Lexware, Sage, WISO and DATEV at a glance
Whoever transfers orders and invoices from the shop to accounting by hand loses time and risks errors. This guide shows how you connect your online shop to accounting and what Lexware, Sage, WISO and DATEV offer for it.
Table of contents
- 1. Why you should connect your online shop to accounting
- 2. The four systems at a glance
- 3. Which data belongs from the shop into accounting
- 4. First talk to the tax adviser
- 5. The ways: export, interface or ready-made module
- 6. Typical pitfalls
- 7. Effort and costs
- 8. How we support you
- 9. Summary
- 10. FAQ
1. Why you should connect your online shop to accounting
Every order in the shop is in the end a booking record: revenue with tax, a payment, perhaps a fee or a refund. Whoever retypes this data or copies it from tables consumes time and makes errors that are noticed only at the month-end closing. Whoever has the online shop connected to accounting saves this work and gets clean, traceable documents.
The benefit grows with the number of orders. With a few orders per week an export is often enough, with dozens per day an automatic handover pays off. It is important that your accounting or tax adviser knows the way and supports it because they have to work with the data.
This guide is aimed at shop owners who want to connect an online shop to accounting. We describe our service on the pages Magento Lexware, Magento Sage, Magento WISO and Magento DATEV.
An example shows the benefit: with twenty orders a day and a few minutes per document the manual work quickly adds up to an hour that your team can use better. Whoever has the online shop connected to accounting wins this time back and lowers the error rate at the same time.
2. The four systems at a glance
| System | What it stands for | What the vendor names for shops | Our note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexware | Invoices and accounting, above all for small businesses | Public REST interface at Lexware Office for invoices, credit notes and contacts | According to the vendor currently only from a higher plan |
| Sage | Orders, merchandise management and accounting | With Sage 50 shop connections and a connector for several shops | Check other Sage products per version |
| WISO | Office and accounting software from Buhl | Connections for online shops in which orders are taken over | Public API documentation not found, clarify beforehand |
| DATEV | Platform of tax advisers | DATEV format, booking data service, invoice data service, programming interface | Accounts and keys are defined by the tax adviser |
The table reflects the state of our research and can change. Another program also comes into question if you already use one. Whoever wants to connect an online shop to accounting should first clarify which system is used at their company and at the tax adviser because the way depends on it.
If you do not use a program yet, a conversation with the tax adviser pays off before the integration. They know which software fits your business and in which format they need the data, and that spares you a later change when you connect an online shop to accounting.
3. Which data belongs from the shop into accounting
Typically there are five areas. Customers are created as contacts or debtors. Orders become invoices with items, shipping costs, tax rates and payment term. Payments and fees of the payment providers are assigned so that open items are correct. Refunds are kept as credit notes instead of changing an invoice afterwards. Documents as PDF go along as far as the way allows.
A simple rule applies: a document arises in one place. If shop and accounting both assign an invoice number, nobody knows later which one applies. Therefore define which system assigns the number, and record the assignment between order and document when you connect an online shop to accounting.
The point in time also counts: whether a document arises at the order, after payment or after shipping changes the booking. Whoever wants to connect an online shop to accounting defines this point together with the tax adviser and records it in writing.
4. First talk to the tax adviser
The most important decisions are made not by developers but by your accounting or tax adviser: which accounts and tax keys apply to which type of order, when is it booked, how do you treat payment fees, foreign sales and refunds, and in which format does the tax adviser want to have the data? These answers determine how the integration is built.
We do not provide tax advice but implement agreed rules technically and document them. Therefore talk as a group of three: your accounting, you and the developer. Whoever wants to connect an online shop to accounting thereby saves later arguments about assignments and points in time.
5. The ways: export, interface or ready-made module
The simplest way is an export as a file that accounting reads in. It is set up quickly but needs a manual step with every handover, and documents often do not go along. The second way is an interface in which invoices, contacts and payment status are handed over automatically. It needs a system with a suitable interface but saves work continuously.
The third way is a ready-made module or a service of a third-party vendor. It can be the most economical solution if it covers your rules, and we tell you if that is so. An individual development pays off with several payment providers, mixed tax rates or special document formats. Often an intermediate way makes sense in which invoices arise in a program such as Lexware, Sage or WISO and go from there to DATEV.
Whoever wants to connect an online shop to accounting should also check how the chosen way behaves with a change of software or tax adviser. A clean separation between shop and target allows replacing only the connection later.
6. Typical pitfalls
Six points we always address
- ✓Tax rates and foreign orders are not considered.
- ✓Two invoice numbers because shop and accounting both assign them.
- ✓Fees of the payment providers are missing in the bookings.
- ✓Corrections to documents instead of credit notes.
- ✓The interface is not included in the booked plan.
- ✓Errors in the handover are noticed only at the month-end closing.
Most of these points can be avoided with a small trial: before the integration runs productively, a few typical orders are handed over as test documents, including one with several tax rates, one with a foreign delivery and one with a refund. Your accounting checks the result, and only then does operation start when you connect an online shop to accounting.
When you connect an online shop to accounting, you should also define who receives error messages and how quickly they are processed. A log is only useful if someone looks into it.
7. Effort and costs
The effort depends on the chosen system, the data flows, the special cases with taxes and payments and the required automation. A simple export is done quickly, an automatic handover with invoices, payments, credit notes and documents needs concept, implementation and tests. Besides the development, include the running items, for example the plan of your accounting software if the interface is included only from a higher level.
We estimate in writing after an inventory, the hourly rate is 30 euros net, see pricing. General hints on costs are in the guide Magento costs. Whoever also uses merchandise management besides accounting reads the guide ERP, merchandise management and PIM.
With every quote ask whether tests with your tax adviser are included. They are the most important protection against having to rework corrections by hand later after you connect an online shop to accounting.
8. How we support you
We are a web agency in which fixed freelancers work together, all from home offices. We develop the integration project by project, according to your processes and with documented rules, and we do not sell a ready-made connector off the shelf. Source code and access stay with you.
This guide gives general orientation and does not replace tax advice. For a first conversation a short message through our contact page is enough. Please name your accounting software and how your tax adviser wants to receive the data, then we can assess the feasibility specifically.
9. Summary
Whoever wants to connect an online shop to accounting hands over customers, invoices, payments and credit notes automatically. Lexware, Sage, WISO and DATEV offer different ways for it, and the most important rules are defined by the tax adviser.
Connect an online shop to accounting at a glance
Benefit
Less retyping, fewer errors, traceable documents
Systems
Lexware, Sage, WISO and DATEV with different ways
Clarify first
Accounts, tax keys, point in time and format with the tax adviser
Trial
Test documents with several tax rates, foreign and refund
Note: This article offers general orientation and does not replace tax advice. Statements about the systems can change.