Germany Audit Files: GoBD Data Extract

Note:

This topic is for NetSuite accounts that use the Country Tax Report page to generate Germany tax audit files (GOBD). If you are using the Audit Files page, see Germany GoBD Data Export.

The German Grundsätze zur ordnungsmäßigen Führung und Aufbewahrung von Büchern, Aufzeichnungen und Unterlagen in elektronischer Form sowie zum Datenzugriff (GoBD) is a tax audit system mandated by German tax authorities. GoBD defines the regulatory principles and rules around the access, storage, and verification of financial data and the obligation of German taxpayers in case of a tax audit.

With Germany Localization, you can generate and export tax audit files in a format that complies with the GoBD standard. GoBD Data Extract supports Multi-Book Accounting and Adjustment-Only Book.

To generate the GoBD Data Extract, see Generating Localized Country Tax Reports.

For more information about the Multi-Book Accounting feature, see Multi–Book Accounting and Adjustment-Only Book Support in Tax Reporting Framework.

The GoBD Data Extract consists of 13 files. If the file download does not start or if you receive incomplete files, check your browser settings and ensure that popup windows coming from NetSuite are not blocked.

The following table describes each file from the GoBD Data Extract. Click on the report name in the File/Report column to view additional details and data sources for each report.

File/Report	Contents	Filename
DTD	Descriptive information about the files generated The date is the last modification date of the GDPdU standard	gdpdu-01-08-2002.dtd
Index	Index to the files and their contents	index.xml
Company Data	Information about the company such as legal name, tax registration number, etc	company.txt
Chart of Accounts	Basic chart of accounts data without the account balances	accountslist.txt
Transaction Journal	All the general journal transaction details that includes tax code details	transaction_journal.txt
Sums and Balances List	Summary of the chart of accounts’ opening balances, movements, and ending balances	account_balances.txt
Account Sheets	All general ledger transactions	genledger.txt
Debtors	All transaction details for debtors	receivables.txt
Creditors	All transaction details for creditors	payables.txt
Receivables Master Data	List of customers with transactions for the period	receivables_master_data.txt
Payables Master Data	List of vendors with transactions for the period	payables_master_data.txt
Tax Codes	All tax codes and tax rates in the system	taxcodelist.txt
Annual VAT Report	All tax codes and corresponding postings (amounts) for the year	annualvat.txt

Company Data

The Company Data file (company.txt) contains company data such as legal name, tax registration number, address, phone number, and so on. It retrieves the information from the company record or subsidiary record.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Company Data report.

Field	Source field
Audit_File_Version	The version number of the file.
Company_ID	Tax Registration Number for the Germany Nexus
Company_Name	Legal Name
Street	Address 1 and Address 2
Postal_Code	Zip
Region	State
Country	Country
Financial_Year	Selected Reporting Period
Currency	Base currency
Telephone	Phone
Fax	Fax
Accounting_Basis	Invoice Basis (Cash basis is currently not supported)

Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts file (accountslist.txt) contains the basic chart of accounts data without the account balances. It retrieves the information from the company’s or subsidiary’s chart of accounts except non-posting accounts, non-posting account types, and statistical accounts. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, accounts restricted to accounting book other than the selected one will not be shown.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Chart of Accounts report.

Field	Source field
Account_ID	Account Number
Description	Account Description
Category	Account Category
Subcategory	Account Subcategory
Account_Type	Account Type

Transaction Journal

The Transaction Journal file (transaction_journal.txt) contains all the general journal transaction and tax code details. It retrieves the information from the transaction record and GL impact record. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Transaction Journal report.

Field	Source field
Internal_ID	Internal ID
Transaction_Type	Transaction type
Date	Date
Posting_Period	Posting Period
Document_Number	Transaction ID
Description	Line Description or Memo
Accounting_Book	Name of the Accounting Book Note: If applicable
Debit_Account	Debit Account
Debit_Amount	Debit Amount
Credit_Account	Credit Account
Credit_Amount	Credit Amount
VAT_Debit_Account	VAT Debit Account
VAT_Debit_Amount	VAT Debit Amount
VAT_Credit_Account	VAT Credit Account
VAT_Credit_Amount	VAT Credit Amount
Tax_Code	Tax Code
Currency	Base Currency of the Company or Subsidiary

Sums and Balances List

The Sum and Balances List file (account_balances.txt) contains a summary of the chart of accounts’ opening balances, movements, and ending balances, as well as from transaction records. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Sum and Balances List report.

