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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs QuickBooks for Nonprofits

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
QuickBooks for Nonprofits logo

QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Nonprofits

Accounting software for nonprofits

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, QuickBooks for Nonprofits covers Accounting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and QuickBooks for Nonprofits actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and QuickBooks for Nonprofits differ
AttributeDATEVQuickBooks for Nonprofits
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, IOS, Android, Desktop
CategoryAccountingNonprofits
FoundedUnknown1983

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 QuickBooks for Nonprofits

  • Accounting
  • Invoice management
  • Expense tracking
  • Financial reporting
  • Donation tracking
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Banking integrations

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

QuickBooks for Nonprofits

  • Business operationsnot DATEV
  • Productivitynot DATEV
  • Automationnot 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.

QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Nothing recorded yet. See the QuickBooks for Nonprofits review.

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

QuickBooks for Nonprofits

On request
  • Simple Start$20/month
    • Basic accounting
    • Invoice management
  • Plus$50/month
    • Project tracking
    • Time tracking
    • Nonprofit reporting

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 QuickBooks for Nonprofits if

  • You need accounting.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, Desktop.
  • You also want invoice management.
QuickBooks for Nonprofits review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or QuickBooks for Nonprofits better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and QuickBooks for Nonprofits at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or QuickBooks for Nonprofits?
DATEV starts at On request and QuickBooks for Nonprofits at On request.
Does DATEV or QuickBooks for Nonprofits run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. QuickBooks for Nonprofits runs on Web, IOS, Android, Desktop.
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 QuickBooks for Nonprofits is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that QuickBooks for Nonprofits cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. QuickBooks for Nonprofits covers Accounting, Invoice management, Expense tracking, Financial reporting.

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.

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.

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.

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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