Comparisons

sevdesk vs Papierkram: hours or books?

These two get compared constantly although they solve different problems. Papierkram is project- and time-oriented — time tracking and projects are in every plan, including the free one. sevdesk is bookkeeping-oriented and has an Austrian edition. Price barely settles it: billed monthly, the entry plans cost €11.90 (sevdesk) and €15.90 (Papierkram), net.

sevdesk vs Papierkram: hours or books?
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Updated
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On this page
  1. The real difference: hours or books
  2. At a glance
  3. In detail
  4. Which one fits you?
  5. What the workflow looks like
  6. Backbone, the modern alternative
  7. Ask Billy about sevdesk vs Papierkram
  8. How Backbone does it

The real difference: hours or books

Comparing these two on price and feature lists misses the one decision that actually matters: do you bill by time spent?

Papierkram includes time tracking and project management in every plan, including the free one. That is not a side feature — it is why the product exists: tracked hours flow into the invoice. For agencies, developers and consultants who think in projects and hourly rates, that is the whole difference.

sevdesk starts somewhere else. It is built as a bookkeeping solution — receipts, EÜR, advance VAT returns — with invoicing as one part of it. Time tracking is a paid add-on at sevdesk (€4.90 a month); projects are not listed in its plan overview.

At a glance

Papierkramsevdesk
Invoices and e-invoicesYesevery plan, e-invoices from plan SYeseven in the free tier
Time trackingYesevery planAdd-on€4.90 / month
ProjectsYesevery plannot stated
Payment remindersYesplan S and upYeslevels from plan Buchhaltung
Recurring invoicesYesplan S and upYesplan Buchhaltung
ReceiptsYesevery planYesAI capture from plan Buchhaltung
Bookkeeping in the tool (EÜR, VAT return)Yesplan S and upYesplan Buchhaltung
Germany and Austriapartly: VAT return and EÜR follow German rulesYesown Austrian site
An assistant that does the work for younot listedhelp agent Sevi answers questions

“Not stated” and “not listed” mean the vendor's own pages say nothing about it; we do not guess. Plans and prices are in the detail table below.

In detail

Papierkramsevdesk
Entry price (net, billed monthly)€15.90 / month, plan S (€12.90 billed annually)€11.90 / month, plan Rechnung (€9.90 on 12 months)
Free plan€0 — invoices, quotes, receipts, time tracking, projects3 invoices / month; 14-day trial
Time trackingevery plan, including freeadd-on, €4.90 / month
Projectsevery plan, including freenot stated
Bookkeeping (EÜR)plan S and upplan Buchhaltung (€25.90 / month)
ELSTER / VAT returnplan S and upplan Buchhaltung
Payment remindersplan S and up, one click per noticereminders in every paid plan, dunning levels from Buchhaltung
Recurring invoicesplan S and upplan Buchhaltung, optionally automatic
E-invoicingplan S and upeven in the free tier
Austriausable, but VAT return and EÜR follow German rulesyes, own Austrian site

Prices are net, plus VAT, without time-limited discounts. Checked on 6 October 2026 at papierkram.de/preise, sevdesk.de/preise, sevdesk.at/preise and sevdesk.de/rechnungsprogramm.

Which one fits you?

Both are classic bookkeeping programs. Which one suits you depends on how you like to work:

  • Papierkram fits if you want one traditional program that does it all in-house, from project hours to the EÜR and the VAT return as an ELSTER file, and you like working through its menus and forms yourself. Best if you invoice in Germany only: its VAT return and EÜR follow German rules.
  • sevdesk fits if you want a full bookkeeping suite for Germany or Austria, with receipts, EÜR and VAT return in one place, and you don't mind adding modules such as time tracking as separate paid add-ons.
  • Neither is built for you if you just want to tell your AI what to bill, get paid and hand the books to your tax adviser.

That last point is why we build Backbone.

What the workflow looks like

Invoice from hours · Papierkram

Backbone: the week's hours go onto the invoice as line items in one click, then create and send.
Papierkram, invoice draft from tracked time (screenshot from the Papierkram help center)
Papierkram: an invoice draft from tracked time. The hours appear as a line with quantity and unit.Source: Papierkram help center, “Rechnungen”, as of 28.10.2026

Dunning · sevdesk

Backbone: set up the reminder and two dunning levels once. The fee and the statutory interest rate are already stored.
sevdesk, “Mahnung bearbeiten” form (screenshot from the sevdesk help center)
sevdesk: the “Mahnung bearbeiten” form, one form per invoice and dunning level.Source: sevdesk help center, “Mahnungen”, as of 23.10.2026

Backbone, the modern alternative

Backbone is the agentic back office for teams and agents. Backbone is not bookkeeping software, and it doesn't try to be. If you'd rather run your back office from your AI chat, take a look at Backbone.

