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Accounting for SaaS in Austria

How do you hand over accounting from weclapp to BMD as a SaaS provider in Austria?

You start the BMD export in weclapp under Accounting > Export > BMD for a period and give the file from the log to your accounting firm. Only finalized journal entries are exported; drafts are missing from the file. According to the feature list on the weclapp price page (as of October 2026), the BMD export is included in all three ERP packages; you align posting symbols and tax codes with your accounting firm before the first export.

Book an appointment: clarify the BMD handover for Austria

What does weclapp bring for Austria?

weclapp offers a BMD export for Austrian customers. It runs on a journal basis: you choose the period, start the export and find the file in the log for download for your tax advisor. It is set up under Global settings > Accounting > Export > BMD export settings.

As the standard chart of accounts for Austria, weclapp provides the Einheitskontenrahmen Austria, which you import via the accounting wizard. On request, your accounting firm can get free access to your system (according to the weclapp price page, as of October 2026; the single license “weclapp tax advisor” can only be booked together with ERP Services or ERP Trade).

The menu paths come from the weclapp help (as of November 2023); click through them to verify.

This is not a substitute for tax advice.

What does the monthly routine look like?

A fictional example: a Viennese app business with 800 subscriptions bills mostly monthly, so around 800 invoices per month, and works with a BMD accounting firm.

SchrittWerWerkzeug in weclappStolperstelle
1. Abo-Rechnungen erzeugenVertrag oder dein AbrechnungssystemAdd-on Vertragsmanagement oder REST-APINummernkreis vorab festlegen (fortlaufende Nummer, § 11 Abs. 1 Z 3 lit. h UStG 1994)
2. Bis zum offenen Posten verarbeitenDuBeleg verarbeiten, im Journal entsteht ein BuchungsentwurfAutomatisches Buchen kann abgeschaltet sein
3. Zahlungen zuordnen und buchenDuZahlungsdienstleister oder Bank, Offene Posten, „Automatisch buchen“Sammelauszahlungen: kein nativer weclapp-Standard, Auflösung mit Zahlungsabgleich 4 weclapp
4. PrĂĽfen und festschreibenDuJournal, Massenaktion FestschreibungDanach nur per Storno korrigierbar
5. Export startenDuBuchhaltung > Export > BMD, Zeitraum, Kennzahlen im Protokoll„Nicht abgeschlossene Belege“ über null: Festschreibung fehlt
6. Datei und Belege ĂĽbergebenDu und KanzleiProtokoll zum Download, Belege nach AbspracheOb Belege (PDF) mitgehen, beschreibt die Doku nicht
7. Import und RĂĽckfragenKanzleiBMD-Software der KanzleiRĂĽckfragen zu Steuercodes: Einstellungen vorab abgleichen

Der Export ist schnell gestartet; was in der Datei steht, entscheidet der Vorlauf. Was im Journal noch Entwurf ist, fehlt in der Datei. Ob die Datei die Belege als PDF mitführt, beschreibt die weclapp-Dokumentation nicht. Kläre mit deiner Kanzlei vorab, wie die Belege zu ihr kommen, zum Beispiel über den Steuerberater-Zugang. Das ersetzt keine Steuerberatung.

Clarify before the first export

This is not a substitute for tax advice.

Icon: Rulebook

Chart of accounts

Set up the Einheitskontenrahmen Austria and store the tax and default account assignment. If your accounting firm uses a different framework, reconcile the accounts in advance.

Icon: Person

Personal accounts

Assign BMD-compliant numbers; with five-digit personal accounts, only four-digit general ledger accounts.

Icon: Document

Posting symbols and tax codes

Review them in the BMD export settings and align them with your accounting firm.

Icon: Shield with checkmark

Finalization

Journal entries must be finalized, otherwise they are not exported.

Subscription invoices: contract or API?

In the first way, weclapp creates the recurring invoices itself. This requires the Contract Management add-on, weclapp list price, as of October 2026, €55 per person per month.

In the second way, your billing system creates the invoices via REST API. The API is available from ERP Services, not in the Starter: €86 for annual or €95 for monthly billed licenses per user per month, net (weclapp list price, as of October 2026).

