Partner program and partner code

Rechnungskit has a partner program for agencies, service providers, tax advisors and publishers. Partners pass a partner code on to their customers. If you redeem a partner code, you pay no base fee for your first six billed months. Documents are charged as usual.

This page first explains what the code gets you as a customer and where to enter it. After that come the partner types and the tax advisor workspace.

What the partner code gets you

An account that creates its first document two months after signing up loses nothing.

The code cannot be combined with another base fee waiver, such as the earlier founder benefit. If both apply, the later end date counts. The code is not transferable and is not paid out.

Where to enter the code

Four ways, none of them using cookies:

You are only asked for a code once. As soon as one is applied, or a code from a link is still waiting for setup, the field disappears everywhere.

Period

You can redeem the code until the first billing period is closed, meaning until the invoice for the first billed month has been created. After that, the message is "A partner code can only be applied before your first monthly statement."

An unknown, expired or used-up code always gives the same message, "This partner code is not valid."; Rechnungskit does not say why. If a code you got from a partner does not work, ask the partner for a current one.

Shopify billing

For accounts billed through the Shopify App Store, partner codes are not available yet. There, the benefit will later show up as a discount on the base fee in your Shopify bill. Until then, Rechnungskit hides the field for these accounts.

There is no public discount code

Rechnungskit does not hand out general discount or voucher codes. You only get partner codes from a Rechnungskit partner, either in person or through the partner's own offer (such as MAGICPAGES for customers of Magic Pages, the Ghost host). Codes on coupon sites do not come from us and are deactivated.

If someone asks for a voucher or discount code, explain exactly that and point them to rechnungskit.de/partnercode (in German).

Three partner types

• Agency or service provider: commission, partner code, deal protection by domain and setup access to customer accounts (once the customer grants it).
• Tax advisor (Steuerberater or Steuerkanzlei): tax advisor access with read access to their clients' documents and archive, plus DATEV settings, exports and locking (Festschreibung). The tax advisor does not change invoices or payments. There is no commission, because German law does not allow tax advisors to take benefits for referring business (§ 9 StBerG). Partner codes for clients are still available.
• Publisher or creator, for example with a newsletter, blog, YouTube channel or podcast: partner code and commission as for agencies, but without deal protection and without access to customer accounts. The commission is paid out by self-billing credit note (Gutschrift), so Rechnungskit needs your tax number, also if you are a small business under the Kleinunternehmer rule.

You choose the partner type when you apply at partner.rechnungskit.de/signup. To start with the right type directly, use partner.rechnungskit.de/signup/agentur, /signup/kanzlei or /signup/creator.

For partners

Commission and partner terms

Agencies, service providers, publishers and creators get a revenue share for customers they refer. The terms (rate, duration, payout by self-billing credit note) are in the partner terms. They can only be viewed in the partner portal (partner.rechnungskit.de, menu item "Partner terms"), where you accept them with one click, at the latest before you create your first partner code.

Section 10 of the terms and conditions refers to the partner terms without giving numbers. Don't quote a percentage; point to the partner portal.

• During the six months without base fee, the commission is calculated from the customer's documents.
• Tax advisors may pass partner codes on to their clients. The benefit goes to the client, and the tax advisor receives nothing for it (§ 9 StBerG).
• A partner cannot redeem their own code for their own account.

Managing codes

Partners create their codes themselves in the partner portal under "Partner codes" (partner.rechnungskit.de). There they see clicks, redemptions, paying customers and commission per code. They can deactivate or rotate a code (the old code stays valid for customers already won) and copy the text for sharing.

Custom codes such as MAXIMUS instead of MAXIMUS-7K3Q are set up by support. Under Leads and Statements, each customer shows its source: partner code or domain registration.

Partners get an email when a customer won through their code is billed for the first time. Tax advisors get the message right when the code is redeemed, because no commission is involved for them.

Applying as a partner

• Agencies: rechnungskit.de/partners
• Publishers and creators: rechnungskit.de/creators
• Tax advisors: rechnungskit.de/tax-advisors

Getting started in the tax advisor workspace

When a tax advisor (Steuerkanzlei) opens the partner portal, the checklist "Welcome to Rechnungskit" sits above the client list. Rechnungskit ticks the steps off by itself, and only once a step is actually done in the data:

1. First client connected: a client has given the tax advisor access in their account under Settings → Access. Until one is connected, "Request access" leads to the invite link.
2. Check the DATEV settings: Beraternummer (consultant number) and Mandantennummer (client number) are filled in and every account role is confirmed. The SKR03 or SKR04 standard accounts can be adopted there in one click.
3. Set up automatic export creation: a day between 1 and 28. On that day Rechnungskit creates the previous month's revenue and payment batches for every client as drafts.
4. Review and lock your first month: at least one export of a client is locked (festgeschrieben).

Importing into DATEV: three options

Below the checklist, a box explains importing into DATEV. It has no checkbox, because every firm works differently. You set the option per client with "Export documents as DATEV Belegtransfer package" in the DATEV settings. The setting applies to every new export.

Hiding the checklist and help

"Hide" hides the checklist for that person only. Colleagues at the same firm still see it until they hide it themselves. Once all four steps are done, it disappears on its own.

The "Help & guide" entry in the portal sidebar always opens the help page "DATEV export and your tax advisor", in English when the interface is English.