What determines the cost of payroll and bookkeeping?

Billing follows the Tax Advisor Fee Regulation (StBVV). In payroll accounting, the fee is based on the number of payslips per month; in financial accounting, it's based on annual turnover and volume of documents. How well-organized your documents are and whether you submit them digitally makes a noticeable difference. After the initial consultation, you'll receive a written estimate of the monthly and annual costs.

What happens if an employee starts partway through the month?

Please let us know the start date, date of birth, insurance number, health insurance provider, and employment contract, ideally before the first day of work. The social security notification must be submitted by the time of the first payroll run at the latest; in the main construction trade and certain other sectors, it's required on the very day work begins (immediate notification). We calculate the pay proportionally based on the actual calendar days worked.

Can you also handle payroll for minijobbers and temporary staff?

Yes. For marginally employed staff, we register with the Minijob-Zentrale, remit the flat-rate contributions, and keep an eye on the earnings threshold so that overtime doesn't unintentionally trigger mandatory insurance coverage. You are required to keep records of the start, end, and duration of daily working hours as mandated by the Minimum Wage Act; we'll advise you on what form is sufficient.

How does bookkeeping work for construction services with reverse charge?

If you provide construction services to other construction service providers, the client owes the VAT (Section 13b UStG). We check the exemption certificate and the order situation to determine when this applies, book accordingly, and ensure the correct invoice note is included. We also keep an eye on the 15 percent construction withholding tax, which would otherwise need to be withheld without a valid exemption certificate.

What's the best way to hand over my documents?

Digital is easiest: you photograph or scan incoming and outgoing invoices and upload them to the client portal, and we retrieve account transactions via bank connection. We also accept paper folders. What matters most is that cash receipts, fuel receipts, and material invoices are complete, and that entertainment or cash receipts arrive promptly – submitting them later takes more time.

Do you take over a business that already has a tax advisor?

Yes, a switch is possible at any time, though a change at year-end or quarter-end usually makes the most sense. We request the documents and data from your previous advisor, take over the bookkeeping data and payroll accounts, and coordinate the handover so that no filing is missed. We'll discuss the effort involved beforehand.

Skilled Trades Businesses | Steuerkanzlei Berg

Payroll run on a fixed monthly date

Receipts digital or on paper

A dedicated contact person for your business

Filings to funds and tax office from a single source

Who we work with

Employees, materials, job sites

A skilled trades business does its accounting differently than an office: timesheets, material invoices, and progress payments run in parallel, and payroll still has to be ready on time at the end of the month.

We work with businesses ranging from sole master craftsmen with two journeymen to firms with their own crew. We set up the bookkeeping to reflect your actual workflow: receipts are assigned by job site or order, material purchases and subcontracted work are tracked separately, and advance payments are cleanly accounted for.

That way, you don't find out whether a job was profitable only at the annual financial statement – you can already see it in your ongoing reports.

Construction and trade crafts businesses with changing job sites
Electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning businesses
Joineries and metalworking shops with their own workshop
Painting, flooring and plastering businesses
Auto repair shops with spare parts inventory
Businesses with apprentices, temporary staff and seasonal workers

Our work for your business

Four areas that go hand in hand in the trades

A misbooked construction job carries through all the way to the VAT advance return – that's why we handle payroll, bookkeeping and financial statements under one roof.

Payroll

Monthly payroll for journeymen, apprentices, temporary staff and seasonal workers. We calculate allowances, per diems, travel expenses and overtime, handle reporting to health insurers, the trade association and the tax office, and prepare the certificates for your employees. Including SOKA-Bau filings where needed.

Frequency: monthly
Includes: reporting to insurers and the tax office

Construction services and VAT

Reverse charge of tax liability under Section 13b UStG, progress and final invoices, advance payments, partial services and services for private customers with the mandatory retention notice. We check your outgoing invoices for the details required by the tax office.

Advance return: monthly or quarterly
Review: incoming and outgoing invoices

Fixed asset register and vehicle fleet

Machinery, scaffolding, tools, vans and trailers are recorded, depreciated and cleanly written off when sold or scrapped. We keep low-value assets separate so the immediate write-off doesn't get overlooked.

Low-value asset threshold: EUR 800 net
Mileage log: or 1 percent rule

Annual financial statements

Balance sheet or income surplus statement, depending on your company's legal form and size. We assess work in progress and partially completed construction projects together with you, because only you know how far a site has really progressed. The corporate tax returns follow afterwards.

Basis: balance sheet or income surplus statement
Followed by: tax returns

Receipts from the field

A note from the van is good enough for us

Fuel receipts, hardware store slips and handwritten timesheets reach us however they arise on the job – photographed, scanned or in a folder.

Receipt workflows that actually work in daily business

You don't need to sort anything for us that you've already handled once yourself. All that matters is that a receipt makes its way into the bookkeeping before it disappears into the glove compartment. We've put together the documents we need in detail under required documents.

Upload receipts digitally or send a photo
Drop off paper folders at the agreed appointment on Georgstraße
Timesheets per employee by the agreed monthly deadline
Bank statements as a file or via bank connection
Subcontractor invoices kept separate from materials

Stack of timesheets, material invoices and a delivery note on a workshop table, with a smartphone showing a photographed receipt beside it

Monthly rhythm

Every month follows the same pace

In a skilled trades business, payroll is tied to deadlines that can't be moved: the wage tax filing by the 10th of the following month, the social security contribution statement by the third-to-last banking day. To keep this predictable, we follow the same process every month – you supply the hours, we take care of calculations, filings and reports.

The Payroll Month Step by Step

Step 1

By the 5th: Hours and Changes

You send us timesheets, vacation and sick days, as well as new hires and departures – via upload to the client portal, as a scan, or from your time-tracking system. For new employees, we retrieve the wage tax details electronically from the tax office (ELStAM).

You send us timesheets, vacation and sick days, as well as new hires and departures – via upload to the client portal, as a scan, or from your time-tracking system. For new employees, we retrieve the wage tax details electronically from the tax office (ELStAM).

Questions and Costs

Bookkeeping and payroll for trade businesses

Employees, materials, job sites