Getting started and onboarding
Updated
The guided setup takes you from your company details to a finished configuration in a few steps. Your progress is saved, so you can stop at any time and continue later. The app brings you back to the onboarding automatically.
This page shows which four details are mandatory, what happens in each step and which defaults Rechnungskit sets.
What is actually mandatory
Rechnungskit needs four details before the first invoice can be created:
- Company name
- Street and house number
- City
- VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) or tax number (Steuernummer). § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG allows either; a German VAT ID has the format DE + 9 digits and is checked directly with the BZSt (Federal Central Tax Office).
If one of them is missing, Rechnungskit holds incoming payments instead of issuing an incomplete invoice. A task then appears under Payments with a link straight to the settings. Everything else, such as bank details, logo or commercial register details, you can add later.
The steps at a glance
- Company details: name, address, VAT ID or tax number, register details. Rechnungskit derives the profit determination method from the company name: corporations such as a GmbH, UG or AG start with a balance sheet (Bilanz) and SKR04, everyone else with cash-basis accounting (EÜR, Einnahmenüberschussrechnung) and SKR03. You are not asked about this; you can change both at any time under Settings → DATEV settings.
- Business model: what you sell (goods, digital services, SaaS or services), so the VAT categories fit.
- Tax profile: Kleinunternehmer (the German small-business VAT exemption) or standard taxation, plus your OSS status. You do not need to list destination countries: Rechnungskit is set up for all countries and loads the VAT rates of all EU countries automatically from the EU TEDB (the EU's Taxes in Europe Database).
- Connection: a shop (Shopify with one approval click, WooCommerce, Shopware), your own API, or selling without a shop through the checkout link.
- Products: import from the shop with VAT classification, or your first product or subscription product for the checkout.
- Payment sources: connect Stripe, Mollie, PayPal or Shopify Payments; more can follow later under Settings.
- Payment methods and reminders: payment terms and reminders, all of which you can also set later.
- Finish: invoice number format (default RK-2026-0001) and a summary.
When you finish, you land on the dashboard. Anything you skipped during onboarding is waiting under Settings. You enter your DATEV advisor number and client number (Berater- and Mandantennummer) under Settings → DATEV settings.
Important defaults
| Setting | Default | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Number ranges | RK-{year}-#### for invoices, RK-S-{year}-#### for cancellation invoices (Storno) | number range and starting number at go-live, then under Settings → Document rules → Invoice number range |
| Profit determination and chart of accounts | derived from the company name: corporation = balance sheet + SKR04, otherwise EÜR + SKR03 | Settings → DATEV settings |
| VAT rates | rates of all EU countries, loaded from the EU TEDB | Settings → VAT rates |
| Payment terms | 14 days | changeable later |
| Reminders | off | changeable later |
| Sending invoices to customers by email | blocked in test mode; at go-live, "Send invoices automatically by email" is preselected | untick it at go-live or change it later under Settings → Email delivery |
Changing invoice numbers
At go-live you set the number range and the starting number. After that you change prefix and format under Settings → Document rules → Invoice number range, for example from RK-JJJJ-##### to HC-JJJJ-##### (JJJJ stands for the year). The counter keeps running, issued invoices keep their number, and cancellation invoices and purchase receipts follow the new format.
The year (JJJJ) stays mandatory because the counter starts again at 1 on January 1, and the running number never gets fewer digits. Every change is logged.
Deliveries outside the EU
Rechnungskit recognizes deliveries outside the EU by the destination country and treats them as tax-exempt export deliveries (§ 4 Nr. 1 Buchst. a, § 6 UStG). The exemption requires proof of export; Rechnungskit usually builds it from the shipment with its tracking number. Otherwise the task "VAT evidence pending" appears.
Project or new company, and the manual route
If you already run a company in Rechnungskit and create something new through the plus in the account menu, you are asked for the name first and then what it should be:
| Project | New company | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | another sales channel within the existing company | a separate business with its own master data |
| Its own | number range and connections | master data, VAT ID and DATEV export |
| Shared | VAT ID and DATEV export | nothing |
| Afterwards | created in seconds, straight on to the connections | starts the guided setup |
You can also leave the guided setup at any time with "Cancel and set up manually": whatever you saved stays, and you configure the rest in the settings. We recommend the guided route because it also sets up VAT categories, the VAT ID check and the document rules.
If something is stuck
If a payment still has no invoice after setup, you find the reason as a task under /payments. Usually one of the mandatory details above is missing.
Where to find it in the app
Rechnungskit is not a tax advisory or law firm. This article explains general principles and does not replace advice from a tax advisor (Steuerberater, § 5 StBerG) or a lawyer (§ 3 RDG). Rechnungskit is built for businesses based in Germany and prepares documents, tax rates and bookings automatically. How your specific case is treated remains your decision, ideally together with your tax advisor or a lawyer.