Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ

BauFin!app is comprehensive business software built specifically for craft, construction and service businesses. Invoices, quotes, orders, time tracking, trip log, cash book, subcontractor management, four portals (customer, accountant, subcontractor and employee), planning tools and accounting — all in one system, in seven languages (DE/PL/EN/RO/TR/HR/UK).

For sole proprietors (Einzelunternehmer) and partnerships (GbR) in construction and services — tilers, masons, painters, roofers, electricians and all other craftsmen. BauFin!app uses EÜR (simplified accounting) used by most craft businesses.

Yes. BauFin!app offers a free trial period. No credit card required. Just register and get started.

Seven languages — German, Polish, English, Romanian, Turkish, Croatian, Ukrainian. Completely — menus, forms, help texts and emails. The documents for your client, tax adviser and the tax office are produced in German, exactly as German business practice requires. You work in your language, while the paperwork going out is German. Especially practical for multilingual teams on German construction sites.

No. BauFin!app prepares all data so your tax advisor can use it directly (DATEV export, EÜR, document archive). You save time and money — your advisor gets clean data instead of a box of receipts.

The statutory minimum wage has been 13,90 euros per hour since 1 January 2026. Construction has a higher sector minimum: 15,86 euros in wage group 1 and 17,34 euros in wage group 2 from 1 April 2026, uniform across east and west. The higher of the two rates always applies. BauFin!app calculates recorded hours against the rate stored for each worker.

Construction businesses are liable. The contribution is a percentage of the gross payroll of manual workers and covers the holiday fund, vocational training and supplementary pensions. From 1 July 2026 it is 19,8 percent in the western tariff area and 18,3 percent in the eastern one. The payroll total comes from your wage accounting — BauFin!app keeps the underlying hours traceable.

Yes. Membership is required by law (§90 HwO) and covers both registered craft businesses and trades similar to crafts. The fee has a basic part, identical for every business, and an additional part based on trade profit. Each chamber sets its own amounts, so they differ by district.

BauFin!app supports immutable storage, continuous numbering, audit trail, procedural documentation and archiving for the statutory periods (8/10/6 years depending on document type) with SHA-256 checksums. Whether usage meets GoBD requirements also depends on setup, working process and procedural documentation.

BauFin!app can prepare §13b UStG hints based on customer data and markers and place the wording "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" on the invoice. The tax classification must be checked by the user or tax advisor.

If no valid exemption certificate (§48b EStG) is stored for the subcontractor, BauFin!app can prepare the 15% construction withholding tax calculation and documents for review and filing.

Yes. You can activate the small business regulation in settings. Invoices will be created without VAT with the legally required notice.

Yes. BauFin!app supports creating ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 with embedded XML and XRechnung for public clients. Formal invoice validation remains part of your process.

By the tenth day after the end of the reporting period (§18 (1) UStG). The default period is the quarter. If last year's tax exceeded 9.000 euros the period is the month; at 2.000 euros or less the tax office may waive the return entirely. New businesses file monthly in the year they start and in the following year. BauFin!app prepares the figures from the documents you record.

On request the tax office extends both the filing and the payment deadline by one month (§46 UStDV). Businesses filing monthly must make a special advance payment: one eleventh of the previous year's advance payments (§47 UStDV). It is credited later, so it is not a cost — it is liquidity tied up for a year.

Sole traders and partnerships deduct an allowance of 24.500 euros from the trade profit; the remainder is multiplied by the tax base rate of 3,5 percent (§11 GewStG). The municipality then applies its own multiplier, which is why the burden differs from place to place. Four times the base amount is credited against income tax, capped at the trade tax actually paid (§35 EStG).

Every trip is documented: date, start, destination, kilometers, purpose. BauFin!app prepares the business share and rate hints based on trip type (business trip or distance allowance). Ideal for craftsmen on changing construction sites.

Cash book with GoBD-oriented functions, running balance, daily closing and reversal bookings. The balance can never go negative. Closed entries are locked.

Yes. Your customers can request orders, accept quotes online, view work hours and send messages — all in their own portal with their own login.

Yes. Your accountant gets their own access with configurable permissions: invoices, expenses, EÜR, cash book, trip log, DATEV export, change history.

Yes. Subcontractors can log work hours, submit invoices, upload documents and send messages — all in their own portal.

Yes. Employees can record work time, view leave, payslips and documents — with their own login and permissions.

Yes. Take a photo of the receipt — the assistant reads the amount, date and category automatically. No more typing.

Yes. The interface runs in your language (seven to choose from), while the documents for your client and the authorities are produced in German — invoice (Rechnung), quotation (Angebot), acceptance protocol (Abnahmeprotokoll), mileage log (Fahrtenbuch), payslip (Lohnabrechnung). You work in the language you understand, and your client, tax adviser and the tax office (Finanzamt) receive German paperwork.

Not if you do not want that. When you create the account, you pick from a list who that person is in the company. The office handles customers and jobs but sees no wages and no tax filings. Someone who only enters documents uploads receipts and hours and does not see turnover at all. With every choice you get a list of what that person will see and what they will not.

You switch off their access with one click — from that moment they cannot get into the program. The account stays, because during an audit you must be able to show who entered a given document. If the account were gone, the entries would show an empty field. Your documents and the names under them stay as long as the law requires.

On servers in Germany, in a certified data centre. All data is encrypted; the daily backups are kept — also encrypted — in a data centre in the European Union.

Yes. BauFin!app is a web app and works on any device with a browser — smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop. No installation needed.

Yes. Full export in JSON, CSV or ZIP with all media. DATEV export for your accountant. GDPdU export for tax audits.

Your data remains available for export. You can download everything before your account is deactivated. No data hostage.

BauFin Foundation costs 49 € per month — with an unlimited number of users. Add-on modules are booked only when you need them: Employees 29 €, Customer Portal 24 €, Subcontractors 19 €, GPS Tracker 19 € (plus 199 € once per vehicle), Datenexport Pro 9 €, AI Package Plus 9 €. The accountant portal for your tax adviser is permanently free. All prices include 19% German VAT (MwSt.). The full overview is on the pricing page.

30 days — with every module unlocked: Employees, Subcontractors, Customer Portal, Accountant Portal, Warehouse and Datenexport Pro. You test the full scope, not a stripped-down version.

No. The contract runs for an indefinite period with monthly billing and can be cancelled at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period — directly in the platform (Settings → Subscription) or by e-mail. No minimum term, no notice period.

Monthly in advance via Revolut or PayPal. You are notified by e-mail about a failed payment; only after three unsuccessful attempts is access limited to read-only mode — your data stays and remains visible.

The number of users is unlimited — the price of BauFin Foundation stays the same whether you work alone or with twelve people. For staff management, instant reporting to the pension insurance (Sofortmeldung) and payroll, the Employees module is added for 29 €.

No. You create as many accounts as you need — the price does not change. You pay neither per seat nor for each additional user.