Comparison
Finovo vs Lexoffice
Lexoffice is the most popular accounting tool for German small businesses — and it does ELSTER well. But if your business also touches the UK or France, here’s where it falls short.
| Feature | Finovo | Lexoffice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £15/mo (≈ €18/mo) | €7.90/mo (invoice-only) · €16.90/mo (accounting) |
| German VAT (ELSTER / UStVA) | Included — ERIC API direct submission | Core feature — excellent ELSTER integration |
| German annual return (EÜR / Bilanz) | Yes — EÜR for Freiberufler, balance sheet for GmbH | Yes — EÜR and Bilanz supported |
| UK VAT (HMRC MTD) | Included — direct MTD submission | Not supported |
| French TVA (DGFiP) | Included — direct API submission | Not supported |
| German Payroll | DATEV export, Lohnsteuer Anmeldung | Payroll add-on — Lohnabrechnungen included |
| UK Payroll (PAYE/RTI) | From Professional plan | Not supported |
| French Payroll (DSN/URSSAF) | From Professional plan | Not supported |
| Open banking | 2,400+ UK & EU banks — daily sync | German banks via FinTS/HBCI — daily sync |
| SEPA batch payments | Yes — pain.001 XML export | Yes — SEPA XML generation |
| Multi-currency invoicing | 50+ currencies with live ECB/BoE rates | Limited — primarily EUR |
| Receipt capture (OCR) | AI OCR — mobile + web | Yes — Belegerfassung via app |
| GoBD compliance | Yes — audit trail, immutable records | Yes — GoBD certified |
| DATEV export | Yes — payroll and accounting handoff | Yes — strong accountant integration |
| Fixed assets & depreciation | Yes — straight-line, declining balance | Yes — Anlagenverwaltung included |
| English / French UI | EN / FR / DE — full UI translations | German only |
| Free trial | 30 days — no card required | 30 days — no card required |
Our honest take
Lexoffice is the first choice for German-only small businesses and Freiberufler. At €7.90/mo for invoicing and €16.90/mo for full accounting, it’s competitively priced, GoBD-certified, and has excellent accountant handoff via DATEV.
Finovo is the stronger choice as soon as your business crosses borders. HMRC MTD, DGFiP TVA, and payroll for UK and France are simply not available in Lexoffice — meaning you’d need entirely separate tools to serve those markets.
Lexoffice is also German-only in the UI. If your team includes English or French speakers, Finovo’s fully translated interface (EN/FR/DE) removes the language barrier entirely.
Try Finovo free for 30 days
No card required. Import from Lexoffice via CSV or DATEV export in minutes.