Field	Source field
Account_ID	Chart of Accounts – ID
Account_Name	Chart of Accounts – Name
Accounting_Books	Name of the Accounting Book Note: If applicable
Last_Posting_Date	Transaction Date – Date of last transaction posted for the selected period.
Opening_Balance_Debit	Account Balances – Net balance of the account from previous periods. Can either be net debit or net credit.
Opening_Balance_Credit	Account Balances – Net balance of the account from previous periods. Can either be net debit or net credit.
Total_Debit	Account Balances – Total debit entries of the account for the selected period
Total_Credit	Account Balances – Total credit entries of the account for the selected period
YTD_Debit	Account Balances – Opening debit balance + total debit entries of the account
YTD_Credit	Account Balances – Opening credit balance + total credit entries of the account
YTD_Balance_Debit	Account Balances – Opening debit balance + total debit entries - total credit entries of the account
YTD_Balance_Credit	Account Balances – Opening credit balance + total credit entries - total debit entries of the account

Account Sheets

The Accounts Sheets file (genledger.txt) contains all general ledger transactions. It gathers information from the chart of accounts, account balances, transaction records, and GL impact records. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Accounts Sheets report.

Field	Source field
Account_Number	Chart of Accounts – Number
Account_Description	Chart of Accounts – Name
Accounting_Book	Name of the Accounting Book Note: If applicable
Transaction_Type	Transaction – Transaction Type
Document_Date	Transaction – Date
Document_Number	Transaction – Reference Number
Description	Transaction – Description or Memo
Debit_Amount	GL impact – Debit Amount
Credit_Amount	GL impact – Credit Amount

Debtors

The Debtors file (receivables.txt) contains all the transaction details for debtors. It gathers information from the chart of accounts, account balances, transaction records, and GL impact records. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Debtors report.

Field	Source field
Opening_Balance	Account Balances – Account Receivable Opening Balance of the customer.
Transaction_Type	Transaction – Transaction type
Internal_Trans_ID	Transaction – Internal ID
Customer_ID	Transaction – Customer ID
Company_Name	Transaction – Company name
Document_Date	Transaction – Date
Reference_Number	Transaction – Reference Number
Description	Transaction – Memo
Debit_Amount	GL Impact – Debit amount
Credit_Amount	GL Impact – Credit amount

Creditors

The Creditors file (payables.txt) contains all the transaction details for creditors. It gathers information from the chart of accounts, account balances, transaction records, and GL impact records. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Creditors report.

Field	Source field
Opening_Balance	Account Balances – Accounts Payable Opening Balance of the vendor.
Transaction_Type	Transaction – Transaction type
Internal_Trans_ID	Transaction – Internal ID
Vendor_ID	Transaction – Vendor ID
Company_Name	Transaction – Company name
Document_Date	Transaction – Date
Reference_Number	Transaction – Reference Number
Description	Transaction – Memo
Debit_Amount	GL Impact – Debit amount
Credit_Amount	GL Impact – Credit amount

Receivables Master Data

The Receivables Master Data file (receivables_master_data.txt) contains the list of customers with transactions for the period and retrieves the information from customer records.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Receivables Master Data report.

Field	Source field
Customer_ID	Customer ID
Account_Description	Customer name + Default Account Receivable
Company_Name	Company name
Street_Address	Company Address
Postcode	Zip Code
Location	City
Country	Country
VAT_Registration_Number	Tax Registration Number for Germany nexus
Tax_Number	Tax Number

Payables Master Data

The Payables Master Data file (payables_master_data.txt) contains the list of vendors with transactions for the period and retrieves information from vendor records.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Payables Master Data report.

Field	Source field
Vendor_ID	Vendor ID
Account_Description	Vendor name + Default Accounts Payable
Company_Name	Company name
Street_Address	Company Address
Postcode	Zip Code
Location	City
Country	Country
VAT_Registration_Number	Tax Registration Number for Germany nexus
Tax_Number	Tax Number

Tax Codes

The Tax Codes file (taxcodelist.txt) contains all the tax codes and tax rates in the system. It gathers data from the configured tax settings.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Tax Codes report.

Field	Source field
Tax_Code	Name
Tax_Percentage	Tax rate
Tax_Code_Description	Description

Annual VAT Report

The Annual VAT Report file (annualvat.txt) contains all tax codes and corresponding postings (amounts) for the year. It gathers the information from the financial and transactional records. If you are using Multi-Book Accounting, the contents are specific for the selected accounting book.

The following table describes the fields and record data sources of the Annual VAT report.

Field	Source field
Tax_Code	Tax Code – Name
Amount_Type	Tax Code – Description
Total	Total VAT on Sales – Total VAT on Purchases
Period	Total VAT on Sales – Total VAT on Purchases (For the selected period only)

Important:

To comply with the requirements of the Germany GoBD certification process, you need to use the Auto-Generated Numbering feature for the Customer ID and Vendor ID fields. Both fields must be unique. NetSuite assigns name or number for Customer ID and Vendor ID fields based on your settings at Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers. For more information on how to set Auto-Generated Numbers, see Setting Up Auto-Generated Numbering.

Related Topics

Generating Localized Country Tax Reports

Viewing a Generated Country Tax Report

Making Adjustments on a Country Tax Report

Exporting a Country Tax Report

Customizing Localized Tax Returns

General Notices