DATEV Customer-Configurable Options

This document describes the configuration options that DATEV customers (Mandanten) can adjust, and how they affect data transfer via the Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 and Maesn API.

Understanding these options is critical for validation and error handling when sending booking proposals to DATEV.

1. Account Number Length (Kontenlänge)

The most important configuration that varies per client.

Setting	Range	Description
Sachkontenlänge (G/L accounts)	4-8 digits	Customer configures the length of G/L account numbers
Personenkontenlänge (Business partner accounts)	5-9 digits	Always Sachkontenlänge + 1

Technical Details

Technical maximum: 8 digits for G/L accounts, 9 digits for subledger accounts
Must match between sending system and DATEV client configuration
Common configurations: 4-digit Sachkonten (SKR03/04 default), 5-digit, or 6-digit

API Impact

accountNo must have exactly account_length digits
bpAccountNo must have exactly account_length + 1 digits
Validation fails if lengths don't match client configuration

Schema Reference

See com.getorcha.schema.integration.datev:

AccountNumber schema (lines 495-499)
BusinessPartnerAccountNumber schema (lines 502-506)
validate-account-length helper (lines 1012-1019)
make-account-number-schema for dynamic validation (lines 1029-1037)

2. Debtor/Creditor Number Ranges (Personenkonten-Nummernkreise)

Number ranges are fixed by DATEV based on the first digit.

Account Type	5-digit Range	6-digit Range	7-digit Range
Debitoren (Customers)	10000-69999	100000-699999	1000000-6999999
Kreditoren (Suppliers)	70000-99999	700000-999999	7000000-9999999

Key Points

First digit determines type: 1-6 = Debitor, 7-9 = Kreditor
Ranges are not customizable except by extending account length
Standard DATEV SKR03/SKR04 uses 5-digit Personenkonten

API Impact

Business partner account numbers must fall within the correct range
Validate first digit to determine debtor vs creditor classification

3. Fiscal Year Configuration (Wirtschaftsjahr)

Customers can configure fiscal years that differ from the calendar year.

Parameter	Format	Description
Wirtschaftsjahresbeginn	DDMM	Start of fiscal year (e.g., 0104 for April 1st)
Wirtschaftsjahresende	DDMM	End of fiscal year
Rumpfwirtschaftsjahr	Variable	Short fiscal year (<12 months) for business transitions

Common Scenarios

Calendar year: 0101 to 3112 (January 1 to December 31)
Abweichendes Wirtschaftsjahr: e.g., 0104 to 3103 (April to March)
Rumpfwirtschaftsjahr: Partial year during company formation or fiscal year change

API Impact

Target fiscal year must exist in DATEV before data transfer
Booking date must fall within a valid fiscal year
Accounting records cannot span calendar year boundaries (must be before Dec 31)
Invoice dates before fiscal year start are rejected

Configuration Keys

fiscal_year_begin
fiscal_year_end

4. Chart of Accounts (Kontenrahmen)

DATEV provides standard charts that customers can customize.

SKR	Description	Structure	Typical Use
SKR03	Process-oriented (Prozessgliederung)	Organized by business processes	Most common for SMEs
SKR04	Balance sheet-oriented (Bilanzgliederung)	Aligned with annual statements	Growing adoption
Industry-specific	Pharmacies, schools, etc.	DATEV-provided variants	Specialized businesses

Customization Options

Customers derive their own Kontenplan from the standard SKR
Individual accounts can be added or renamed
Tax consultants often provide customized charts
Account descriptions can differ from standard

API Impact

Account numbers must exist in the client's Kontenplan
Standard SKR account numbers are generally safe to use
Custom accounts should be validated against client configuration

5. Ledger Names (Buchungskreise / Ledger Folder Names)

Ledger names can be customized by customers.

Default Name	English	Customizable
Rechnungseingang	Accounts Payable Ledger	Yes
Rechnungsausgang	Accounts Receivable Ledger	Yes
Kassenbuch	Cash Ledger	Yes

Statistics

95% of customers use DATEV default names
5% customize ledger folder names

API Impact

Check ledger_folder_names via API before transfer
Maesn API ledgerName field accepts: "Rechnungseingang" or "Rechnungsausgang"
Verify ledger is enabled for the fiscal year

Configuration Keys

is_accounts_payable_ledger_available - Must be true for AP data
is_accounts_receivable_ledger_available - Must be true for AR data
ledgers - List of enabled ledgers for the fiscal year

6. Tax Codes (BU-Schlüssel / Steuerschlüssel)

Tax codes control VAT calculation and reporting.

