Costs / Comparison
Finding an accountant in English in Germany — the honest map of your options
If you run a German company and don't work in German, you have four realistic options: an English-speaking Steuerberater, an international firm, an online service — or software with an English interface. They differ enormously in price and coverage, and most of what you find when searching in English is built for freelancers, not for a GmbH or UG. Here is the honest map.
The four options
English-speaking Steuerberater
They exist, concentrated in the big cities, and demand outstrips supply — many don't take new small clients, and English service often carries a premium on top of StBVV fees. Full advice and representation, at the highest price point.
International accounting firms
Built for subsidiaries of foreign groups: excellent English, group reporting experience, priced accordingly. Rarely economical below a mid-six-figure revenue.
Online services and expat tax apps
The well-known English-language tools cover personal income tax or freelancer bookkeeping. A corporation's chain — double-entry books, HGB statements, corporate and trade tax, E-Bilanz, disclosure — is outside their scope.
Software with an English interface
You do the work yourself in English; the software prepares the statutory German output and files it. Flat pricing independent of revenue. Advice is not included — that stays a human profession.
What a corporation actually needs covered
- Double-entry bookkeeping under GoBD, with receipts archived properly.
- Annual financial statements under HGB — balance sheet, income statement, notes — in German.
- Disclosure with the Company Register (Unternehmensregister).
- VAT advance returns and the annual VAT return.
- Corporate income tax and trade tax returns, plus the E-Bilanz.
- Payroll, if there are employees.
Where jahresabschluss.io sits on that map
Our platform covers that chain end to end with a fully English interface: bookkeeping, HGB statements with AI-drafted notes, disclosure, and the tax filings — transmitted in the statutory German form over the official interfaces, with English convenience exports for you and your stakeholders.
It is self-service software, not advice. For questions that need professional judgment, combine it with targeted advice by the hour — that hybrid is usually a fraction of a fully outsourced mandate.
Questions to ask before you sign a mandate
- Which services are inside the quoted fee — bookkeeping, statements, returns, payroll — and which bill separately?
- Who is your day-to-day contact, and do they work in English or only the partner who sold the mandate?
- How are documents exchanged — a portal you can use, or paper and email in German?
- What happens at year end if you want to take work in-house — do you get your data in a usable, standard format?
Frequently asked questions
How hard is it to find an English-speaking Steuerberater?
Harder than the search results suggest. Supply is concentrated in big cities, many advisors don't take new small mandates, and English-language service often comes at a premium above the statutory fee schedule.
Can the well-known expat tax apps handle my GmbH?
No. They cover personal income tax and freelancer cases. A corporation files corporate income tax, trade tax, VAT and an E-Bilanz, and must produce HGB financial statements — a different chain.
Do I legally need any accountant at all?
No. A company may do its own bookkeeping, statements and tax filings. What you need is for the output to be correct and in German — which is what our software produces while you work in English.
What about advice — salary structuring, holding setups, audits?
That is genuine advisory work and stays with a human professional. The pragmatic setup for many founders: software for the standard year, targeted paid advice when a real question arises.