Key points at a glance
- In Germany, self-employed bookkeepers may only handle current bookkeeping entries, current payroll and wage tax returns (§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 StBerG). For VAT pre-returns (UStVA), annual accounts and tax returns, clients always need a tax adviser.
- In Austria, Bilanzbuchhalter:innen (certified bookkeepers) may do considerably more (§ 2 BiBuG), such as VAT pre-returns (UVA), cash-basis accounts and balance sheets of small corporations. Annual tax returns and tax advice remain reserved for tax advisers.
- There are four common models: referral partnership, shared engagements, freelancing for the firm and, mainly in Austria, joint structures.
- Commissions for referred clients are off-limits: § 9 StBerG in Germany, § 84 WTBG 2017 in Austria. The partnership thrives on good work, not on money for referrals.
- A dedicated partner page on your website explains to clients who does what and turns the cooperation into a selling point rather than a limitation.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice for your individual case. Laws, professional guidelines and chamber fees change: check the details with your chamber, the relevant authority or your professional association before you make a decision.
Why the tax adviser is your most important partner
Bookkeeping and tax advice are two halves of the same job. You make sure a business's receipts are booked properly every month and wages are paid on time. The tax adviser builds on that: pre-returns, annual accounts, annual returns, tax planning. The better the two halves fit together, the less work the client has and the fewer questions come up at year-end.
In Germany, this cooperation is not optional but the basis of the business. Your permitted scope ends with current bookings and current payroll; everything after that is done by the tax adviser. If you want to win clients, you have to be able to explain who takes care of the rest. Many business owners search Google for exactly this: “Steuerberater und Buchhalter” (tax adviser and bookkeeper), “Bilanzbuchhalter oder Steuerberater”, “what is the difference”. A website that answers these questions picks them up.
In Austria, things are more relaxed because Bilanzbuchhalter:innen and Buchhalter:innen may do more themselves under the Bilanzbuchhaltungsgesetz 2014 (BiBuG, Accounting Professions Act). Even so, your clients need a tax adviser for income, corporation and VAT returns, for appeals and for tax planning. A reliable partner firm that you can name is therefore an argument here too. How to win clients in general is covered in the guide Winning clients as a bookkeeper; this post goes deeper into the cooperation itself.
Who may do what? Bookkeeping and tax advice compared
Before you plan a cooperation or describe it on your website, you need a clear picture of the limits. The following overview is simplified; what counts is the statutory text, in Austria also the UBIT trade group and the Bilanzbuchhaltungsbehörde (accounting professions authority), in Germany the Steuerberaterkammer (chamber of tax advisers).
| Service | Bookkeeper DE (§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 StBerG) | Bilanzbuchhalter:in AT (§ 2 BiBuG) | Buchhalter:in AT (§ 3 BiBuG) | Tax adviser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set up the chart of accounts, book current transactions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Current payroll | Yes, with wage tax returns | Yes, with representation for payroll taxes | No (requires Personalverrechner:in) | Yes |
| VAT pre-return (UStVA or UVA) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cash-basis accounts (EÜR or Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual accounts (balance sheet) | No | Up to the size of a small corporation (§ 221 Abs. 1 UGB) | No | Yes |
| Annual tax returns (income, corporation, VAT) | No | No | No | Yes |
| Tax advice and appeals | No | Only advice within their own scope, no appeals | Only advice within their own scope | Yes |
For your advertising, § 8 Abs. 4 StBerG draws the line: you may point out your authority, call yourself “Buchhalter:in” (bookkeeper) and advertise with the qualifications “Geprüfte:r Bilanzbuchhalter:in” or “Steuerfachwirt:in”, while the UWG (Unfair Competition Act) applies without restriction. Every service description must therefore read so that nobody expects tax advice, a UStVA or annual accounts. Which terms the courts have objected to is covered in the guide Advertising as a bookkeeper in Germany. The Austrian scope is explained in detail in Becoming a certified bookkeeper in Austria.
