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Short, sourced articles for freelancers and agencies in Austria and Germany: what an invoice must say, how to chase a payment, what your bookkeeper needs, and what we ship.
Product newsSort Invoices and Billy are now part of Backbone, one all-in-one back-office app for invoicing and bookkeeping preparation that you can also use via MCP in ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Gemini.
Product newsSort Invoices and Billy are now part of Backbone, one all-in-one back-office app for invoicing and bookkeeping preparation that you can also use via MCP in ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Gemini.
BookkeepingFrom 1 October 2026 a receipt counts as issued when the customer can read it on a screen on the spot (§ 132a BAO). That is a relaxation, not a new obligation — and if you only invoice by bank transfer it does not apply to you at all.
Tax & VATA § 13b invoice shows no VAT and must carry the German sentence „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers“ verbatim (§ 14a Abs. 5 UStG). More important than the sentence is the question nearly every template skips: whether your client qualifies at all. Includes a copy-ready invoice template.
Billy, our AI ghostAI can watch due dates, draft reminder text and send the stages on schedule. Whether your customer is in default it cannot judge better than a spreadsheet — that is § 286 BGB. Where automation helps, where it gets expensive, and what interest you may charge.
ComparisonsBoth are bookkeeping suites, invoicing from about €12 a month, so price settles little. The real dividing line is country: Lexware Office is built for Germany, sevDesk also covers Austria. Plus: lexoffice is now Lexware Office.
ComparisonsPapierkram has time tracking and projects in every plan, even the free one; sevDesk is bookkeeping-first, has an Austrian edition and sells time tracking as an add-on. Prices and features side by side, as of October 2026.
Tax & VATThe sentence most people copy — "Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet" — no longer matches the law precisely: since the 2025 reform, small-business turnover is tax-exempt. Here is the wording § 34a UStDV asks for, plus the Austrian version.
Payment remindersDefault interest is 9 percentage points above the base rate between businesses, 5 when a consumer is involved. With the base rate valid since 1 July 2026 that is 10.52 % and 6.52 %. Formula, a worked example and a reminder text to copy.
InvoicingWhat must an Austrian invoice contain? The complete § 11 UStG list, when the customer VAT ID becomes mandatory, the 400 € small-amount threshold — and where Austria differs from Germany.
Payment remindersGerman dunning has three escalating stages and English has no single word for it. Three templates to copy — payment reminder, second reminder, final notice — with the German equivalents and what changes when the client is abroad.
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