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DATEV export

The DATEV export turns a seller's documents of a period into files for the import into DATEV:

  • Booking batch (Buchungsstapel, EXTF_Buchungsstapel_<from>_<to>.csv) in the DATEV format: one booking line per VAT rate and document for invoices, cancellations, corrections and self-billed Gutschriften (§ 14(2) sentence 5 UStG). Invoices are booked on the customer's account against the revenue account, Gutschriften on the supplier's account against the expense account.
  • Customer and supplier accounts (EXTF_Debitoren_Kreditoren.csv): name, address, VAT ID and account number of every customer and supplier in the batch.
  • Documents (Belege-1.zip, further parts for large periods) for DATEV's XML interface: the archived original of every invoice, plus the readable PDF for plain XML files, with document.xml. Every booking line links to its document.
  • Protocol (Protokoll.pdf, Protokoll.csv): what was exported, totals per VAT case, documents not booked and shortened texts with the reason.

An export never changes the archive. The files are stored encrypted and deleted after 7 days. The same period with unchanged documents gives the same files, byte for byte.

Included in Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise (402 plan.feature-not-included otherwise, also during the trial); test keys export the sandbox on every plan. Per customer and key mode at most three exports run at once and 20 a day; one export takes at most 10,000 documents and 500 MB of documents.

Account mapping

Before the first export with a live key, save the account mapping (scope admin). Without saved values, GET returns DATEV's standard accounts (SKR 03 or SKR 04, 2026) as a suggestion:

curl -s "$BASE/sellers/$SELLER/datev-settings?chart=SKR03" -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_KEY"
curl -s -X PUT "$BASE/sellers/$SELLER/datev-settings" -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d @account-mapping.json

Required: chart, adviser number (Beraternummer), client number (Mandantennummer), start of the fiscal year, account length, one revenue and one expense account per VAT case (S19, S7, E, AE, K, G, Z, O) and the number ranges of customer and supplier accounts (or one collective customer account). Each customer gets its account number once; it stays the same in every later export. Test keys export with the live mapping or, without one, with the suggestions.

No tax advice: the account mapping is a suggestion – please agree it with your tax adviser.

Creating an export

curl -s -X POST $BASE/exports/datev -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Idempotency-Key: datev-2026-10' \
  -d '{"sellerId": "'$SELLER'", "from": "2026-10-01", "to": "2026-10-31", "includeReceived": false}'

The answer is 202 with the job ID; the same Idempotency-Key returns the same job. A period covers at most one year; across fiscal years there is one booking batch per fiscal year. With includeReceived: true, received invoices are added to the documents without booking lines. At most three exports wait or run at once (429 datev.export-limit).

GET /exports/datev/{id} shows status (pending, running, completed, failed, expired), the protocol's summary and the files with their download address; GET /exports/datev/{id}/files/{name} downloads a file. The webhook event export.datev.completed announces the finished export once. A new export of the same seller, period and includeReceived replaces the earlier one when it is finished: the earlier one becomes expired. While the storage for the exports of all customers is full, the API answers 503 datev.busy with Retry-After, and an accepted export stays pending longer.

Formats and sources

Built from the descriptions on developer.datev.de (retrieved 1 November 2026): DATEV format with header version 700, booking batch version 13, customer and supplier accounts version 5, code page 1252; DATEV XML interface online, document.xml version 6.0. Standard accounts from DATEV's charts SKR 03 (Art.-Nr. 11174) and SKR 04 (Art.-Nr. 11175), valid for 2026. Texts that are too long are shortened and named in the protocol, never refused; documents in currencies other than EUR and VAT rates without an account are not booked and listed in the protocol with the reason. Fakturnaut is not a DATEV product; the files are meant for the import into DATEV.