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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Moss

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
Moss logo

Moss

Accounting

European corporate cards, invoice management and accounting automation

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.; Moss pricing is not published anywhere, so the only way to compare Moss with Pleo or Payhawk is to run parallel sales processes and reveal your spend volume to all of them.
  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Moss covers Corporate credit cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Moss actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Moss differ
AttributeDATEVMoss
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 Moss

  • Corporate credit cards
  • Invoice management
  • Employee reimbursements
  • DATEV export
  • Accounting preparation
  • Budgets and teams
  • Receipt matching
  • Multi entity

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 Moss
  • A payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to German statutory deadlines without an external bureaunot Moss
  • An SME preparing an e-Bilanz and audit-ready GoBD document archivenot Moss
  • A tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflownot Moss

Moss

  • A German company whose tax adviser works in DATEV and needs card and invoice data exported without manual rekeyingnot DATEV
  • A finance team replacing pre funded prepaid cards with a monthly settled credit limit to protect working capitalnot DATEV
  • A business consolidating supplier invoice approval and card spend into one approval chainnot DATEV
  • A group with entities in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain wanting one spend view across themnot 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.

Moss

  • Pricing is not published anywhere, so the only way to compare Moss with Pleo or Payhawk is to run parallel sales processes and reveal your spend volume to all of them.
  • Card limits are underwritten, so early stage companies and businesses with thin filed accounts are routinely offered limits well below what they need and the limit can be reduced on review.
  • Coverage is European and weighted to DACH, so any group with United States or Asian entities has to run a second card programme and reconcile two systems.
  • Invoice management is capable but not a full procurement or purchase order system, so businesses needing three way matching against goods receipts will find it thin.
  • As a non bank the credit product depends on partner banks and funding lines, which means the terms behind your limit are set by a party you do not contract with and can change without you being the cause.

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

Moss

On request
  • Moss$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per user components, quoted per customer
    • Card limits set by underwriting against company financials
    • DATEV export and accounting preparation included in core plans

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 Moss if

  • You need corporate credit cards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want invoice management.
Moss review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Moss better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Moss at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Moss?
DATEV starts at On request and Moss at On request.
Does DATEV or Moss run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Moss 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 Moss is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Moss cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. Moss covers Corporate credit cards, Invoice management, Employee reimbursements, DATEV export.

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.

Moss: Does Moss issue credit or prepaid cards?

Credit in its core German offer, settled monthly against an underwritten limit, rather than requiring a pre funded balance.

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.

Moss: Is DATEV export genuinely automatic?

Yes, bookings and receipt images export in DATEV format, which is the main reason German finance teams choose it over non German tools.

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.

Moss: Does Moss work outside Europe?

Not meaningfully. Coverage centres on Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the UK and Spain, so global groups need a second provider.

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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