DATEV bookkeeping sync – A guide for Holvi users.

Holvi connects to DATEV in two different ways: sending your bank data (account statements) and sending your bookkeeping data (categorised transactions with VAT and receipts). You can use one or both. This guide explains the difference, how to set each one up, and what your tax adviser needs to do.

Note: Only users with the Creator or Admin role in Holvi can set up and manage connections. The bookkeeping data connections are available to Holvi business accounts domiciled in Germany.

Which DATEV connection do you need?

You can run a bank data connection alongside a bookkeeping data connection. The two bookkeeping connections are separate and are not interchangeable — you choose which one before you sign in to DATEV, and changing it later means reconnecting. If you are not sure which DATEV product sits behind your bookkeeping, ask your tax adviser.

1. Bank data connection (account statements)

This connection sends your Holvi account transactions to DATEV so they can be matched and booked. It does not send categories, VAT rates or receipts.

There are two ways to set it up, depending on how you work:

• DATEV-Datenservice (Umsatzabholung / RZ-Bankinfo) — set up from Holvi, no EBICS login data needed. See How to set up a DATEV bank connection in Holvi.
• DATEV Bank Data Service via PIN/TAN — set up from inside DATEV using your Holvi IBAN. See DATEV Bank Data Service via PIN/TAN.

2. Bookkeeping data sync — DATEV Unternehmen online

Choose this if your tax adviser does your bookkeeping. In DATEV terms, you are a Buchungsmandant.

What it does

Once connected, every transaction you have set to Ready in Holvi — with a category, a VAT rate and a receipt — can be manually exported to DATEV Unternehmen online as a Buchungsvorschlag (booking proposal) with the receipt attached. Your tax adviser picks it up in Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen and completes the posting.

Holvi prepares the entry. Your adviser finishes it. You authenticate once, and select the bookkeeping transactions to sync to DATEV.

Before you start

• A Holvi business account domiciled in Germany
• DATEV Unternehmen online, with a fiscal year already created
• Belege online activated, and an access medium (SmartCard or SmartLogin) whose holder has at least standard access rights for Belege online
• Your tax adviser must enable `Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0` for your account
• Belegbilderservice must be active for receipt images. This is normally already on.

The adviser step is the one people most often get stuck on. Send them our guide for tax advisers — it lists exactly what to switch on.

How to connect

1. Log in at holvi.com
2. Go to Account settings → Connections
3. Under Bookkeeping data sync, select DATEV Unternehmen online
4. Read the intro screen and give your consent
5. Confirm with strong customer authentication (SCA)
6. Sign in to DATEV. DATEV's own sign-in has several steps — follow it through to the end.
7. Done. 

How to send transactions

1. In Holvi, set the transactions you want to send to Locked (ready) — each needs a category, a VAT rate and a receipt
2. Go to Export to DATEV
3. Filter by bookkeeping status, export status, cost center, time period or card payments if you need to narrow the list
4. Select the entries you want to send
5. Send them

What gets synced

• Gross amount
• VAT rate
• The SKR account derived from the category you set in Holvi
• Transaction date and reference
• The receipt image, where one exists — one receipt per entry

What does not get synced

• Cost centres (KOST1 / KOST2) are currently not supported.
• No payments are ever initiated from DATEV. This connection only sends data out of Holvi.
• Reverse-charge VAT for cross-border expenses is not handled yet

Note: Non-EUR transactions are exported in their original currency.

3. Bookkeeping data sync — DATEV Rechnungswesen

Choose this if you keep your own books in DATEV. In DATEV terms, you are a Selbstbucher.

What it does

Holvi delivers complete booking entries (Buchungssätze, arriving as a Buchungsstapel) with both sides of the posting already populated, including the bank account. Nothing needs completing — the entries are reviewed and then written to the books (Festschreibung).

Holvi produces a finished entry, not a suggestion. Because these entries land directly in your books, it is worth checking your Holvi categories are set up correctly before you connect.

Before you start

• A Holvi business account domiciled in Germany
• DATEV Unternehmen online enabled, with a fiscal year already created
• Belege online activated, and an access medium (SmartCard or SmartLogin) whose holder has at least standard access rights for Belege online. For this connection Belege online is also where receipts land — they cannot be delivered into Rechnungswesen directly and are linked from the booking entry instead. Without it, receipts cannot be delivered at all.
• Your tax adviser must enable `Buchungsdatenservice` — not Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0
• Belegbilderservice for receipt images. This is normally already on.
• Belege online is required. DATEV does not allow receipts to be delivered directly into Rechnungswesen, so they are routed through Belege online and linked to the booking entry.
• Your SKR variant, account number length and fiscal year start date are needed on every entry. You do not enter these yourself — they are handled by the Holvi connection.

Send your adviser our guide for tax advisers, which covers the Buchungsdatenservice requirement.

How to connect

Same path as above — Account settings → Connections → Bookkeeping data sync → DATEV Rechnungswesen.

Where receipts end up

Receipts are not attached to the booking entry itself. They are uploaded to Belege online and linked from the entry, so that is where you and your adviser should look for them.

What gets synced

The same data as the Unternehmen online connection but as a complete double-entry posting rather than a proposal:

• Gross amount
• VAT rate
• The SKR account derived from the category you set in Holvi
• Transaction date and reference
• The receipt image, where one exists — one receipt per entry

What does not get synced

• There is no draft or proposal state. Nothing arrives as a reviewable suggestion — entries are finished postings. If a category has been mapped to the wrong account, you will need to correct the entry with your adviser, and fix the category in Holvi so future entries are right.
• Cost centres (KOST1 / KOST2) are not included at launch
• No payments are ever initiated from DATEV
• Reverse-charge VAT for cross-border expenses is not handled yet

Note. Transactions in currencies other than euro are sent in their original currency.

For your tax adviser

Your adviser needs to enable one DATEV service before either bookkeeping connection will work:

Both connections also need Belege online activated and an access medium (SmartCard or SmartLogin) with at least standard access rights for it.

We have a short guide written for tax advisers that you can forward to them.

Troubleshooting

The connection shows an error. Check that your adviser has enabled the right service for your connection type, and that a fiscal year exists in DATEV. Reconnect from Account settings → Connections.

Entries arrive, but receipts do not. This usually means Belegbilderservice has not been enabled — ask your adviser to switch it on. Also check that Belege online is activated and that the access medium holder has at least standard rights for it.

I connected the wrong DATEV product. The choice is made before sign-in and cannot be switched afterwards. Disconnect the connection and set up the other one.

How do I disconnect? Go to Account settings → Connections, select the DATEV connection and click Disconnect. Data already sent to DATEV stays there, but nothing new will be sent.