hardware or software.

All requirements can be found in the GoBD. Please keep in mind that one of the requirements is also that a company that wants to go paperless has to detail and document their internal processes regarding the storage of the electronic documents.

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Rydoo is currently working on obtaining the software certification IDW PS880. This certification will document how the Rydoo software meets quality assurance conditions and other requirements which include GoBD. This will help our clients go paperless in Germany. However, as GoBD itself clarifies, this certification or attestation are not to be taken as blanket statements of conformity or validity, as there are several factors (such as other IT solutions in place and internal processes in the company) which will affect conformity to the GoBD principles.

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