You don't learn menus. You say what you need: “Invoice Kinetik for September's hours.” “Who still owes me money?” The Backbone assistant does it, in the app or right inside ChatGPT, Claude or other AI apps with MCP support through the connector. Nothing goes out without your OK.

  • One calm place instead of a toolbox. Hours, invoices, reminders and receipts live together. No modules to add, no add-ons to price.
  • Simple from the first click. No accounting vocabulary, no setup project. Germany and Austria are both built in.
  • The admin runs in the background. Reminders go out on the days you choose. Receipts find their payments. At month end your bookkeeper gets one ZIP.
  • More time for the actual work. The books stay with your bookkeeper, on purpose. You keep the hours for the work you're paid for.

Coming soon: automatic bank connections, the API, the CLI, a Mac app and Automations for your own scheduled tasks.

Ask Billy about sevdesk vs Papierkram

Ask Billy

Hi, I'm Billy, the friendly ghost in Backbone. Ask me about this topic or how to get it done with Backbone.

Why this one matters to us

My goal is to optimise and automate back-office tasks so that we founders can focus on what matters most.

Automating back-office work with AI agents and AI integrations is the future – that's why I built Backbone!

LucaLucaFounder, Backbone

How Backbone does it

Invoices done right. In the app, or in a chat with ChatGPT, Claude and many more.

  1. Create the invoice

    Say what goes on it. You approve.

    In the chat

    Write a draft invoice for Studio Nord: brand workshop, 16 hours at €95.

    Backbone connectorcreate_document

    Here's the draft.

    Open
    Invoice
    Studio Nord GmbH
    €1,808.80
    RE-2026-0142 · Issued 18/10/2026

    Looks good, issue it.

    Backbone connectorissue_document

    Issued as RE-2026-0142.

    In the app

  2. Bill your hours

    What you tracked goes on the invoice.

    In the chat

    Which hours are still open for Kinetik Studio?

    Backbone connectorlist_unbilled_time
    • 21–27/09/2026 · Design system · 8.00 h
    • 21–27/09/2026 · Website relaunch · 4.50 h

    Create a draft invoice and add those hours.

    Backbone connectorcreate_document
    Backbone connectoradd_time_to_document

    Here's the draft.

    • Draft · Kinetik Studio · €1,425.00
    • 12.5 h at €95.00 · plus 20% VAT
    In the app

  3. Switch on dunning

    Set it once. Runs by itself.

    In the chat

    Switch on dunning: first reminder after 7 days, then 14 and 28.

    Backbone connectorupdate_reminder_settings

    Automatic reminders are on.

    • Payment reminder after 7 days
    • 1st notice after 14 days
    • 2nd notice after 28 days
    In the app

  4. Receipts matched automatically

    Upload the statement. Clear matches assign themselves.

    In the chat
    Erste_Bank_10-2026.csv

    Here's the Erste Bank statement for October.

    Backbone connectorupload_file

    Imported. Where receipt and payment clearly match, they're already matched:

    • Bürobedarf Lindner KG · 14/10/2026 · −€86.90
    • Café Morgenrot · 13/10/2026 · −€23.40
    • Fotostudio Weiss · 09/10/2026 · −€350.00
    • Druckerei Nordwerk GmbH · 02/10/2026 · −€149.00
    In the app

  5. Off to your bookkeeper

    Month complete. One link, done.

    In the chat

    Send October to my tax adviser.

    Backbone connectorsend_to_bookkeeper
    Send to bookkeeper
    To
    Kanzlei Rehm & Partner[email protected]
    Period
    October 2026
    Contents
    48 receipts · 2 statements
    Expires in 28 min28 min
    In the app

  6. E-invoices per client

    Pick the format once. Every invoice follows.

    In the chat

    Studio Nord wants e-invoices in ZUGFeRD format from now on.

    Backbone connectorupdate_client

    Done. Invoices to Studio Nord now come as ZUGFeRD.

    • Studio Nord GmbH · E-invoice format: ZUGFeRD
    In the app

  7. Track your time

    One sentence in the chat. The hours are in your week.

    In the chat

    Log 3:15 hours for Kinetik Studio, website relaunch: homepage wireframes, round two.

    Backbone connectorlog_time

    Logged.

    • Sun 27/09/2026 · Kinetik Studio · Website relaunch · 3:15 h
    • Homepage wireframes, round two
    In the app
  • Invoices under German and Austrian lawLive
  • ZUGFeRDLive
  • XRechnungLive
  • ChatGPT, Claude and many moreLive
  • Cards in the chatLive

More on invoices

Try 7 days

Say it in your AI chat. Backbone does the rest, you approve.

Try 7 days

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General information, not legal or tax advice and no review of your case. Details on providers and laws can change. For your case, follow your tax adviser.

Sources: papierkram.de · sevdesk.de · sevdesk.at