Calculation scheme for the first way: package price × number of users, plus the add-on for the people who work with it. With one person, you get €86 + €55 = €141 for annual or €95 + €55 = €150 for a monthly billed license, net per month. For API-only operation, one ERP Services license is enough; there is no minimum number.

There is no native weclapp standard for splitting a bulk payout into individual payments and fees; wals.pro uses Zahlungsabgleich 4 weclapp for this. More on the page Matching subscription payments to invoices. How AI can help with setup and where its limits lie is described on the page AI setup for weclapp.

Numbers at a glance

7 years
retention of invoices in Austria
15th of the second following month
due date of the VAT advance return
€0
free access for the tax advisor, at the company's request (single license only with Services or Trade)
3 of 3
ERP packages include the BMD export according to the feature list

Deadlines and obligations according to RIS and USP. This is not a substitute for tax advice.

What deadline and details apply to subscription invoices?

Deadline and obligation. If you bill domestic businesses, you issue the invoice within six months after the transaction is performed; for private individuals you are generally entitled to do so, not obliged (§ 11 para. 1 no. 1 UStG 1994, RIS, retrieved 11.10.2026). For other services to businesses in other EU states where the recipient owes the tax, a shorter deadline applies: no later than the 15th day of the calendar month following the month of the service (no. 2). The recipient's VAT ID number and a note on their liability for the tax must then appear on the invoice (para. 1a). Which case applies, you clarify with your accounting firm. What a weclapp license with API delivers is on the page Accounting for SaaS, apps and subscription business.

Subscriptions. The invoice states the day or the period over which the service extends, so for an annual subscription the annual period (para. 1 no. 3 lit. d). For billing by sections, the billing period of up to one calendar month suffices; whether your subscription service falls under this, you clarify with the accounting firm. If you receive payment for a service not yet performed, for example for an annual subscription in advance, the invoicing rules apply accordingly (no. 4). The VAT then arises at the end of the advance return period in which you receive the payment (§ 19 para. 2 no. 1 UStG 1994); only the revenues are spread over the months by the accounting firm for bookkeeping purposes.

This is not a substitute for tax advice.

How long do you retain records, and what applies to e-invoicing?

You retain invoices for seven years (§ 11 para. 2 UStG 1994, § 132 BAO, both RIS, retrieved 11.10.2026). The period runs from the end of the calendar year to which the document relates, and longer while a tax proceeding is pending. Retention on data carriers is permitted if complete, orderly, content-identical and original-faithful reproduction is ensured; for records that exist only on data carriers, original fidelity is not required (§ 132 para. 2 BAO), and for e-invoices, according to USP, likewise.

An electronic invoice (including a PDF by email) is valid with the recipient's consent if authenticity of origin, integrity of content and legibility are ensured. If you issue the same invoice in several formats, note this on the invoice. Toward the federal government, contractual partners have been required to use structured e-invoicing since 01.01.2014, transmitted via the Unternehmensserviceportal or PEPPOL (USP, as of 01.01.2026, retrieved 11.10.2026). Which formats weclapp outputs for this is not described in the weclapp documentation. Mandatory details, formats and the small-amount rule are on the page E-invoicing in Austria, for German business customers on E-invoicing for subscription providers.

This is not a substitute for tax advice.

What is still open for Austria?

VAT advance return. The weclapp documentation describes only submission via ELSTER, and for the default country Germany (page changed 17.10.2025); FinanzOnline does not appear. An advance return from weclapp to the Austrian tax office is therefore not documented. It is due no later than the 15th of the second following month; with up to €100,000 in revenue in the previous year, the calendar quarter applies (quarter 1 by 15 May), on request the calendar month; with low revenue, the advance return may be omitted, which you clarify with your accounting firm (§ 21 UStG 1994, RIS, retrieved 11.10.2026).

Cash-basis taxation (Ist-Versteuerung). On the ELSTER advance return, the weclapp documentation states: “No, weclapp currently only supports accrual-basis taxation (Soll-Versteuerung).” In Austria, you must calculate the tax on payments received (Istbesteuerung) if you are not required to keep books for your commercial revenues (typical: sole proprietorships with cash-basis accounting), as well as a freelancer. Corporations are generally required to keep books and pay tax on agreed consideration (Sollbesteuerung). On application, the tax office permits Sollbesteuerung (§ 17 para. 1 and 2 UStG 1994, RIS, retrieved 11.10.2026). What this means for your bookings and the BMD export, you clarify with your accounting firm before the start.

