This guide is designed to help you handle the more complex fields. It is therefore not exhaustive - we've left out straightforward fields for simplicity.

These details form the foundation of your company profile and are required for payroll processing and administrative purposes. This includes, for example, calculating commute distances or ensuring correct postal delivery.

You receive it from the company registration number service (Betriebsnummern-Service) of the Federal Employment Agency and can apply for it online if you don't have one yet. It is usually issued within a few days.

It consists of 8 digits (e.g. 12345678) and is mandatory - without it, no employee can be registered for social insurance, which means payroll cannot be processed.

The primary contact is the main person in your company responsible for all payroll-related matters. Your payroll service can reach out to this person directly for questions or urgent issues.

Please provide the available contact details for this person.

These details are required to correctly process billing with your payroll service. They also support smooth bookkeeping and simplify monthly salary payments.

Enter the IBAN of the account used for transferring net salaries.

The chart of accounts (e.g. SKR 03 or SKR 04) determines how payroll entries are posted in your financial accounting. Your selection must match the chart of accounts used in your bookkeeping. It's best to confirm this with your tax advisor or accounting team.

Without the correct entry, the data cannot be processed in your financial accounting.

These details are required to ensure that payroll is processed correctly and on time.

You receive your tax number from your assigned tax office. You can find it on tax assessment notices or in your company's ELSTER account. It has 10 or 11 digits depending on the federal state (or 13 digits in ELSTER format). Both formats (with or without separators) are accepted.

You can continue the form without this information by selecting "I don't have this information yet."

Your company receives a commercial register number upon registration in the commercial register through the responsible local court. You can find it in your commercial register extract or in your website's legal notice (Impressum). A typical format is, for example, HRB 143210.

If your company is not registered in the commercial register, you can indicate this using the button below the field. Otherwise, this information is required for legal and administrative purposes.

For sole proprietors, a commercial register number is not applicable.

You can apply for a VAT identification number at the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern). It is primarily required for cross-border business within the EU.

If you don't have a VAT ID, you can also indicate this using the button below the field.

Please enter the tax office responsible for your company. You can find this information, for example, on correspondence from the tax office or in your ELSTER account.

Payroll tax returns are filed monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the total payroll tax from the previous year:

Providing the correct interval is important to meet deadlines and avoid reminders from the tax office.

The reimbursement rate determines how much of the continued gross pay during illness is reimbursed by the health insurer (U1 levy). The amount depends on the chosen health insurer and tariff, and typically ranges between 40% and 80%.

Mid-range rates are common, offering a balance between contribution and reimbursement.

As an employer, you can set the reimbursement rate per health insurer. It then applies to all employees insured with that provider.

If you employ staff, you are typically automatically assigned to the relevant professional association and will receive the corresponding documentation after registering your company.

The company number consists of 15 digits and can be found in correspondence from your professional association. The BG PIN is also sent to you by post. If you don't have these documents, you can request the PIN again from your professional association.

You can select "No" in the field "Is there a membership in a professional association?" However, keep in mind that you must register your company as soon as you employ yourself or your first employees.

In this field, you specify after how many sick days the electronic certificate of incapacity (eAU) should be retrieved from the health insurer.

A value of 5 days is common, as the eAU is often available only after a delay. This value is pre-filled for you. You can change it if you prefer different deadlines.

In this field, you specify for how many days you continue to pay salary when an employee is absent due to their child's illness. Generally, there is no legal entitlement to continued pay - instead, payment is made through the child sickness benefit (Kinderkrankengeld) from the health insurer.

Different arrangements may be defined in the employment contract or in company agreements.

Indicates whether your company offers capital-forming benefits (VWL) or a company pension scheme (bAV). These benefits are provided in addition to salary and must be accounted for in payroll.

If such contracts exist, your payroll service can prepare accordingly and clarify further details with you.

Indicates whether your company is bound by a collective agreement or whether salaries are based on collective pay scales. If so, the corresponding requirements must be reflected in payroll.

If this applies, your payroll service can prepare accordingly and clarify further details with you.

Indicate whether you offer your employees additional benefits beyond salary, such as company bicycles, company cars, or mobility budgets. These can affect payroll processing.

If such benefits exist, your payroll service can coordinate with you as needed.