Range	Description
0-9999	Valid BU-Schlüssel range

Common Standard Codes

Code	Description
9	19% Umsatzsteuer (standard VAT on sales)
8	7% Umsatzsteuer (reduced VAT on sales)
40	19% Vorsteuer (standard VAT on purchases)
48	Skonto with 19% Vorsteuer
19	Skonto with 19% Umsatzsteuer

Flexible Codes

Codes ending in 0 or 5 allow selectable tax rates in DATEV
Used for non-standard scenarios requiring manual rate selection

Special Scenarios

§13b UStG: Reverse charge for EU services
Inner-community transactions: Special codes for EU trade
Export/Import: Zero-rate and special handling codes

API Impact

Standard codes are fixed by DATEV
Selection is flexible but codes themselves are not freely configurable
Invalid codes cause booking rejection

7. Cost Centers (KOST-System)

Customers configure their own cost accounting structure.

Field	Purpose	Max Length
KOST1	Primary cost allocation	36 characters
KOST2	Secondary cost allocation	36 characters
KOST-Systeme	Named cost systems	Up to 9 systems

Common Misconception

KOST1 does not necessarily mean Kostenstellen (cost centers), and KOST2 does not necessarily mean Kostenträger (cost objects). Customers decide the semantics.

Possible Uses for KOST1/KOST2

Kostenstellen (cost centers)
Kostenträger (cost objects)
Profit centers
Projects
Departments
Any combination

Limitations

Cannot cross-allocate between KOST1 and KOST2
Each KOST-System is evaluated independently

API Impact

costCategoryId maps to KOST1
costCategoryId2 maps to KOST2
Values must match customer's configured cost structure

8. Payment Conditions (Zahlungsbedingungen)

Payment terms are customer-defined.

Parameter	Range	Description
paymentConditionsId	9-999	Customer-defined payment term ID

Payment Condition Components

Payment due period (Zahlungsziel)
Skonto percentage (discount for early payment)
Skonto period (days for discount eligibility)
Second Skonto tier (optional)

Storage

Defined in Kreditor/Debitor master data
Can be overridden per invoice via Belegfeld 2

API Impact

IDs are customer-specific
Must be pre-configured in DATEV before use
Invalid IDs cause validation errors

9. Processing Mode (Bearbeitungsform)

The processing mode determines available features.

Mode	Description	API Support
Basis	Basic document storage	Limited
Erweitert (Extended)	Full accounting integration	Required for RDS 1.0

Extended Mode Features

Personal and G/L account entry
Tax codes
Posting periods
Full booking-relevant invoice data

API Impact

basic_accounting_information must not be null for Extended mode
Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 requires Extended mode
Check mode before attempting data transfer

10. Client Identification (Mandant)

Each DATEV client is separately configured and authenticated.

Parameter	Range	Description
Beraternummer (Consultant number)	1000-9999999	Assigned by DATEV, identifies the tax advisor
Mandantennummer (Client number)	0-99999	Unique per consultant, identifies the company

Multi-Tenant Architecture

Each Mandant has separate authentication and access rights
No centralized multi-company API from DATEV
Separate connection required per Mandant
Maesn abstracts this via company identifiers

Sandbox Values

For testing with DATEV sandbox:

Consultant number: 455148
Valid client numbers: 1-6
RDS 1.0 compatible: Only 455148-1

Configuration Validation Checklist

Before sending data to DATEV, validate:

Check	API Field	Validation
Account length	`account_length`	4-8 digits
G/L account format	`accountNo`	Must match `account_length`
BP account format	`bpAccountNo`	Must equal `account_length + 1`
AP ledger available	`is_accounts_payable_ledger_available`	Must be `true` for incoming invoices
AR ledger available	`is_accounts_receivable_ledger_available`	Must be `true` for outgoing invoices
Extended mode	`basic_accounting_information`	Must not be `null`
Fiscal year exists	`fiscal_year_*`	Target year must be configured
Ledger enabled	`ledgers`	Target ledger must be in list

Maesn API Specifics

When using Maesn API for DATEV integration:

Booking Proposal Fields

{
  "number": "INV-2024-001",
  "ledgerName": "Rechnungseingang",
  "totalGrossAmount": 119.00,
  "lineItems": [
    {
      "description": "Office supplies",
      "totalGrossAmount": 119.00,
      "taxRatePercentage": 19.00,
      "accountNumber": "4930",
      "dimension1": "KOST001"
    }
  ]
}

ledgerName Values

Value	Description
`"Rechnungseingang"`	Incoming invoices (AP)
`"Rechnungsausgang"`	Outgoing invoices (AR)

Authentication

datev-uo: Standard authentication with short-term tokens
datev-uo-longtoken: Extended authentication valid for 2 years

References

Internal Schema Reference

src/com/getorcha/schema/integration/datev.clj - DATEV field validation schemas