Four cooperation models at a glance
“Cooperation” can mean very different things. For your website, your contracts and your prices, what matters is who engages whom: do you work directly for the client, or do you work for the tax firm, which remains responsible to the client?
| Model | How it works | Who engages whom | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral partnership | You recommend each other when a client needs the other service. | The client engages each side directly. | No commission, no obligation to refer; the client chooses freely. |
| Shared engagement | You book on an ongoing basis; the firm handles pre-returns, annual accounts and returns. Data flows via an interface. | Two separate engagements by the client. | Clear interface and deadlines, written permission to share data. |
| Freelancing for the firm | You work on the firm's engagements, usually current bookkeeping or payroll. | The firm engages you; the client remains the firm's client. | Confidentiality in text form (§ 62a StBerG), false self-employment, your own prices. |
| Joint structures | Shared office or, in Austria, a joint company. | Depends on the structure. | Clarify the professional rules of both sides with the authority or chamber in advance. |
Referral partnership and shared engagements
The first two models are the norm for most bookkeeping firms. The client signs a contract with you for current bookkeeping and one with the firm for annual accounts and returns. You do not sell the tax adviser's services, put them in your quote or invoice them. In Germany this is mandatory, because otherwise you would be offering tax assistance you are not permitted to provide. In Austria, merely offering annual tax returns would also be punishable under § 124 WTBG 2017.
The benefit for clients: they get both from a well-rehearsed team without having to send data back and forth themselves. The benefit for you: the firm sends you businesses whose bookkeeping it does not want to do itself, and you send it clients who need annual accounts or advice.
Freelancing for a tax firm
Many bookkeepers start as freelancers for a firm, often their former employer. That brings predictable workload, but also dependence. Clarify three points in advance:
- Fee: Calculate with your own hourly rate, not your former salary. You bear software, insurance, holidays and illness yourself. Flat rates per booking line or per payslip are common with firms too; how to build pricing models is shown in Pricing models for bookkeeping firms.
- Confidentiality: German tax advisers must bind service providers who get access to client data to confidentiality in text form (§ 62a StBerG). In Austria, you are bound to confidentiality yourself under § 39 BiBuG. Agree on both in writing, plus data protection.
- False self-employment: If in Germany you work almost exclusively for one firm, following its instructions and using its equipment, the pension insurance may assume dependent employment. A status determination procedure under § 7a SGB IV provides clarity. Your own clients, your own software and your own website are strong indications of genuine self-employment.
Important for your website: what the firm passes to you as a freelancer, it is responsible for towards its clients. On your own website, you still only advertise what you may offer clients yourself. “Supporting tax firms with current bookkeeping” is a good wording; “annual accounts for tax firms” is not, in Germany.
Joint structures
In Austria, joint companies of accounting professionals and tax advisers are possible if the requirements of both professional laws are met. That is interesting for firms that want to offer bookkeeping and annual returns from a single source on a permanent basis. In Germany, the options are much narrower because self-employed bookkeepers do not belong to a chamber profession. Only enter into a shared office or a shared address there after consulting the partner firm's chamber of tax advisers, and in any case present yourself so that nobody takes you for part of the tax firm.
Without commission: what is allowed and what is not
Cooperation with tax advisers has a hard limit: money for referrals. In Germany, under § 9 StBerG, giving or accepting a share of fees or other advantages for referring engagements is not permitted, expressly also in relation to third parties. In Austria, § 84 WTBG 2017 prohibits tax advisers from accepting or granting commissions and from passing on engagements subject to a commission. A firm that agrees a referral bonus with you therefore risks disciplinary proceedings, and you risk the partnership.
How to get it right
- Recommend each other because the service fits, with nothing in return
- Charge a normal fee for work actually performed as a freelancer
- Share the costs of joint events according to the actual expense
- Name several firms to clients who want a choice
Better avoid
- Bonuses, vouchers or revenue shares per referred client
- Discounts for clients who engage “our” tax adviser
- An obligation to refer all clients to one particular firm
- Freelance fees that are really a hidden referral commission
These rules also apply to other referral channels, such as banks, start-up centres or software partners. How referrals work without commission and what your website needs to do afterwards is covered in the guide Referrals for professional firms.
The partner page on your website
A sentence like “We work with tax advisers” in the footer helps nobody. A dedicated page “Working with your tax adviser” or “Our partner firms”, on the other hand, answers the question every prospect asks: who does what for me, and do I have to coordinate everything myself? At the same time, this page is the place to present your permitted scope openly and clearly, which in Germany meets the requirements of § 8 StBerG and the UWG.
What belongs on a good partner page
- A short explanation of what you handle and what the tax adviser handles, in everyday language
- A “who does what” overview as a table or graphic, matching your country
- The process: how receipts reach you, when the data is with the firm, who the contact person is
- The partner firms with name, location and link, only with their consent and in an approved text
- A note that clients choose their tax adviser freely and that you also work with their existing firm
- A section for tax firms: which engagements you take on, which software, which capacity
- A short FAQ on the difference between bookkeeping, certified bookkeeping and tax advice
Only name partner firms with their express consent, and only show a logo if the firm provides it to you for that purpose. Tax advisers must make sure that advertising others do for them also complies with their professional rules; an agreed text saves both sides trouble. Also avoid terms that suggest a corporate link that does not exist: “Egger & Partner” in the name is reserved for partnership companies in Germany (§ 11 PartGG). “Our cooperation partners” as a page title, by contrast, is unproblematic.
