Most German small businesses that look for an alternative to lexoffice or sevDesk are not unhappy with the bookkeeping. They have run into something specific: an e-invoice a customer refused, a tax adviser who wants the data a particular way, a price that rose, a job with forty documents and no place to put them, or the wish to stop typing receipts at all. This page is written for that moment. It is a checklist of the things a German business should compare in 2026 — the same list for every product, including KRONENWERK — followed by KRONENWERK's own answers, including the two that may send you elsewhere. It makes no claims about lexoffice's or sevDesk's features; check those on their own sites, on the day you decide.
The checklist: ten things to compare
Take the list to each product's documentation or trial. The useful question is never "is it on the roadmap" but "show me the document it produces for this case".
| # | Requirement | Why it matters in Germany | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E-Rechnung out: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD | Since 2025 every business must be able to receive EN 16931 e-invoices; issuing them for domestic B2B sales becomes mandatory in stages through 2027 and 2028. A PDF is no longer an invoice for a business customer who asks for the file. | An XRechnung and a ZUGFeRD generated and validated at issuance — not exported afterwards — with the rule named when validation fails. |
| 2 | E-Rechnung in | Suppliers' ZUGFeRD and XRechnung files arrive by e-mail now. Reading the XML saves the retyping and catches the figure the PDF rounds. | Drop a supplier's e-invoice in; see the figures read from the XML, the file attached, the bill awaiting confirmation. |
| 3 | GoBD-shaped records | Complete, correct, timely, orderly, unalterable — and traceable to the document. No product can certify this for you; its design can make it easy or hard. | Frozen issued documents, corrections as credit notes, an append-only ledger, who-and-when on every act, originals kept. |
| 4 | Umsatzsteuer on the document | Standard, reduced, exempt, reverse charge, intra-Community with the USt-IdNr., Kleinunternehmer without VAT: each needs the right particulars under § 14 UStG. | The § 14 particulars checked before a number is issued; the rate stated by you, never guessed by the software. |
| 5 | The Steuerberater and DATEV | Most advisers work in DATEV and want either a DATEV export or a login. This is the row that decides most switches. | Ask the adviser first: DATEV export, SKR03/04, or a login into the software with their own rights? |
| 6 | Belege without typing | Receipts and supplier bills are where the hours go. | Photograph or forward; figures read as printed; a queue awaiting confirmation; nothing booked without a person. |
| 7 | Jobs with many documents | Angebot, Auftragsbestätigung, Lieferschein, Eingangsrechnungen, photos, Rechnung, payment — one job, one number. | A place inside the accounting where all of it lives together, not a folder on a drive. |
| 8 | An AI assistant, with a fence | Useful for the typing; dangerous if it can sign. | Which acts an assistant may perform, which stay with a person, and whether the company can set a limit. |
| 9 | Hosting and the DSGVO | Your data-protection officer, or your largest customer, will ask. | Where the database is; whether an Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag is available without a phone call. |
| 10 | Price, in plain numbers | The monthly figure is only part of it: users, companies, features moved to a higher tier. | The public price list, what each tier includes, whether there is a trial and what happens when it ends. |
KRONENWERK's answers, row by row
- E-Rechnung out. Both formats, generated and validated against EN 16931 and the German CIUS before the invoice gets a number; a violation is a refusal with the rule named. See XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD.
- E-Rechnung in. Incoming ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X and UBL files are read into bills with the file attached; the free e-invoice checker validates any file without an account.
- GoBD. Issued documents are frozen snapshots with PDF and XML; corrections are credit notes; the ledger is append-only; every act carries who and when; original filenames are kept. No certificate is claimed, because none can be.
- Umsatzsteuer. Standard, reduced, exempt, reverse charge, intra-Community and Kleinunternehmer invoices, with the § 14 UStG particulars checked before issue. Rates are yours to state.
- The Steuerberater. The adviser can be invited into the company with the rights you choose, and can see every client on one screen through the practice plan. But KRONENWERK has no DATEV interface and ships no SKR03 or SKR04. Its German starter chart is deliberately not SKR03; a licensed DATEV chart can be entered or imported, but the DATEV export most advisers expect does not exist today. If your adviser insists on DATEV, this row ends the comparison — settle it before anything else.
- Belege. Photograph or forward; figures read as printed; a queue awaiting your confirmation. With an assistant connected, "buche diese Rechnung auf Vorgang V2026-0142" is the whole task.
- Vorgänge. The transaction is a job folder inside the accounting: quote, order, delivery note, supplier bills, photos, invoice and payments under one number, with no amount of its own.
- The assistant. Claude or ChatGPT connects through an MCP server; the company sets one of three levels — read only, propose, or act within a limit — and the acts that change a legal document or move money stay with a person. See what an assistant can and cannot do. Enterprise plan.
- Hosting. Application and database in Frankfurt; the Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag is a public page linked from the footer.
- Price. Four plans from 29 € a month, published on the pricing page; no free plan and no trial, which is a deliberate choice and stated on every page.
The two rows that may send you elsewhere
Honesty is cheaper than a migration that has to be reversed. If your Steuerberater needs a DATEV export and will not work inside another product, KRONENWERK is the wrong choice today, and this page would rather say so than have you find out in January. Likewise, if you prepare and submit your Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung yourself and want the software to send it through ELSTER, KRONENWERK does not: the figures per rate and category are in the reports, and the filing is on ELSTER or with your adviser. Everything else on the list — the two e-invoice directions, GoBD-shaped records, receipts, jobs, the assistant, Frankfurt hosting — is where KRONENWERK was built to be strong, and the Germany page sets it out with the same limits stated.
What switching actually involves
Export customers, suppliers, open invoices, bills and a Summen- und Saldenliste as of a date from your current product; upload them; map the columns once; compare the totals; approve. Old invoice numbers are kept as they were, and new ones continue your sequence. There is no dedicated lexoffice or sevDesk adapter, so the exports go through the generic CSV mapping; the switching guide walks through the seven steps, the reversal rule if something is wrong, and how to keep the adviser in the loop. Most businesses pick the first day of a quarter and issue their first invoice from KRONENWERK the same afternoon.
How KRONENWERK handles this
SUPPORTED WITH LIMITATIONS XRechnung and ZUGFeRD issued and validated; incoming e-invoices read; § 14 UStG particulars checked; frozen documents and append-only ledger; receipts, bills, attachments, transactions, receivables, payables and reports; adviser access through the practice plan; an AI assistant with three levels on the Enterprise plan; Frankfurt hosting. Not done: DATEV, SKR03/04, ELSTER filing, a bank feed, payroll. Prices in euro on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is KRONENWERK cheaper than lexoffice or sevDesk?
Compare the public price lists on the day you decide; theirs change, and this page will not quote them. KRONENWERK's four plans start at 29 € a month and are listed in full on the pricing page.
Can I import my lexoffice or sevDesk data?
Through the generic CSV and XLSX import: customers, suppliers, invoices, bills and a trial balance as of a date. There is no one-click adapter for either product.
Does my Steuerberater get a DATEV export?
No. There is no DATEV interface and no SKR chart. The adviser can work inside KRONENWERK through the practice plan or take the reports and documents from it. If DATEV is a must, choose something else.
Can I send my Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung from KRONENWERK?
No. The figures are in the reports; the filing is on ELSTER or with your adviser.
Does KRONENWERK do E-Rechnung in both directions?
Yes. XRechnung and ZUGFeRD are issued and validated before numbering; incoming e-invoices are read into bills with the file attached.
Is there a free trial?
No. There is no free plan and no trial; the plans are paid from the first month and cancellable at any time.