Outsourcing Payroll in Germany: Tax Advisor or Payroll Office? [2026]
Tax advisor, payroll office or in-house? Costs under § 34 StBVV, an honest comparison, and how to hand payroll data to your firm digitally instead of via paper binders.
The same ritual every month: collect timesheets, retype them into Excel, e-mail everything to the firm — and then wait for queries because a sick note is missing or a premium is unclear. Payroll itself has long been outsourced, but the monthly prep still feels like a second job.
This guide shows when outsourcing payroll pays off, what separates a tax advisor from a payroll office, what costs are realistic in Germany, and how to organize the monthly data handover so it typically takes minutes rather than hours.
Key takeaways
- For payroll at a German tax advisor, § 34 StBVV sets the fee framework: €6–30 per employee per month, or €2.50–9.50 with fully prepared records.
- Payroll offices specialize in payroll accounting and are often cheaper; tax advisors combine payroll and tax advice in one place.
- Payroll preparation (hours, premiums, absences) generally stays inside the company. Its quality influences effort, queries and fees.
- Digital handover instead of paper binders: via an advisor portal you release reviewed monthly data, and the firm exports it DATEV-compatible (LODAS, Lohn und Gehalt, CSV).
Why companies outsource payroll
Payroll is one of the most error-prone tasks in any business. Wage tax, social insurance, levies, reporting deadlines: the rules change constantly, and mistakes often only surface during an audit. At the same time payroll runs on a strict clock — contribution statements and wages have to go out on time, every single month.
Three reasons speak for outsourcing in practice:
- Liability and error risk: Incorrectly settled premiums, missed filings or an overlooked Minijob earnings threshold can trigger back payments and late-payment penalties. Professionals know the pitfalls.
- Time and cover: In small businesses payroll often depends on one person. If they are out, the pay run stalls. A firm or payroll office usually has substitution rules for this.
- Pace of change: Minimum wage, contribution rates, Minijob threshold, eAU: if you do not work with these rules daily, you are always catching up.
One thing to be clear about: you outsource the payroll run, not the responsibility for the data. Working hours, premiums and absences still have to be documented properly inside the company. This is exactly where smooth cooperation is decided.
Outsourcing payroll: these are the 3 options
Tax advisor (Steuerberater)
The firm handles payroll, wage tax filings and social insurance reports, and additionally advises on tax questions such as Minijobs, company cars or premiums. Fees usually follow § 34 StBVV.
Specialized payroll office (Lohnbüro)
Payroll offices focus exclusively on payroll accounting (permitted under § 6 no. 4 of the German Tax Advisory Act with appropriately qualified staff). They are often cheaper and digitally well set up, but do not advise on tax structuring.
In-house with software
With payroll software and trained staff, a company can run payroll itself. Full control, but also full responsibility for deadlines, filings and every legal change. Usually only worthwhile with a dedicated HR department.
In Austria and Switzerland, tax advisors and fiduciaries play the same role; the remuneration rules differ, but the way the cooperation works stays the same.
Tax advisor or payroll office: which fits whom?
Both routes are established ways to get payroll done professionally. The difference lies in specialization, depth of advice and price:
| Criterion | Tax advisor | Payroll office |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Payroll + accounting + tax advice from one source | Focus on payroll accounting and statutory reporting |
| Advice | Includes tax structuring (Minijob, benefits in kind, premiums) | No tax advice (§ 6 no. 4 StBerG) |
| Typical costs | Framework of § 34 StBVV, €6–30 per employee/month | Free pricing, market rates often around €8–20 |
| Digitalization | Varies widely, from paper binders to portals | Frequently digital-first with online portals |
| A good fit if ... | you want taxes and payroll bundled, with advice | you have many payslips, clear processes and optimize costs |
For shift-based businesses (hospitality, care, retail, logistics) one criterion matters more than the firm-vs-office question: industry experience with shift pay. Night and public-holiday premiums, Minijob thresholds, working-time accounts and hours that change every month are daily business there. A provider who knows this asks the right questions before the payroll run, not after it.
How much does payroll cost at a tax advisor?
German tax advisors bill under the Tax Advisor Remuneration Ordinance; deviating fee agreements are possible under § 4 StBVV. § 34 StBVV defines fee ranges per employee per payroll period (as of July 2026, last adjusted in 2025):
| Service | Range under § 34 StBVV |
|---|---|
| Initial setup of payroll accounts (one-off) | €6–19 per employee |
| Maintaining the payroll account and producing the payslip | €6–30 per employee/month |
| Payroll based on records prepared by the company | €2.50–9.50 per employee/month |
| Payroll in the advisor's system with input by the company | €1.20–4.20 per employee/month |
Payroll offices are not bound by the StBVV and price freely; market rates are often around €8–20 per payslip depending on scope. In both models, extra items for hires, departures, certificates or correction runs are common.
