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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Kodo

DATEV logo

DATEV

Accounting

German accounting, payroll and tax software built around the tax adviser rather than the business

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kodo logo

Kodo

Accounting

Corporate cards and intake to pay for Indian businesses

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DATEV dATEV does not publish transparent per-customer pricing the way a SaaS vendor does; your real cost is buried in your tax adviser's fee note, so comparing it against Lexware or sevdesk on price is genuinely hard.; Kodo kodo is not a licensed issuer, so card limits, settlement cycles and eligibility come from a partner bank whose terms you do not directly control and which can change the programme.
  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Kodo covers Corporate cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Kodo actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Kodo differ
AttributeDATEVKodo
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in DATEV

  • Unternehmen online
  • Lohn und Gehalt
  • Rechnungswesen
  • Jahresabschluss
  • DATEV DMS
  • Meine Steuern
  • DATEV-Schnittstelle

Only in Kodo

  • Corporate cards
  • Purchase requests
  • Invoice capture and matching
  • Vendor payouts
  • GST and TDS handling
  • ERP integration
  • Approval workflows
  • Spend analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

DATEV

  • A German GmbH that wants its Steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoeboxnot Kodo
  • A payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to German statutory deadlines without an external bureaunot Kodo
  • An SME preparing an e-Bilanz and audit-ready GoBD document archivenot Kodo
  • A tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflownot Kodo

Kodo

  • An Indian startup replacing founder personal cards with issued cards carrying per employee limitsnot DATEV
  • A finance team automating vendor payouts across NEFT, RTGS and UPI with maker checker approvalnot DATEV
  • A company that needs GST compliant invoice coding flowing into Tally without rekeyingnot DATEV
  • A business enforcing purchase requests and approvals before spend rather than reconciling it afterwardsnot DATEV

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

DATEV

  • DATEV does not publish transparent per-customer pricing the way a SaaS vendor does; your real cost is buried in your tax adviser's fee note, so comparing it against Lexware or sevdesk on price is genuinely hard.
  • The board has decided to wind down the Austria-specific portfolio: existing products remain usable to 31 December 2028, are free of charge during 2029, and cannot be used after 31 December 2029, so any Austrian entity on DATEV has a forced migration dated in advance.
  • It is built for German statutory practice, so a group with subsidiaries outside the DACH region will run DATEV for Germany and something else everywhere else, with a consolidation step in between.
  • Large parts of the suite are still Windows desktop software installed on a workstation or terminal server, which means IT overhead most companies no longer budget for when they think they are buying cloud accounting.
  • The lock-in is social as well as technical: because your adviser holds the installation and the history, changing accounting software usually forces you to change or retrain your adviser, which is a far bigger decision than a software migration.

Kodo

  • Kodo is not a licensed issuer, so card limits, settlement cycles and eligibility come from a partner bank whose terms you do not directly control and which can change the programme.
  • Indian regulatory changes on prepaid instruments and card issuing partnerships have repeatedly disrupted fintech card programmes, so continuity risk is higher here than in equivalent European or United States products.
  • Pricing is not published, so comparing Kodo against Happay, Zoho Expense or a bank corporate card requires a full sales cycle and disclosure of your spend volumes.
  • Coverage is India only, so any group with overseas subsidiaries runs a second card and payables system and loses the consolidated view.
  • The intake to pay workflow is lighter than a dedicated procurement suite, with limited contract management and supplier onboarding, so regulated or heavily audited buyers will find gaps.

Pricing, plan by plan

DATEV

On request
  • DATEV Unternehmen online$undefined/month
    • Receipt and bank data exchange with your tax adviser
    • Cash book and master data modules
    • Ordered and usually rebilled through the adviser
  • DATEV Mittelstand$undefined/month
    • In-house financial accounting and invoicing
    • Payroll modules licensed separately
    • Per-workplace licensing
  • Lohn und Gehalt$undefined/month
    • German payroll runs and statutory electronic filings
    • Priced by number of payslips
    • Typically operated by the adviser on the client's behalf

Kodo

On request
  • Kodo$undefined/year
    • Quoted per customer, no published rate card
    • Card limits and settlement terms set by the sponsoring partner bank
    • Payout volumes and payment rails may carry per transaction charges

Which should you pick?

Choose DATEV if

  • You need unternehmen online.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want lohn und gehalt.
DATEV review

Choose Kodo if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want purchase requests.
Kodo review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Kodo better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Kodo at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Kodo?
DATEV starts at On request and Kodo at On request.
Does DATEV or Kodo run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Kodo runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is DATEV best used for?
DATEV is most often used for a german gmbh that wants its steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoebox, a payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to german statutory deadlines without an external bureau, an sme preparing an e-bilanz and audit-ready gobd document archive, a tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflow. Of those, a german gmbh that wants its steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoebox and a payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to german statutory deadlines without an external bureau are not what Kodo is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Kodo cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. Kodo covers Corporate cards, Purchase requests, Invoice capture and matching, Vendor payouts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DATEV: Can I buy DATEV directly without a tax adviser?

In practice, no for most of the range. Membership of the cooperative is restricted to the tax and legal professions, and companies get access through their adviser or as a client of one.

Kodo: Who actually issues the cards?

A partner bank under a card network arrangement, not Kodo. Ask which bank, whether the product is credit or prepaid, and what happens to your limits if the partnership changes.

DATEV: Is DATEV usable outside Germany?

It operates in Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, but the depth is German. The Austrian product line is being discontinued with a hard end date of 31 December 2029.

Kodo: Is pricing published?

No. Kodo quotes per customer, so benchmark against at least two Indian rivals before signing.

DATEV: What is the DATEV-Schnittstelle everyone mentions?

It is the standard export format German invoicing and ERP tools produce so bookkeeping data can be handed to a DATEV-based adviser. Supporting it is effectively a requirement to sell accounting-adjacent software in Germany.

Kodo: Does Kodo work outside India?

No meaningful coverage outside India for card issuing or payouts.

DATEV: Does DATEV handle e-invoicing under the German B2B mandate?

Yes, the accounting and invoicing modules were extended for the XRechnung and ZUGFeRD formats that the German B2B e-invoicing rules require.

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