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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Nmbrs

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
Nmbrs logo

Nmbrs

Payroll

Dutch and Swedish payroll and HR sold largely through accountants, owned by Visma since 2017

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.; Nmbrs coverage is the Netherlands and Sweden only, so any international group will run Nmbrs alongside other payroll systems and reconcile them manually.
  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Nmbrs covers Dutch payroll engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Nmbrs actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Nmbrs differ
AttributeDATEVNmbrs
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryAccountingPayroll

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

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 Nmbrs

  • Dutch payroll engine
  • Swedish payroll
  • Collective agreement handling
  • Employee self service
  • HR records
  • Accountant workspace
  • Open API
  • Journal export

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

Nmbrs

  • A Dutch company that wants payroll calculated and filed in-country rather than routed through an international aggregatornot DATEV
  • An accountancy firm running payroll for dozens of client companies from one workspacenot DATEV
  • A Dutch subsidiary of an international group that needs correct CAO and pension fund handlingnot DATEV
  • An HR or time tracking vendor that needs a documented API to push hours and changes into Dutch payrollnot 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.

Nmbrs

  • Coverage is the Netherlands and Sweden only, so any international group will run Nmbrs alongside other payroll systems and reconcile them manually.
  • Most customers buy through an accountancy or payroll bureau, which means the price, the service level and the escalation path are set by an intermediary rather than by Visma.
  • English documentation and support lag behind the Dutch material, which slows down international finance teams trying to understand what a declaration actually contains.
  • The HR modules are basic next to a dedicated HRIS, so companies typically pair Nmbrs with another system and maintain an integration between them.
  • Ownership by Visma places it inside a large portfolio with overlapping payroll products, and buyers should ask where Nmbrs sits in that portfolio before committing to a long contract.

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

Nmbrs

On request
  • Nmbrs$undefined/year
    • Priced per employee per month, commonly resold by accountancy firms
    • Payroll and HR modules licensed separately
    • Direct pricing differs from partner pricing

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 Nmbrs if

  • You need dutch payroll engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want swedish payroll.
Nmbrs review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Nmbrs better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Nmbrs at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Nmbrs?
DATEV starts at On request and Nmbrs at On request.
Does DATEV or Nmbrs run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Nmbrs 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 Nmbrs is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Nmbrs cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. Nmbrs covers Dutch payroll engine, Swedish payroll, Collective agreement handling, Employee self service.

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.

Nmbrs: Does Nmbrs actually file Dutch payroll taxes?

Yes. It calculates wage tax and submits the loonaangifte to the Belastingdienst, along with pension fund and sector scheme declarations. It is not an aggregator passing data to a bureau.

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.

Nmbrs: Which countries does it cover?

The Netherlands and Sweden. Nowhere else.

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.

Nmbrs: Do I buy it direct or through an accountant?

Both are possible, but most Dutch customers come through an accountancy or payroll administration firm, and the price and support come from that firm.

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.

Nmbrs: Who owns Nmbrs?

Visma, the Nordic business software group, acquired it in 2017.

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