DATEV

DATEV is a German registered cooperative society whose business is centered on information technology, software and professional services for tax advisers, accountants, auditors, lawyers and their business clients. Its institutional identity is closely tied to the German tax and accounting professions: membership is restricted to qualified professionals in the relevant fields, and the cooperative is intended to support members' practices rather than operate as a conventional publicly traded software company. The organization was established in Nuremberg on 14 February 1966 by 65 tax practitioners. Its creation responded to practical pressures facing tax offices, including staff shortages and the approaching introduction of value-added tax in Germany in 1968. DATEV's initial model was a centralized data-processing service. Client information was collected at the tax practitioner's office, physically sent to a processing center, and returned as completed tax, payroll or accounting reports. IBM supplied the initial data-center services before DATEV opened its own center in 1969. During the 1970s, DATEV moved toward electronic communications. A dial-up data service introduced in 1974 reduced the need to ship data on magnetic tape, although printed output continued to be delivered by post. The cooperative later began developing applications that allowed members to process data in their own offices. Development started in 1984, and the first in-house applications became available in 1989. These products initially used IBM's OS/2 operating system. In 1998 DATEV moved its in-house software to Microsoft Windows, reflecting the declining strategic importance of OS/2 and the increasing performance and availability of personal computers and office printers. The shift from centralized processing to locally installed and networked software broadened DATEV's role. Its portfolio came to include payroll, financial accounting, current-account bookkeeping, cost accounting, tax preparation, tax information, business consultancy, document and practice-management functions, and related data-processing services. The cooperative also expanded beyond tax practices. Under chief executive Dieter Kempf, it entered the legal software market around 1998 through the acquisition of Hamburg-based MCT and the addition of the Phantasy product. It subsequently developed software for lawyers and expanded into audit applications. This diversification created commercial opportunities but also produced tensions because tax advisers, accountants and lawyers can compete with one another in parts of the professional-services market. A further strategic dispute concerned whether DATEV should serve end clients directly, rather than supplying services only through member professionals. The issue led to an extraordinary members' meeting on 18 February 2005. Members approved a statutory change by 86.5 percent, allowing direct client services under a model known as bound member-client business. Such services require the consent of the member consultant responsible for the client, preserving the cooperative's professional-member orientation while permitting broader software distribution. DATEV also pursued international expansion, with activities in the Czech Republic beginning in 2000, Austria and Italy in 2001, and Poland in 2003. Its core market, however, remains Germany and the German-speaking professional tax and accounting ecosystem. The company has historically relied heavily on Microsoft operating systems, Microsoft Office-related environments and Microsoft SQL Server. It experimented with interfaces for OpenOffice.org and StarOffice, but discontinued OpenOffice support in 2017 because demand was insufficient. Payroll products have also offered interfaces to selected enterprise-resource-planning platforms, including SAP Business One, SAP Business ByDesign and Microsoft Dynamics NAV. DATEV remains a large specialist cooperative rather than a consumer technology…

