Language requirements

Jahresabschluss in English? What the law allows — and what it doesn't

Thousands of German companies are run by managing directors who work in English. German law still requires the annual financial statements in German. This page explains the legal position, the established convenience-translation practice, and how we are building the first year-end workflow you can operate entirely in English.

The legal position in one minute

Two hard rules, one established workaround.

German language required

Section 244 HGB: annual financial statements are to be prepared in German. This covers balance sheet, income statement, notes and management report — and the versions you file.

English filings not accepted

The Company Register (Unternehmensregister) and the tax office work in German. An English-only Jahresabschluss does not discharge your legal duties.

Convenience translations allowed

You may create and circulate English translations for shareholders, banks and group reporting — clearly labelled, with the German original governing. This is everyday practice at international firms.

Who runs into this

The German-language requirement hits hardest where nobody on the team reads German fluently.

Foreign-owned German subsidiaries

A German GmbH with a US, UK or Nordic parent still needs its own German statutory accounts — separate from group reporting under IFRS or local GAAP.

International founders

Founders who incorporated a GmbH or UG in Berlin, Munich or Hamburg and operate in English face their first German year-end with documents they cannot read.

English-speaking finance teams

Group accountants abroad need to understand and reconcile the German statements — usually via ad-hoc translations that cost time and money every single year.

How our English workflow is designed

You work in English end to end — the law gets its German documents.

English interface and questionnaire

Operate the entire preparation process in English. Answer the disclosure questionnaire in English — the AI drafts the statutory German prose from your answers.

English mirror of every section

Each generated German section comes with an English side-by-side reading view, so you can verify content before adopting and signing anything.

Dual export

One click produces the filing-ready German original plus an English convenience translation with the standard disclaimer — consistent terminology, both from the same data.

German always canonical

Filings to the Company Register and the E-Bilanz to the tax office are generated exclusively from the German original. The English layer can never leak into a statutory filing.

More English guides

German annual financial statements — overview | GmbH annual accounts | Deadlines & filing

Frequently asked questions

Short, concrete answers about German statutory accounts and the software.

No. Section 244 HGB requires the annual financial statements to be prepared in German and in euros, and the Company Register accepts filings in German. An English version can only ever be an additional convenience translation — it has no legal standing of its own.

A non-binding English translation of the German financial statements, clearly labelled as such. It is standard practice in Germany for companies with international shareholders, banks or group reporting — audit firms produce them routinely. The German original always governs.

The filed versions must be German. You are free to circulate English translations internally, to investors or to a foreign parent — but they are copies for convenience, not the statutory documents.

That is the core problem we solve: the software pairs the German statutory document with an English mirror view, so you can read and verify every section in English while the signed and filed version remains the compliant German original.

No — the electronic tax balance sheet (E-Bilanz under Section 5b EStG) follows a fixed German taxonomy, and correspondence with the tax office is in German. This is generated from the same data as your financial statements, so no extra translation work arises.

The English interface — built for exactly this problem

English interface, English questionnaire, an English mirror of every generated section, and English convenience-translation exports — while the engine keeps producing the legally required German documents underneath. Be first to know when it opens.

The full interface — bookkeeping, annual financial statements, corporate and trade tax, VAT — is available in English. The statutory documents and every filing are generated in German, as § 244 HGB requires. No credit card needed to start.