Ensuring smooth monthly and year-end closing activities is crucial in financial accounting. Companies are constantly seeking ways to expedite or automate the closing processes. An everyday example from financial accounting is the routine task of submitting the German VAT return (UStVA) to the German tax authorities.
The Challenge: Simple Transmission of the VAT Advance Return to the German tax office without Middleware
SAP DRC is cost-inefficient for many companies
For many companies that primarily focus on the German market or a few selected countries, international tax reporting solutions (such as SAP DRC) are often oversized and too expensive.
End of maintenance for the SAP Business Connector
The Business Connector (BC) was once a prominent offering from SAP, facilitating the electronic submission of the VAT Advance Return (UStVA) directly from SAP. While the BC might remain available for SAP ERP customers at no cost, its lifecycle is limited – the final date for the end of maintenance for the SAP Business Connector is scheduled for December 31, 2027 (further information in SAP Note 1094412). Additionally, the BC represents an outdated middleware solution, requiring hosted servers. This involves hosting services and administration, along with maintenance and update expenses.
The Solution: the PIKON ELSTER Connector for SAP
Using the PIKON ELSTER Connector for SAP, you can easily transmit the German VAT Advance Return (UStVA) directly from SAP in five simple steps:
- Health Check: During a health check, we assess the prerequisites of the customizing required for the VAT Advance Return. This involves using SAP standard customizing, such as mapping your tax codes to the indicators on the UStVA form for the VAT Advance Return.
- After Add-on Implementation: Following the implementation of the add-on, you exclusively use SAP standard transactions. Utilize the VAT Advance Return transaction, S_ALR_87012357, to apply the relevant filter criteria or select the checkbox for electronic advance submission
- Setting Filter Criteria: Subsequently, you set the relevant filter criteria within the SAP transaction FOTV (SAP standard transaction for electronic data transmission to authorities).
- Pre-Sending Verification: Before the actual submission, you can review the transmitted values.
- Testing and Productive Transmission: After a test submission to the German tax office, you can carry out the productive transmission of the VAT Advance Return to the tax office and view an overview of the status.
Highlights at a glance:
- Seamless Integration with SAP Standard: The PIKON ELSTER Connector for SAP is fully integrated into the SAP standard, allowing end users to use familiar transactions to initiate tax declarations.
- Efficient and Secure Transmission: The automated transmission of tax data eliminates previous manual efforts, saving not only time, especially when multiple entities need to submit advance returns, but also reducing the susceptibility to errors.
- Independence from Middleware: The solution removes the dependence on middleware like the Business Connector, simplifying the IT landscape and lowering maintenance costs.
- Simple Installation and System Requirements: The PIKON ELSTER Connector for SAP can be swiftly implemented and works with both SAP ECC systems and the latest SAP S/4HANA releases.
- Cost Efficiency: The solution offers companies a cost-effective means to efficiently transmit their tax data, without needing to invest in complex and expensive international solutions
The PIKON ELSTER Connector for SAP is a solution designed to efficiently and automatically transmit your tax data in Germany. With seamless integration into the SAP standard, the elimination of dependency on middleware, and straightforward installation, tax reporting becomes significantly simplified. Save time in your closing activities, reduce errors in manual transfers, and benefit from a cost-effective solution. Contact PIKON today for a live demo or a quote and discover how easy and seamless the transmission of your tax data to the German tax office can be.