DATEV was founded in Nuremberg on 14 February 1966 by 65 tax practitioners, with Heinz Sebiger and Joachim Mattheus among the principal initiators. The cooperative was created to apply electronic data processing to tax-practice work at a time when tax offices faced labor constraints and Germany was preparing to introduce value-added tax in 1968. Its original operating concept was centralized processing: practitioners entered client information at their own offices, sent the data to a processing center, and received completed reports and forms in return. IBM provided the initial data-center services. DATEV established its own processing center in 1969, giving the cooperative greater control over its technical infrastructure. In 1974, it introduced a dial-up data service that replaced the physical shipment of data tapes. Processing results, including payroll, accounting, tax and stock-related reports, continued to be returned in printed form through the postal system. The next major transition was toward local processing. DATEV began work in 1984 on software that allowed members to process client information inside their own offices instead of relying exclusively on the central registry. Initial in-house applications were released in 1989 and were built around IBM's OS/2 environment. In 1998, DATEV adopted Microsoft Windows for its in-house software as OS/2 declined and personal-computer capabilities improved. Better office printers and local networks made decentralized processing faster and more flexible for many practices. The 1990s also brought a broader service strategy. In 1998, DATEV expanded its in-house business software, consulting and training activities. Under Dieter Kempf, it entered the legal software market by acquiring Hamburg-based MCT and adding the Phantasy application. After a difficult initial period in a competitive market, DATEV developed a recognized legal-practice software offering. The portfolio was later extended to audit software, reflecting the overlap among tax, accounting, audit and legal professional workflows. Expansion beyond the traditional member base generated internal controversy. Some members supported supplying software and services directly to business clients, arguing that the cooperative needed to remain economically competitive. Others believed DATEV should act only in ways that directly benefited its professional members. The dispute contributed to the formation of the Association of DATEV Users, or IDA, and culminated in an extraordinary meeting on 18 February 2005. Members voted by an 86.5 percent majority to amend the cooperative's statutes. The resulting bound member-client business model allowed direct end-client services when the member consultant responsible for the client gave prior consent. International activity developed in parallel. DATEV entered the Czech Republic in 2000, Austria and Italy in 2001, and Poland in 2003. These initiatives created additional internal debate about how far the cooperative should extend its services geographically. Nevertheless, DATEV continued to grow while moving from data-center processing toward on-site software and networked services. Its products came to cover taxation, payroll, financial accounting, bookkeeping, cost accounting, business consulting, tax-law information, audit and legal practice management. The company's technology environment remained closely associated with Microsoft products. DATEV historically used Microsoft operating systems and applications and moved to Microsoft SQL Server as its exclusive database platform from early 2006. It provided partial interfaces to OpenOffice.org and StarOffice for a period, but ended OpenOffice support in 2017 because uptake was not sufficient. Payroll systems also developed interfaces for selected SAP and Microsoft Dynamics products. DATEV's cooperative structure continues to distinguish it from conventional listed software vendors. Its members come from the tax, accountancy and legal professions, and its business remains concentrated in professional compliance and administration. Reference material reports 2017 turnover of EUR 978 million, with 40,264 members and 7,387 employees recorded on 30 June 2018. DATEV has also used sponsorship to build visibility, including its role as title sponsor of Challenge Roth from 2022 for an additional three-year term.

1. 2022Challenge Roth title sponsorship is extended

   DATEV becomes title sponsor for another three years beginning in 2022.

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2. 2017OpenOffice support ends

   DATEV discontinues OpenOffice support because demand was considered insufficient.

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3. 2006Microsoft SQL Server becomes the exclusive database platform

   DATEV's software environment becomes exclusively based on Microsoft SQL Server according to the referenced account.

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4. 2005Members approve bound member-client business

   An 86.5 percent majority approves statutory changes allowing direct end-client services with member-consultant consent.

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5. 2003Expansion into Poland

   DATEV extends its international activities to Poland.

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6. 2001Expansion into Austria and Italy

   DATEV adds Austria and Italy to its international activities.

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7. 2000International activity begins in the Czech Republic

   DATEV begins extending its business beyond Germany, first entering the Czech Republic.

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8. 1998DATEV shifts in-house software to Windows

   DATEV makes its in-house applications available on Microsoft Windows and broadens its software, consulting and training activities.

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9. 1998Entry into legal-practice software

   The acquisition of Hamburg-based MCT adds the Phantasy legal software product to DATEV's portfolio.

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10. 1989First in-house applications become available

    The cooperative releases its first locally installed applications, initially based on IBM OS/2.

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11. 1984Development of in-house processing begins

    DATEV starts developing software that permits client data to be processed directly in members' offices.

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12. 1974Dial-up data service launches

    Members gain an electronic alternative to sending data tapes by mail, although printed results continue to be delivered physically.

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13. 1969DATEV establishes its own data center

    After initially relying on IBM services, DATEV begins operating its own processing center.

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14. 1968German value-added tax takes effect

    The approaching introduction of value-added tax was one of the practical reasons for creating a more efficient technology-based tax-processing service.

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15. 1966DATEV is founded in Nuremberg

    Sixty-five tax practitioners establish DATEV as a registered cooperative to apply computer processing to tax and accounting work.

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A member-owned professional technology cooperative focused on the German tax, accounting, audit and legal markets. DATEV combines regulated-profession expertise, tax and accounting content, practice software, client connectivity, training, consulting and secure data processing. Its differentiation is based less on consumer brand recognition than on integration into professional workflows and the cooperative relationship with tax practitioners and related professions.