The underrated cost lever: your data quality
The ranges in § 34 StBVV make it obvious: the more complete and structured the payroll data you deliver, the less work the firm has — and the lower the applicable range can be. If hours, premiums and absences arrive digitally recorded and reviewed instead of as slips of paper to retype, you can save twice: on fees and on queries. The actual fee always remains a matter of agreement.
Payroll preparation: the work that stays in the company
Definition
Preparatory payroll (German: vorbereitende Lohnabrechnung) covers all work before the actual payroll run: documenting working hours and premiums, maintaining absences, keeping master data current, and reviewing and releasing the monthly figures. The firm or payroll office then produces the payslips, wage tax filing and social insurance reports.
Concretely, the company delivers every month:
- Actual working hours per employee — since the Federal Labor Court ruling mandatory for employers anyway
- Premium hours for night, Sunday and public-holiday work, cleanly separated by premium type
- Absences: vacation, sickness (eAU), unpaid leave
- Overtime and balances of working-time accounts
- Master data changes: hires, departures, pay changes, tax class or health insurer switches
In shift-based businesses this is precisely the most laborious part: hours fluctuate monthly, premiums must be documented to the minute, and for Minijobbers every hour counts toward the earnings threshold. Paper timesheets and Excel lists hit their limits fast. A digital time tracking system does the documentation as a by-product and makes the monthly figures usable.
Handing payroll data to your tax advisor or payroll office: from paper binder to one click
The classic setup looks like this: at month-end, timesheets are collected, transferred into Excel and e-mailed — or driven to the firm in a binder. There, a specialist retypes everything into the payroll software. Every media break costs time and produces errors, and unencrypted e-mail attachments with salary data are also a data protection problem.
Organized digitally, the same process typically shrinks to a few minutes. This is how the handover works with the Shiftdesk advisor portal:
Record working hours digitally
Actual hours, breaks and premiums are recorded via time clock, app or browser instead of on paper. The data basis for payroll builds up automatically during the month.
Review and close the month internally
Before handover, absences, overtime, premiums and Minijob thresholds are checked and open entries resolved. Only reviewed data goes to the firm.
Release the monthly data for the firm
Instead of e-mailing Excel lists, the company releases the reviewed monthly data in an advisor portal. The tax advisor or payroll office sees exactly the released data, nothing more and nothing less.
The firm reviews and exports DATEV-compatible files
The firm retrieves the released monthly data in the portal, reviews it and takes it into its payroll software as a DATEV-compatible transfer file (DATEV LODAS or DATEV Lohn und Gehalt), as CSV or as an Excel check file.
Resolve queries in one place
Corrections and questions run through the system and stay traceable instead of getting lost in e-mail threads and phone notes.
The difference to the e-mail routine: the data is already structured and reviewed, the firm works with controlled access instead of attachments, and every step stays traceable. Queries typically drop noticeably, and the company keeps control over which monthly data is released.
Hand payroll data to your firm with one click
Review and release monthly data, and let the firm export it DATEV-compatible: the advisor portal is free for tax advisors and payroll offices.
Time tracking with DATEV-compatible export: what matters
Many German firms run payroll on DATEV software. What matters is that your time tracking delivers the monthly data in a format the firm can import directly. Shiftdesk provides several export routes:
DATEV LODAS
Transfer file for import into DATEV LODAS, built according to the official interface manual. Contains the movement data of the released month with wage types and cost centers from the configured mapping.
DATEV Lohn und Gehalt
Export file for DATEV Lohn und Gehalt, likewise using the firm's wage type and cost center mapping.
CSV and Excel check file
Neutral CSV for other payroll systems, plus an Excel check file with per-employee detail for cross-checking before anything is imported.
The wage type mapping is configured once by the firm: which premium type maps to which wage type, which department to which cost center. After that, the monthly run repeats without retyping. For companies looking for time tracking with DATEV-compatible export, this interplay is the real selection criterion — not the logo on the website.
Scope note
Shiftdesk does not produce payslips and does not replace tax advice. The advisor portal supports preparing, structuring and handing over payroll-relevant data. Review and payroll remain with the firm or payroll office.
Finding a tax advisor or payroll office: the 7-point checklist
Firm or payroll office — these seven questions separate a genuinely suitable provider from the default recommendation from your circle of acquaintances:
Industry experience with shift work
Does the provider know premiums, Minijob thresholds, working-time accounts and changing rosters from daily practice? References from hospitality, care or retail are a good sign.
Digital cooperation
Is there a portal for the data handover, or does payroll data travel by e-mail and paper? A digital process saves time every month and reduces errors.
Data takeover without retyping
Can the firm import files straight from your time tracking, such as DATEV-compatible transfer files? Manual retyping costs money and produces transcription errors.
Transparent pricing
What does a payslip cost per employee, and what do hires, departures, certificates and corrections cost? A serious provider names these items upfront.
Response time and a fixed contact
Who answers payroll questions, and how fast? Especially around deadlines (pay run, contribution statements), availability counts.
Substitution rules
What happens when the payroll clerk is on vacation or sick? The pay run must not depend on a single person — that applies to firms as much as to companies.
