Best accounting software for German freelancers (2026)

sevDesk is the tool I reach for first when a German freelancer wants one app that does everything — invoicing, expense capture, bookkeeping and tax filing — without bolting three products together. It builds your EÜR automatically from the transactions you have already booked, generates the USt-Voranmeldung, and submits it straight to ELSTER, so the Finanzamt deadline becomes a couple of clicks rather than a re-typing exercise.

Strong on the 2025 e-invoicing mandate. sevDesk creates and receives structured E-Rechnung (XRechnung and ZUGFeRD), which is exactly what you now need for B2B invoicing in Germany. Receipt OCR is genuinely good — photograph a Beleg, and it reads the amount, date and VAT for you and files it against the right account.

Kleinunternehmer-aware. Flag yourself under §19 UStG and sevDesk suppresses VAT on your invoices and adds the required legal note automatically. When you cross the threshold and switch to charging 19% (or 7%), the change is a setting, not a rebuild.

Worked example. A Cologne freelance developer on the standard VAT regime sends ~12 invoices a month and photographs every expense receipt. sevDesk books them, produces the monthly USt-Voranmeldung, files it to ELSTER, and has the EÜR ready at year end to hand to their Steuerberater (or to file themselves). Cost: roughly €16–20/month on a mid tier — verify the current plan.

Pros: most complete all-rounder; excellent receipt OCR; solid XRechnung/ZUGFeRD support; clean direct ELSTER filing; DATEV export your accountant will accept. Cons: the interface is German-only — fine for German speakers, a real barrier for expats who do not yet read tax German comfortably.

lexoffice — now rebranded Lexware Office — is the incumbent. It comes from Haufe-Lexware, a house that has sold German accounting software for decades, and that pedigree shows in how deeply it is wired into the German financial system: bank connections to nearly every German institution, and a DATEV export that the overwhelming majority of Steuerberater already work with daily.

Why “decade-proven” matters. If your accountant has a preferred tool, there is a strong chance it is lexoffice. That makes the year-end handover frictionless: they pull your DATEV export and your EÜR without asking you to reformat anything. For a freelancer who outsources the annual return, that smoothness is worth more than a slicker UI.

The German essentials are all there. Automatic EÜR, USt-Voranmeldung generation, direct ELSTER submission, full Kleinunternehmerregelung support, and XRechnung / ZUGFeRD e-invoicing for the 2025 mandate. Feature-for-feature it sits neck-and-neck with sevDesk.

Worked example. A Munich freelance translator who already works with a Steuerberater uses lexoffice purely so the handover is clean. They invoice in-app, let the bank feed reconcile payments, and export DATEV at year end. The accountant does the rest. Cost: roughly €12–17/month depending on tier — verify current pricing.

Pros: deepest German bank and DATEV integration; the tool your Steuerberater most likely already uses; mature, reliable, well-supported; full ELSTER and e-invoicing coverage. Cons: German-only interface, same expat barrier as sevDesk; the rebrand to “Lexware Office” has caused some naming confusion; UI feels a little more utilitarian than sevDesk’s.

Accountable exists for the freelancer that sevDesk and lexoffice quietly leave behind: the one who does not read tax German. The entire app runs in English (and German, French), and it is built specifically for solo self-employed people rather than small companies — so it does not drown you in features a one-person business never touches.

It still files the German way. Accountable produces your EÜR, prepares the USt-Voranmeldung, handles the Kleinunternehmerregelung, and submits to ELSTER electronically — just with English labels and English explanations of what each German tax term means. For an expat, that translation layer is the whole value proposition: you are filing real German taxes without guessing at vocabulary.

Good guidance, real support. The app nudges you toward deductible expenses and flags deadlines, and the support team answers tax-adjacent questions in English — the kind of help that, with a German-only tool, would otherwise mean paying a Steuerberater for a five-minute answer.

Worked example. A Berlin-based expat designer, freshly registered and on the Kleinunternehmerregelung, sends ~6 invoices a month. Accountable issues them VAT-free with the correct §19 note, tracks expenses, and files the (zero-VAT) returns to ELSTER — all in English. Cost: a free tier for low volume, scaling to roughly €10–20/month as they grow. Verify current limits.

Pros: fully English (and multilingual); purpose-built for solo freelancers; strong tax guidance and English support; direct ELSTER filing; Kleinunternehmer-friendly. Cons: a younger product than the two incumbents — a smaller ecosystem, and a Steuerberater is less likely to be familiar with it, so confirm the DATEV/export handover suits your accountant.

Norman is the newest face here — a clean, modern, English-language tax and accounting app aimed squarely at freelancers and small businesses in Germany who want the minimum viable amount of bookkeeping software. Where sevDesk gives you everything, Norman gives you the essentials with a short learning curve, which is exactly right for a freelancer whose accounting is not complicated.

English, simple, and German-compliant. The interface and support are in English. It handles invoicing (including e-invoice formats for the 2025 mandate), expense tracking, VAT and the Kleinunternehmerregelung, and prepares your tax filings including the EÜR and USt-Voranmeldung.

Where to be careful. As the youngest tool, Norman’s direct-to-ELSTER filing and deeper features are still expanding. For a simple Kleinunternehmer or low-volume freelancer it is more than enough; if you have complex VAT situations or want the most battle-tested ELSTER pipeline, the incumbents are safer. Verify exactly what it submits directly versus what it prepares for you before you lean on it for a deadline.

Pros: clean modern UI; fully English; genuinely simple; free tier; good fit for Kleinunternehmer and light freelancers. Cons: the youngest, least proven tool here; feature depth and direct-filing scope still maturing; smaller ecosystem and less Steuerberater familiarity — verify it covers your exact filing needs.