The GoBD have applied in Germany to all retailers since 01.01.2017.
They set requirements for the storage and retention of cash register-related data.
With Pickware POS, all guidelines can be fulfilled.
There is currently no certification by the legislator. Only the taxpayer is liable.
From April 2017, DATEV offers an online archiving service to make it easier to meet the GoBD requirements.
Since 01.01.2017, all retailers have been subject to the “Principles for the proper management and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access” – in short: GoBD. The GoBD are published by the Federal Ministry of Finance as an administrative circular and regulate the immutability, traceability, and protection requirements of tax-relevant data. The current version is based on the BMF circular of November 28, 2019, and was most recently amended by the circular of March 11, 2024 (applicable since April 1, 2024). Additional amendments were made by a further BMF circular of July 14, 2025.
In addition to explaining the individual principles, the document also sets out requirements for the internal control system (ICS) as well as for data security, retention, and provision. We explain the most important requirements below and how they are fulfilled with Pickware POS.
Content of the GoBD and fulfillment with Pickware POS
Principles of the GoBD
Principle of... | Explanation | Fulfilled in Pickware POS? |
Traceability and verifiability | No booking may be recorded without a receipt. | Yes, a receipt is created for every booking with Pickware and stored in the Pickware Cloud. |
Completeness | All records must be recorded, and no record may appear twice. | Yes, every transaction from Pickware POS is automatically stored in the Pickware Cloud with a unique identifier. |
Accuracy | All records must correspond to the truth. Nothing may be recorded that did not actually happen. | Yes, as long as all entries at the register correspond to the truth, that is exactly what is recorded. There is no way to manipulate the register. |
Timely bookings and records | All transactions must be recorded immediately. Cash deposits and withdrawals on the same day. | Yes, all transactions from Pickware POS, including cash deposits and withdrawals, are immediately stored live in the Pickware Cloud. |
Order | The recording of transactions must follow a specific order (e.g. sorted by date, last name, etc.) | Yes, all transactions are stored in the Pickware Cloud sorted by date and provided with a unique ID. |
Immutability | All transactions must be stored individually and immutably. It must also be ensured that the records are not altered by a change to the master data. | Yes, the records from Pickware POS are stored individually in the Pickware Cloud. A change to master data (e.g. the customer's customer group or the product's tax rate) does not lead to a change in the records. In addition, Pickware does not offer any way to delete records once they have been saved. Even when deleting orders, all records remain in place. |
Further requirements from the GoBD
In addition to the general principles, the circular also sets out further requirements for specific areas. The most important of these are listed below.
Internal control system (ICS)
The register's records must be protected by setting up appropriate access rights. Since the Pickware POS user interface, the Pickware Admin, and the Pickware Cloud are protected by user management with personal, encrypted passwords, this requirement is fulfilled with Pickware POS.
Data security
All records must be secured against loss (e.g. being unlocatable, destruction, loss, and theft). This also includes the accidental deletion of data. With the cloud-based Pickware for Shopify solution, backups of your shop are automatically created on a regular basis to secure your shop's data and information.
Retention
All tax-relevant records must be kept for the duration of the statutory retention period (usually 10 years) in a machine-readable, exportable, and orderly manner. With Pickware for Shopify, the relevant data is stored in the cloud and backed up regularly. Data backup happens automatically, so no separate database backups are required.
To ensure GoBD-compliant retention, you must make sure that the tax-relevant data can be exported at any time during the entire retention period and made available for audits. In addition, we recommend regularly exporting and retaining your cash register reports.
FAQ
Is there a certification by the legislator confirming that my POS system fulfills the GoBD?
Unfortunately, the legislator does not provide for certification of individual POS systems. Even positive assessments as part of a tax audit have no binding significance. Although the circular mentions that "certificates" or "attestations" from third parties or from the manufacturer of the POS system can help when choosing a software product, they have no binding effect on the tax office.