DeinHans alongside DATEV: Start without replacing it

Why adoption should not require a complete replacement

We came to DeinHans with experience in ERP automation and the IT processes around accounting and month-end closing. One recurring obstacle shaped our approach: a new tool can improve part of the work, yet become difficult to adopt because it is expected to replace the whole environment.

A firm may want better document or bank processing and already have an excellent payroll routine. It should be able to keep that routine. The challenge is making the contributions fit: shared supplier identities, matching accounts and no duplicate payments.

That is why we designed DeinHans around continuity in the accounting context. The goal is a useful addition to the firm's process, with clear boundaries for what each system records.

Establish the starting position

Agree the first period and the work DeinHans will own. Its setup supports supplier and customer master-data imports and supported opening-balance files. Review the import preview and resolve differences before accepting the starting position.

These are supported, reviewed imports. They are not continuous two-way DATEV synchronization, and they do not migrate every historical record. The existing accounting archive remains relevant.

An opening balance is not an OPOS history

Suppose €2,400 is payable to one supplier at the cutover. The balance does not show whether it consists of two invoices, an invoice and a credit note, or several partially paid invoices.

An aggregate import cannot recreate the original documents, invoice dates or payment allocations. If a later payment needs invoice-level allocation, the relevant detail must be available through the agreed process. Existing balances preserve the starting position; supporting records explain individual settlements.

Keep supplier accounts consistent

Take a fictional supplier already recorded in DATEV as account 70042. After its supported master-data import has been checked, new invoices can continue under that identity. A second application should not create a second identity for the same supplier.

DeinHans's configured DATEV export includes booking data and required supplier/customer master-data additions. The firm still imports and checks the package in its actual receiving environment. Export creation alone does not establish successful import or acceptance.

If both sides create a supplier independently, align the destination mapping. For example, DeinHans may use 70088 while the firm has created 70112. A saved export mapping can be reused for that relationship; it does not rewrite posted history or an older export package. If an earlier package was already imported, agree the corresponding correction in the receiving system.

An account occupied by a different supplier is an identity conflict to resolve, not a reason to combine the parties.

Keep payroll in DATEV, connect its payments

DATEV describes transferring payroll data into financial accounting through its downstream interfaces. That established process can remain in place while DeinHans handles the agreed bank-payment side. DATEV Lohn und Gehalt classic.

The division is straightforward: the payroll process owns the calculation and expense/liability entries; DeinHans owns the selected payment entries. The firm checks the combined accounts.

For illustration, follow €6,000 of net wages payable and its payment. This is one part of payroll, not a complete payroll journal.

The payment reduces the liability without recording wage expense again. Wage-tax and social-insurance payments use their respective configured relationships. Merely choosing SKR03 in both systems is insufficient: confirm the actual accounts and mappings.

A temporary balance can remain when payroll and payment arrive at different times. Keep that timing visible rather than creating duplicate entries to make one system appear complete.

Use preconfiguration with a clear posting owner

Industry setups bring reusable accounting structures and supported payment treatments into onboarding. The firm can inspect, adjust or disable applicable rules. For each retained external process, establish the underlying entry, the matching account and the owner of the bank side.

Automation depends on the enabled rule and available evidence. A recognizable payment may lead to a suggestion or an authorized automatic step. VAT advance payments and trade-tax payments remain different cases; current trade-tax handling requires accountant confirmation.

“Parallel” also has two meanings. In normal operation, systems contribute different parts of the books. During evaluation, they may process the same sample for comparison. Do not import comparison output on top of entries already in the accepted books. If DATEV records a bank payment, importing the same payment from DeinHans would duplicate it.

A first-month checklist for the firm

1. Agree scope and cutover. Name the activity that stays in the existing workflow and how earlier unpaid balances will be handled.
2. Review starting records. Check master data, balance files, bank accounts and identity conflicts.
3. Confirm account relationships. Verify supplier/customer numbering and the retained payroll accounts.
4. Assign each posting once. Separate comparison output from the records intended for import.
5. Test the handoff. Name the importer, reviewer and acceptance criteria.

Use an existing supplier, a new supplier, an earlier-balance payment, a payroll payment and a deliberate mapping conflict. The test should show that identities survive, amounts fit the agreed scope, bank movements appear once and remaining questions are visible.

Compare the full effort, including setup, review, corrections and transfer. Agree an exit before expanding: unaccepted output stays out of the production ledger; anything already imported follows the firm's correction process. Retain the records and identify who completes the next period.

What about Lexware Office and other systems?

The same principles apply: preserve identities, assign posting ownership and verify the receiving process. Formats and capabilities still need checking for the specific product. Lexware Office and other Lexware accounting products are not interchangeable.

Lexware Office itself distinguishes several DATEV export arrangements according to how the firm and client divide the work. Name the actual route in your evaluation. Lexware Office DATEV exports.

A good first month answers a practical question: can the firm improve preparation while keeping the processes it trusts? For the next step, inspect what the accountant reviews in the monthly package.