Explaining the difference to clients
“Certified bookkeeper or tax adviser, which do I need?” is one of the most common questions business owners ask search engines and, increasingly, AI assistants. If you answer it clearly on your own website, you get found and cited. What matters is the client's perspective: they do not want to know your permitted scope, they want to know what they get from whom and what it costs.
| Your question | Bookkeeping firm | Tax adviser |
|---|---|---|
| Who books my receipts every month? | We do | The firm can too, but usually at a higher price |
| Who does the payroll? | We do (in Austria with a payroll licence) | Also possible |
| Who files the VAT every month? | In Austria we do, in Germany the tax adviser | Yes |
| Who prepares my balance sheet? | In Austria we do as certified bookkeepers for small corporations, in Germany the tax adviser | Yes |
| Who prepares my income tax return? | The tax adviser | Yes |
| Whom do I ask how to save tax? | The tax adviser | Yes |
How to get it right
- Explain the difference with examples from your clients' everyday business
- Describe the cooperation as an advantage: well-rehearsed, quick handover, one contact for receipts
- Use titles correctly: “Geprüfte Bilanzbuchhalterin (IHK)” in Germany, “selbstständige Bilanzbuchhalterin” in Austria
- An FAQ with the real questions from your first meetings
Better avoid
- “Cheaper than a tax adviser”, because it suggests the same services
- “Steuerbüro” (tax office), “tax service” or “all-round bookkeeping” in your name or menu
- “We take care of your taxes” if in Germany you may only book
- Disparaging tax advisers to make your own service look better
“Cheaper than a tax adviser” in particular is a classic that hurts in both countries: it suggests you offer the same thing, and it annoys exactly the firms that are supposed to send you clients. A better sentence is: “We handle your current bookkeeping so that your tax adviser can focus on annual accounts and advice.” How to structure your other service pages is shown in the post on the website for bookkeeping firms.
Day-to-day cooperation: how the handover works
First meeting with all three or with feedback
With new clients, clarify early which firm is responsible, and agree on the chart of accounts, software and deadlines with it before you make the first booking.
Permission to share data
Have the client confirm in writing in the engagement that you may pass bookkeeping data to the tax adviser. In Austria, this also releases you from confidentiality under § 39 BiBuG towards the firm.
Distribute powers of attorney correctly
In Austria, you need your own FinanzOnline authorisation for VAT pre-returns and payroll taxes, and the firm needs its own for the annual returns. In Germany, the tax adviser files the UStVA and you file the wage tax returns.
Fixed handover rhythm
Agree by when a month's bookings are completed and with the firm, for example via your bookkeeping software's interface. Punctuality is the strongest argument for further referrals.
Plan year-end together
Clarify accruals, open items and stocktaking in good time before the annual accounts. A short joint year-end checklist saves both sides questions.
Finding and approaching partner firms
The best partners are firms in your region that fit your target groups and work with the same or compatible software. Approach them specifically: which engagements you take on, from what size, how the handover works and when you have capacity. In Germany, a letter or a personal approach is unproblematic; stricter rules apply to marketing emails in both countries, explained in the guide Winning clients as a bookkeeper.
Your website is your business card towards the firm. A section “For tax firms” with software, focus areas and process shows that you know the limits and work professionally. Add your professional title and a link to the partner page to your email signature, so that every email to a firm delivers the facts right away.
Business cards for your partner firm
Create a free business card with your correct professional title that your partner firm can pass on to clients.
Sources
- Gesetze im Internet – § 6 StBerG
- Gesetze im Internet – § 8 StBerG
- Gesetze im Internet – § 9 StBerG
- Gesetze im Internet – § 62a StBerG
- Gesetze im Internet – § 7a SGB IV
- RIS – Accounting Professions Act 2014 (BiBuG), § 2
- RIS – Accounting Professions Act 2014 (BiBuG)
- RIS – WTBG 2017, § 84 (commissions)
- Gesetze im Internet – § 2 StBerG
- Gesetze im Internet – § 11 PartGG
- RIS – WTBG 2017, § 124
- RIS – Bilanzbuchhaltungsgesetz 2014, § 39
- RIS – UGB, § 221