• DATEV Tax SoftwareTax compliance and tax practice software

  DATEV's tax software supports professional preparation and processing for major German tax categories, including corporate, personal, trade, inheritance and consumption-related taxes. It is designed for tax advisers and related professional offices and forms part of a wider workflow that connects client records, accounting data, tax information and filings.

• DATEV PayrollPayroll and employment accounting

  DATEV payroll applications support payroll accounting and related administrative work for professional practices and their clients. The products are part of DATEV's broader accounting environment and have offered interfaces to selected enterprise-resource-planning systems, including SAP Business One, SAP Business ByDesign and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

• DATEV Financial AccountingAccounting and bookkeeping software

  The financial-accounting portfolio covers bookkeeping, current-account processing, financial reporting and related accounting tasks. It evolved from DATEV's original centralized data-processing service into locally installed and networked applications used by professional offices and, under the bound member-client model, eligible business clients.

• DATEV Audit SoftwareAudit and assurance software

  DATEV provides software for accountants and auditors as an extension of its tax and accounting portfolio. The audit offering supports professional workflows in a market where accounting, tax advice and assurance activities frequently use shared client data and related documentation.

• DATEV Legal SoftwareLegal-practice management software1998

  DATEV's legal software business originated with the acquisition of Hamburg-based MCT and the addition of Phantasy. The portfolio serves lawyers and legal offices with practice-oriented applications. Its development expanded DATEV into a neighboring professional market while also creating sensitivities because lawyers and tax professionals can compete in some service areas.

• LexInformTax-law information database

  LexInform is a tax and professional information resource intended to provide practitioners with extensive material on German tax law and related business information. It complements DATEV's transactional software by supplying reference content used in advisory and compliance work.

• DATEV Data Center ServicesManaged data processing and professional IT services1966

  Data-center services were DATEV's original product model. Although much processing later moved to members' own offices and networks, the cooperative continued to provide centralized and secure processing capabilities alongside software, consulting, training and business-organization services.

• 2022Challenge Roth title sponsorship

  Germany

  DATEV extended its sponsorship of Challenge Roth and served as title sponsor for an additional three-year period beginning in 2022. The sponsorship gives a specialist business-software cooperative visibility beyond its tax and accounting professional audience.

  Outcome. The title-sponsorship agreement was extended for three years.

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• 2022Extension of Challenge Roth sponsorshipOther

  DATEV used sponsorship to increase public visibility for a specialist cooperative whose principal audience is professional tax, accounting, audit and legal users.

  What changed. DATEV extended its Challenge Roth agreement and became title sponsor for another three years from 2022.

  Aftermath. The brand retained a public-facing association with a major German endurance-sports event.

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• 2017Discontinuation of OpenOffice supportOther

  DATEV had provided partial interfaces to OpenOffice.org and StarOffice, but the referenced account reports insufficient demand for continued OpenOffice support.

  What changed. DATEV discontinued OpenOffice support.

  Aftermath. The decision reinforced DATEV's predominantly Microsoft-oriented software environment.

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• 2005Approval of direct end-client servicesStrategy

  Members debated whether DATEV should serve only professional members or also provide software and services directly to their business clients.

  What changed. At an extraordinary members' meeting on 18 February 2005, members approved a statutory amendment by an 86.5 percent majority. Direct services became possible through bound member-client business, subject to prior approval by the responsible member consultant.

  Aftermath. The decision preserved a role for the member adviser while permitting DATEV to address end clients more directly.

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• 1998Acquisition of MCT and entry into legal softwareM&A

  DATEV sought to add legal-practice software and broaden its professional-services technology portfolio beyond tax and accounting.

  What changed. The cooperative acquired Hamburg-based MCT and added the Phantasy software product.

  Aftermath. After an initially difficult period in a competitive and politically sensitive market, DATEV established a continuing legal-software business and later added audit software.

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• 2022DATEV extends title sponsorship of Challenge Roth

  DATEV became title sponsor of Challenge Roth for a further three years beginning in 2022.

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• 2017DATEV discontinues OpenOffice support

  Support for OpenOffice was discontinued after DATEV assessed demand as insufficient.

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• 2005DATEV members approve direct end-client software services

  An extraordinary members' meeting approved a statutory change permitting direct services to end clients, subject to the consent of the responsible member consultant.

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1. DATEV