Recapitulative statement (Zusammenfassende Meldung). For services to businesses in other EU states with tax liability on the recipient, a recapitulative statement is required, in principle via FinanzOnline (USP, as of 01.01.2026, retrieved 11.10.2026). weclapp offers a report for this, which weclapp support enables on request; the documentation (page changed 13.11.2023) describes it for German conditions. Whether it is enough for the filing via FinanzOnline, you check with your accounting firm.

This is not a substitute for tax advice.

When is this not a fit?

More on this: DATEV handover from weclapp. This is not a substitute for tax advice.

A fit

  • You run a SaaS or app business based in Austria and have a tax advisor who works with BMD.
  • You create recurring invoices via Contract Management or via REST API.

Not a fit

  • Your accounting firm doesn't work with BMD: then the route on the page DATEV handover from weclapp or another export applies.
  • You want to send the VAT advance return directly from the ERP to the Austrian tax office: that is not documented.
  • You pay tax on payments received (Ist-Versteuerung): for the advance return, the weclapp documentation mentions only accrual-basis taxation; what that means for bookings and BMD export is open. Clarify that in advance with your accounting firm.
  • You have many private customers in other EU states (One-Stop-Shop): this page does not cover that.
  • You have only a few invoices per month and no accounting-firm connection: then a lean invoicing tool may be enough.

Frequently asked questions

Does weclapp support BMD?

weclapp offers a BMD export for Austrian customers. It runs on a journal basis: you choose the period and download the file from the log. The feature list on the price page (as of October 2026) includes it in all three ERP packages. Only finalized journal entries are exported. You check posting symbols and tax codes in advance with your accounting firm.

Which chart of accounts does weclapp use in Austria?

As the standard chart of accounts for Austria, weclapp provides the Einheitskontenrahmen Austria. You import it via the accounting wizard, with German as the language. Which accounts you actually post to and which method of profit determination applies is set by your accounting firm; weclapp itself does not advise on this and refers to the tax advisor. This is not a substitute for tax advice.

Does my accounting firm have to work in weclapp?

No. You hand over the export file from the log. If your accounting firm would rather look into the system itself, it can get free access on request (weclapp list price, as of October 2026). Which rights the access includes, you clarify with your accounting firm before setup. From our projects: almost all of our Austrian customers hand over from weclapp to BMD; a few work with RZL; we clarify the export route to RZL case by case.

Do I need the Contract Management add-on for subscriptions?

If weclapp is to create the recurring invoices itself, yes. According to the weclapp list price, as of October 2026, the add-on costs €55 per person per month. If your billing system creates the invoices via REST API, you don't need the add-on for that, but at least ERP Services. For API-only operation, one ERP Services license is enough; there is no minimum number.

Can I send the VAT advance return from weclapp?

The weclapp documentation describes for the VAT advance return only submission via ELSTER, and for the default country Germany; FinanzOnline does not appear there. An advance return from weclapp to the Austrian tax office is therefore not documented. The advance return is due by the 15th of the second following month (§ 21 UStG 1994, RIS). Ask your accounting firm how it prepares it from the handed-over booking data. This is not a substitute for tax advice.

What do I need to set up before the first BMD export?

You set up the interface under Global settings > Accounting > Export > BMD export settings and check posting symbols and tax codes there. For this you need set-up accounting, stored tax and default account assignment, BMD-compliant debtor and creditor numbers and finalized journal entries. The number ranges of personal and general ledger accounts must not overlap. You clarify questions about symbols and codes with your accounting firm.

BMD handover from weclapp: we'll clarify it with you.

wals.pro is a weclapp partner headquartered in Vienna (weclapp partner directory, retrieved 11.10.2026). We support the handover as a project; how the export arrives at your accounting firm, we clarify in a call. More than 125 companies have registered for wals.pro AI 4 weclapp; the entry tier is permanently free, without credits.

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