Create an e-Bilanz: a guide for GmbH & UG (2026)

Q: Do I need a tax advisor to create the e-Bilanz?

Not necessarily. Once your annual accounts are final, you can create and transmit the e-Bilanz yourself with eBilanz Fabrik via ERiC. eBilanz Fabrik is a tool and gives no tax advice — for questions about the figures themselves, a tax advisor stays the right address.

Updated: June 2026 · ~5 min read · eBilanz Fabrik (a tool, not tax advice)

In short: the e-Bilanz is the electronic, XBRL-formatted data set of your annual accounts that a GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) must transmit to the Finanzamt. With finished annual accounts you handle it in five steps — and with eBilanz Fabrik in under 10 minutes.

What is the e-Bilanz?

The e-Bilanz is the electronic, XBRL-formatted data set of your balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement (GuV). For companies that prepare accounts — including the GmbH and the UG (haftungsbeschränkt) — it has been mandatory since the 2012/2013 financial years (§ 5b EStG).

The data set is transmitted solely via the ELSTER interface ERiC — not as a PDF and not through a web-portal upload. So it is not a scanned document but machine-readable figures mapped to the official taxonomy.

Step by step to the e-Bilanz

Prerequisite: your balance sheet and GuV are final. The e-Bilanz does not produce the accounts — it brings existing accounts into transmittable form. After that it is five steps:

1. Eligibility & company. First you check the fit: GmbH or UG, size class, financial year = calendar year. If it does not fit, we say so honestly rather than guess. Then you enter the company name, tax number, address and shareholders.

2. Capture the balance sheet & GuV. You upload your accounts as PDF, Excel, CSV, HTML or Markdown — the file is read locally in your browser — or type the figures in directly, matched to your size class under § 266 and § 275 HGB.

3. Free preview — you decide every flagged mapping. You see every line item, the balance reconciliation (assets = liabilities) and the GuV tie-out — free, watermarked, before any payment. The software maps the line items to the HGB XBRL taxonomy (de-gaap-ci); detection-relevant classifications (interest, taxes, staff, revenue, depreciation) it flags for your confirmation and does not transmit without it. Where several taxonomy variants apply, it uses the documented standard for small GmbHs — and a line it cannot recognise unambiguously it rejects rather than guessing.

4. Pay. Only once the preview is right do you pay 24,95 € net — one-time, no subscription.

5. Confirm by name, approve — we transmit. You confirm the mapping bindingly with your name and expressly approve with your exact legal company name. Without both, the software transmits nothing. Only after your express approval, and after the technical check, is the data set sent to the Finanzamt via ERiC with your own ELSTER certificate. As proof of timely filing you receive the Transferticket.

Structure by size class

Which structure applies to your company depends on its size class:

Micro-entity (§ 267a HGB). A shortened balance sheet under § 266 (1) sentence 4 HGB plus a micro P&L under § 275 (5) HGB — the leanest structure.
Small GmbH (§ 267 HGB). A P&L under the total-cost method (Gesamtkostenverfahren) per § 275 (2) HGB.

Many GmbHs and UGs fall into one of these two classes — preparation is therefore lean and well suited to automation.

Common pitfalls

Assets ≠ liabilities. If the balance-sheet total does not match, ERiC rejects the data set. The balance reconciliation before transmission catches this.
Wrong size class. A structure that is too large or too small produces mandatory fields that do not fit — or missing items.
Diverging financial year. If your financial year is not the calendar year, you must state the correct period — a common transmission error.

With eBilanz Fabrik in under 10 minutes

Check eligibility, upload your annual accounts as a PDF or type the figures in, decide every flagged mapping to the HGB XBRL taxonomy yourself in the free preview, pay, confirm by name and expressly approve — only then do we transmit to the Finanzamt via ERiC. Under 10 minutes, from 24,95 € per filing (regularly 29,95 €), net plus 19 % VAT, one-time and with no subscription. You receive the Transferticket as proof of timely filing.

An e-Bilanz in under 10 minutes — from 24,95 €.

Check eligibility, upload, free preview, pay 24,95 € net, approve — we transmit to the Finanzamt via ERiC.

Create your e-Bilanz →

FAQ

Do I need a tax advisor to create the e-Bilanz?

Not necessarily. Once your annual accounts are final, you create and transmit the e-Bilanz yourself with eBilanz Fabrik. eBilanz Fabrik is a tool, not tax advice — for questions about the figures themselves, a tax advisor stays the right address.

In which format must the e-Bilanz be transmitted?

As an XBRL data set under the HGB taxonomy (de-gaap-ci), transmitted via the ELSTER interface ERiC. A PDF or web-portal upload is not permitted. As proof you receive the Transferticket.

What does the e-Bilanz cost?

With eBilanz Fabrik 24,95 € per filing (regularly 29,95 €), net plus 19 % VAT, one-time and with no subscription. As a business you reclaim the VAT as input tax.

eBilanz Fabrik is a transmission tool and gives no tax advice. Registered ELSTER software vendor. Statements on law, prices, and deadlines are without guarantee; the statutory rules govern (incl. § 5b EStG, §§ 266, 267, 267a, 275 HGB, § 149 AO). For other e-Bilanz software the process and prices may differ.