Why you need process documentation as an online retailer

GoBD, IKS, GoBS and GDPdU - what sounds like a song by the German hip-hop group "Die Fantastischen Vier" are abbreviations and terms from tax compliance and procedural documentation. All companies - regardless of whether they are large corporations, SMEs, sole proprietorships or freelancers without employees - are obliged to keep tax-relevant business documents such as balance sheets, receipts and invoices for ten years. This article deals with the creation of procedural documentation in accordance with the principles of proper accounting and documentation (GoBD). The procedural documentation is regarded as a manual for business accounting and is therefore one of the most important pillars in the administrative apparatus. You can find out everything you need to consider as an entrepreneur here.

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The principles of proper accounting and documentation (GoBD) are of the utmost importance as fundamental regulations for bookkeeping. The GoBD regulates which basic principles entrepreneurs must observe for their bookkeeping and which other records are necessary for them to be recognized by the tax authorities for tax evidence purposes. Online retailers in particular should make sure they comply with these obligations - not least because digital accounting obligations are a top priority for them. At the latest when a tax auditor drops by, things can get uncomfortable without the procedural documentation.

Traceability within the meaning of the GoBD requires procedural documentation

Have you organized your receipts correctly in accordance with the GoBD requirements and filed them completely and correctly? Great! However, traceability is a very important criterion for GoBD-compliant accounting. This means that everything that has been done in your company must be properly documented. This process is called procedural documentation. As an online retailer, your processes are automated, so you are particularly affected by this.

Example

Entrepreneur Amélie from France orders a wardrobe from retailer Lukas from Germany via Amazon. Lukas stores the cabinet in a German warehouse. The table is removed from the German warehouse by Amazon and delivered to Amélie in France by a freight forwarder.

In this case, Lukas has a tax-free, intra-Community supply. However, he must prove that the cabinet was transported to France. To do this, he must save and keep various documents to hand, such as the track-and-trace log, delivery bills and the invoice. For example, they can download and save the track-and-trace log from the delivery service.

However, the procurement of the receipts themselves and the regulations for their storage are sufficient for traceable accounting within the meaning of the GoBD not out. Instead, Lukas must record the entire organizational and technical process relating to the workflows and structure of electronic accounting. This means that the procedural documentation contains information about the Origin, Indexing, Storagethat Clear retrievalwhich Protection against loss and falsification and Reproduction of all documents.

You must answer these questions in your procedural documentation

Once it has been determined which documents need to be downloaded, saved, scanned or imported, when and how often, everything needs to be neatly documented in the next step. This includes a general description of the processes as well as a definition of who carries out which step - as well as documentation of the technical systems used and operational documentation.

Here are the most important questions you need to answer as an online retailer in your procedural documentation:

Point 4 in particular plays a major role in online trading. The precise definition of access authorization requires special attention. Why? E-commerce companies often have a high employee turnover. You therefore need to regulate this very precisely: Which employee must or may do what and when?

Conclusion

It is crucial that a person can review and understand the procedural documentation in a reasonable amount of time. How exactly this should look depends to a certain extent on the attitude of the auditor. But if there are errors, even small business owners have to worry during a tax audit whether the tax office will reject their accounting as improper. You should therefore not take your procedural documentation too lightly. It is always right and important to seek support from a tax advisor in case of doubt.