Data protection and access control
How is personnel data transferred and stored? With a payroll office, a data processing agreement (Art. 28 GDPR) is usually part of the package; German tax advisors are treated as independent controllers (§ 11 StBerG). Unencrypted e-mail attachments are off-limits either way.
The Shiftdesk advisor directory makes the start easier: it lists tax firms and payroll offices in the DACH region that work digitally with shift-based businesses, with stated industry specializations and editorially reviewed listings. It does not replace the personal conversation, but it shortens the search for candidates who actually know your industry.
For tax firms and payroll offices: onboard clients digitally
The same math works in reverse: for firms, payroll bookkeeping is often low-margin volume business because clients deliver slips and Excel lists, and every query burns staff time. A client portal for payroll pre-entry turns this around: the client records and reviews their own data, and the firm retrieves released, structured monthly data.
The Shiftdesk advisor portal is free for tax advisors and payroll offices: view and review client monthly data, map wage types and cost centers once, and retrieve exports as DATEV-compatible transfer files (LODAS, Lohn und Gehalt), CSV or an Excel check file. Access is purpose-bound, logged and limited to the data released by the client.
- Create a free advisor account and invite clients to work together digitally
- List your firm in the directory and get found by shift-based businesses actively looking for digital payroll cooperation
See payroll preparation and handover live
Time tracking, month-end close and the advisor portal in 30 minutes — for companies and firms.
Conclusion
Outsourcing payroll pays off for many small and mid-sized businesses: the error and liability risk generally drops, deadline management sits in experienced hands, and time is freed up for the core business. Whether tax advisor or payroll office depends on your need for advice and your budget — for shift-based businesses, additionally on industry experience.
The biggest efficiency lever, however, is not the choice of provider but the process: doing payroll preparation digitally and handing over structured monthly data instead of paper to retype typically lowers effort and queries, and often the fee as well. That is exactly what Shiftdesk's time tracking and advisor portal are built for.
Frequently asked questions about outsourced payroll
How much does payroll cost at a German tax advisor?
The fee framework is set out in § 34 of the German Tax Advisor Remuneration Ordinance (StBVV): 6 to 30 euros per employee per month for maintaining payroll accounts and preparing the payslip, plus a one-off 6 to 19 euros per employee for the initial setup. If the company delivers fully prepared records, the lower range of 2.50 to 9.50 euros applies. The actual fee is a matter of agreement and depends heavily on data quality.
Which is better: a payroll office or a tax advisor?
A tax advisor covers payroll and tax topics from a single source and also advises on structuring questions. A specialized payroll office focuses purely on payroll accounting and is often cheaper. For businesses with shift work, premiums and Minijobs, what matters most is that the provider has industry experience and takes payroll data digitally instead of on paper.
Can I run payroll without a tax advisor?
Yes. With payroll software and qualified staff, companies may run payroll themselves. The business then carries full responsibility for correct payslips, wage tax filings, social insurance reports and deadlines. Because German payroll rules change constantly, many small businesses deliberately outsource this part.
What is preparatory payroll (vorbereitende Lohnabrechnung)?
Preparatory payroll covers everything the company does before the actual payroll run: documenting working hours and premiums, maintaining absences and sick notes, keeping master data up to date, and reviewing the monthly figures. The firm or payroll office then produces the payslips and statutory filings from that data.
Which data does the tax advisor need every month for payroll?
Typically the month's movement data: hours worked per employee, premiums (night, Sunday, public holiday), absences such as vacation and sickness, overtime and working-time account balances, plus master data changes like new hires, pay changes or departures.
How do I hand payroll data to my tax advisor or payroll office securely?
Personnel data does not belong in unencrypted e-mail attachments. A portal with access control is safer: the company releases monthly data and the firm retrieves it in a structured, logged way. Shiftdesk provides an advisor portal for exactly this, free for tax advisors and payroll offices, with DATEV-compatible export files; the company uses its Shiftdesk time-tracking account for the handover.
What is a DATEV-compatible export file?
A transfer file built so that the firm can import it directly into its DATEV payroll software, such as DATEV LODAS or DATEV Lohn und Gehalt. The movement data from time tracking no longer needs to be retyped, which saves time and avoids transcription errors.
How do I find a tax advisor or payroll office experienced with shift-based businesses?
Look for industry experience: premiums, Minijobs, working-time accounts and changing rosters should be everyday business for the firm. Directories with stated specializations help, such as the Shiftdesk advisor directory listing tax firms and payroll offices that work digitally with shift-based businesses.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The fee ranges quoted refer to § 34 StBVV (as of July 2026); the actual remuneration is a matter of agreement between company and firm. Market price ranges are non-binding observations. The description simplifies the legal situation and regulatory figures and refers to German law (as of July 2026); individual advice prevails in specific cases. Shiftdesk does not produce payslips and does not replace tax advice; DATEV is a trademark of DATEV eG. Shiftdesk accepts no liability for the correctness, completeness or currency of the content.
The Shiftdesk team writes about scheduling, time tracking and labor law in the DACH region — practical and easy to follow.
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