GoBD: what the principles mean for a DMS in practice

What are the GoBD?

GoBD stands for “Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern, Aufzeichnungen und Unterlagen in elektronischer Form sowie zum Datenzugriff”, the German principles for properly keeping and storing books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access. The circular from the Federal Ministry of Finance has applied since 2015, was recast in 2019 and last amended in 2025, partly because of e-invoicing. It sets out which requirements apply to electronic bookkeeping and document archiving in Germany.

The GoBD apply to every company with tax bookkeeping or record-keeping obligations, which in practice means every mid-sized company.

The ten core GoBD requirements

• Traceability & verifiability: records must be understandable to a qualified third party
• Completeness: all relevant business transactions have to be captured
• Accuracy: documents have to be posted with the correct content
• Timely posting: capture within a reasonable period after the business transaction
• Order: structured, systematic filing
• Immutability: once a document is captured, it must not be alterable without a trace
• Retention periods: 6, 8 or 10 years, depending on the document type (§ 147 AO, § 257 HGB)
• Machine evaluability: data has to remain readable for the tax authorities
• Data access: three access types (Z1 direct, Z2 indirect, Z3 data handover)
• Verfahrensdokumentation: a written description of the entire accounting procedure

Retention periods at a glance

• 10 years: books, balance sheets, inventories, opening balance sheets, financial statements, customs documents
• 8 years: accounting vouchers and invoices (since 1 January 2025, previously 10; banks and insurance companies still 10)
• 6 years: incoming commercial and business letters, copies of outgoing commercial letters, other tax-relevant documents
• Extension possible: during an ongoing tax audit or pending appeal proceedings

Important: the period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the last entry was made or the document was created.

What the GoBD require of a DMS

A DMS intended for operation aligned with GoBD has to meet the following requirements:

• Audit-proof storage: once filed, documents cannot be changed (for example through a signature applied at archiving)
• Complete audit trail: every step is logged with a timestamp (who, what, when), from intake through to archiving
• Full-text search and metadata: auditors can find what they need themselves (data access Z1)
• Export function: structured export for the Z3 data handover
• Permission system: a clear separation of read, write and delete rights
• Verfahrensdokumentation: vendor support for producing your own Verfahrensdokumentation

How OXS.eco supports GoBD-aligned processes technically

OXS.eco is designed for operation aligned with GoBD:

• Audit-proof archiving with a signature. Once filed, an archived document can no longer be changed
• Complete audit trail across all processing steps, including approvals, comments and versions
• Retention periods per document type, with configurable reminders before expiry
• Data access for auditors: read access with a restricted role, export from the result list
• Verfahrensdokumentation remains your responsibility; the project supplies the technical description of the OXS.eco processes (manuals, workflow configuration)

You will find a detailed description of the archiving approach on the solution page for audit-proof archiving.

As at September 2026. Note: this page gives orientation on GoBD requirements, but it is not legal or tax advice for an individual case. Bookkeeping aligned with GoBD needs organizational processes and a reviewed Verfahrensdokumentation as well as technical solutions.