Create an e-Bilanz: a guide for GmbH & UG (2026)
Updated: October 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; for financial years beginning after 31 December 2024 it also includes the unaggregated account statements with account balances (Kontennachweise, § 5b(1) sentence 1 EStG). With finished annual accounts you file the balance sheet and income statement in five steps — with eBilanz Fabrik in under 10 minutes, without the Kontennachweise.
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 financial years beginning after 31 December 2024 it also includes the unaggregated account statements with account balances (Kontennachweise, § 5b(1) sentence 1 EStG). 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 answer the flagged questions. You see every line item, the balance reconciliation (assets = liabilities) and the GuV tie-out — free, watermarked, before any payment. The software converts the line items into the XBRL format of the HGB taxonomy (de-gaap-ci); the mapping of individual items remains your decision: detection-relevant classifications (interest, taxes, staff, revenue, depreciation) it flags for your confirmation and does not transmit without it. Totals it does not ask about are filed under a standard position by a fixed rule; a line it cannot recognise unambiguously on import is not taken over without asking you.
4. Pay. Only once the preview is right do you pay 29,95 € net — one-time, no subscription.
5. Approve — we transmit. You expressly approve with your exact legal company name; without this approval, 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 receipt by the Finanzamt 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, § 275 (2) HGB) or the cost-of-sales method (Umsatzkostenverfahren, § 275 (3) HGB). eBilanz Fabrik files the P&L under the total-cost method.
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, answer the flagged questions in the free preview, pay and expressly approve — only then do we transmit to the Finanzamt via ERiC. Under 10 minutes, from 29,95 € per filing, net plus 19 % VAT, one-time and with no subscription. You receive the Transferticket as proof of receipt by the Finanzamt.
Check eligibility, upload, free preview, pay 29,95 € 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 transmit the balance sheet and income statement yourself with eBilanz Fabrik. For financial years beginning after 31 December 2024, the e-Bilanz also includes the unaggregated account statements with account balances (Kontennachweise, § 5b(1) sentence 1 EStG). Our form files the balance sheet and income statement without them. 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 29,95 € per filing, net plus 19 % VAT, one-time and with no subscription. As a business you reclaim the VAT as input tax.
Transmitting to the tax office under § 5b EStG does not discharge filing with the Unternehmensregister (§ 325 HGB) — two recipients, two deadlines. For financial year 2025 it runs to 31 December 2026, and on default the Bundesamt für Justiz imposes a penalty (§ 335 HGB: € 2,500 to € 25,000; where the duty is met only after the six-week period, € 500 for a micro company relying on § 326 (2) and € 1,000 for a small one). Who must file · Disclosure or deposit · what it costs
eBilanz Fabrik is a transmission tool and gives no tax advice. 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.