From inbox to DATEV: handling incoming invoices without the chaos

Every month the same thing happens. Invoices arrive as PDFs in someone's inbox, as photos taken on a phone, and — increasingly — as structured e-invoices. Somebody opens each one, retypes the numbers into a spreadsheet or into DATEV, chases an approval, pays it, and at year end hunts for the original when the Steuerberater asks.

It works until it doesn't: a digit is mistyped, the same invoice is paid twice, a "we have a new bank account" email turns out to be fraud, or an invoice that lacks a mandatory field puts your input-VAT deduction at risk.

What a sound process looks like

Whether you use software or a well-run spreadsheet, the same five steps apply. Here is how Paylo handles each — and where it deliberately leaves the decision to you.

1. Capture — and keep the original untouched

An invoice can come in as a PDF, a phone photo, an XRechnung / ZUGFeRD file, or an email in your Gmail inbox. Paylo reads all of these. The original document is stored exactly as received with a SHA-256 fingerprint, so you can later show it has not been changed.

2. Verify — don't just trust the reading

AI reads the invoice, but reading is not the same as being right. Paylo recalculates the numbers: line items must add up to the net amount, net plus VAT must equal the total, and VAT must match its rate. If anything is off, the invoice goes to a person instead of being paid or exported. On top of that:

• the supplier's USt-IdNr. is checked against the EU's VIES service;
• the IBAN must pass its checksum, and an invoice naming a different account than the one on file is flagged;
• the §14 UStG mandatory fields (supplier and recipient, tax ID, invoice number and date, VAT breakdown) are checked, so a defective invoice is caught before you pay and lose the input-VAT deduction;
• duplicates and unusual amounts are flagged.

3. Approve under your own rules

Set an auto-approval limit and a monthly cap. Larger or unusual invoices go to you, or through an approval chain where each approver decides with one click from an email. Nothing is approved on the strength of the AI's say-so alone.

4. Pay — with you in control

Paylo can prepare the payment and, if you connect your bank through an Open Banking provider, initiate it — but you confirm every payment in your own bank with strong customer authentication. If you prefer, download a SEPA file and upload it in your online banking. Paylo does not hold your money and cannot move it on its own.

5. Hand over to your Steuerberater

Paylo exports a DATEV Buchungsstapel (SKR03 or SKR04, one booking line per VAT rate, invoice number and date) and a GoBD-oriented archive: all originals, an index with fingerprints, the change log and a Verfahrensdokumentation template. Invoices are locked against deletion for the 8-year retention period and removed automatically afterwards.

One honest caveat: the account numbers and tax keys in the export are sensible defaults, not accounting decisions. Agree them with your Steuerberater once, and Paylo uses your mapping from then on. Paylo supports your GoBD obligations — it is not a certified product and does not replace tax advice.

What to look for in any invoice tool

• It checks its own work. Ask what happens when the extracted total doesn't match the line items.
• It keeps the original. The document, not just the extracted data, is what an auditor asks for.
• It never pays without you. Be wary of anything that moves money on AI output alone.
• It speaks DATEV. If the export needs re-keying, you've only moved the work.
• It is honest about limits. No AI is 100% accurate; good tools route doubt to a human.