Accounting

Learn more about settings in plentymarkets that are relevant for your accounting. These settings include VAT rates, currencies, exchange rates, the calculation of your prices, booking keys, revenue accounts, debtor accounts and just as well your document templates. Most of the settings that are relevant for accounting purposes can be defined per accounting location. Only the setting that defines how your prices are calculated as well as the taric codes apply to your entire system.

1. Basic information about price calculation in plentymarkets

The calculation of prices is based on the gross prices of your variations. In other words, the net price of a variation in an order is calculated based on the gross price. To get the sum of an order item the individual price of one variation is multiplied with purchased number of the variation. This means, that the purchased number of a variation is multiplied with the individual gross price of an order item to get the order item’s gross sum. To get the net sum of an order item the previously calculated net price of a single variation is multiplied by the number of variations purchased. The number of decimal places of the single net price is defined by your accounting settings. To get the VAT amount for an order item the net sum must be subtracted from the gross sum.
Your settings define when the price is rounded to decimal places. Calculations that are carried out after the prices are rounded are carried out with 2 decimal places. The settings in plentymarkets can lead to the following results:

Rounded single variation price
Rounded order item sums
Rounded totals

2. Setting up how prices are saved and rounded

You carry out settings for saving and rounding prices in the Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting menu. These settings are dependent on the client and the location. For the calculation of prices in orders, the settings configured at the time of order creation are applied. This means that adaptations to the settings for saving and rounding prices are not applied to already existing orders.

Setting up how prices are saved and rounded:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Carry out the settings as desired. Pay attention to the information given in Table 1.
Save () the settings.

Table 1. Settings for saving and rounding prices
Setting	Explanation
Number of decimal places for prices	Select 2 or 4 decimal places 2 = The prices in an order are saved with 2 decimal places The indirect result of this setting is that the price of a single variation is rounded. The sums and totals of an order are then calculated based on the rounded price of a single variation. 4 = The prices in an order are saved with 4 decimal places. Selecting 4 decimal places has the effect that the sum of an order item is rounded by default. The sums are saved with 4 decimal places, but further calculation is carried out with sums that are rounded to two decimal places. If you do not want that the sums are rounded by default, you need to additionally activate the setting Round totals only.
Round totals only	Activate by placing a check mark if you want that only the totals of an order are rounded. The sums of order items are no longer rounded by default if the setting is active. Totals refers to the total value of an order. When you look at the settings of the document template for invoices the settings that are affected are the ones that are listed unter the sums heading. If the option is not activated and 4 decimal places are selected, then the sum of each order item is rounded. However, if 2 decimal places are selected, this setting has no influence on the rounding of prices.

2.1. Example calculations

The following section compares the different calculation methods and the results.
In our example fabrics were sold. Several panels of the same fabric were bought, but with different widths. The widths are 50 cm and 30 cm. The 50 cm panel was bought 8 times and the 30 cm panel 7 times. 30 centimetres cost € 2.187 and 50 centimetres cost € 3.645. The prices are calculated based on a price of € 7.29 per metre. The settings that have be carried out to get one of the results are also listed in the table.

Figure 1. Comparing price rounding methods

3. Carrying out VAT settings

The VAT settings are specifically for one location. You can have different settings for each location. Locations are required for your registered business addresses or countries that you ship from. There are two locations per default in your system. These locations are Germany and United Kingdom. You need your own locations for the productive mode of your system.
Your system behaves a little differently for countries that are members of the European Union and non-EU countries. For a location in an non-EU country every delivery to another country is treated as export shipping. For shippings from EU member state locations the system differs between intra-community shipping and export shipping.
The basic VAT relevant settings include settings that define how the system reacts for export shipping and how the VAT amount for shipping costs are displayed. For EU locations you can also define how the system reacts if a VAT ID is given in the order.
If you are about to or already have passed a delivery threshold you need to open your existing location and set up a new VAT configuration for that country within the location. Do not create a new location if for countries where you pass the delivery threshold.

Do not use the example locations for real orders

The two locations, Germany and United Kingdom, are examples and are not meant for use in productive mode. It is best if you set up our own locations or at least edit the existing locations. When editing the existing locations you need to add at least a new VAT configuration with your correct VAT number and the correct VAT rates.

3.1. Creating a new location

Proceed as described below to create a new location. Furthermore you need to set one location as your Default location. Your default location is so to say your head office.

Creating a new location:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » POS.
Move your cursor over the menu item Locations.
→ An arrow is displayed on the right.
Click on the Arrow.
→ The option New location is displayed.
Click on New Location.
→ An editing window opens.
Enter the name of the new location.
Select the new location’s Country from the drop-down list.
→ Only active countries of delivery can be selected.
Save () the settings.
→ The location is added to the list of locations.

Each location has the following 3 submenus:

Settings
Accounting and
Documents

The settings submenu contains the ID, the name and the country of a location. The accounting submenu is divided into several tabs and the settings in those tabs ared described in detail on this page starting with the Using the German small business owner regulation. In the documents submenu you can set up documents per accounting location e.g. the delivery note or invoice.

3.2. Deleting a location:

You must always have one location. You can only delete a location if there is at least one other location in this menu as well. It is not possible to delete the Default location.

Deleting a location:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » POS.
Open the location that you want to delete and click on the Settings submenu.
Click on Delete ().
→ Confirm the security question to delete the location.

3.3. Using the German small business owner regulation

If you are a small business owner in Germany and you do not want that VAT is applied to your invoices, then activating the setting in your location settings is all you need to do. However, even though the VAT is not applied, you still need to save the correct VAT rates in your settings.

Small business owner setting only for systems with Germany as system country

The small business owner setting is only available if your system was set up with Germany as system country. The system country is a setting that you cannot access and that is selected based on the information that you provide when you order your plentymarkets system.

Using the German small business owner regulation:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Place a check mark next to the option Small business owners (Germany only).
Save () the settings.

Displaying small business owner information on invoices

As a small business owner you need to place information on your invoice why there was no VAT applied. You can use the note field on your invoice template for this information. The setting for small business owners does not automatically place a note on your invoice.

3.4. Setting up how invoices are issued for deliveries within the EU

You can choose whether customers that are within the European Union and that have a VAT number receive a net invoice or a gross invoice. In many cases the information of the delivery’s recipient are of higher priority than the ones of the invoice’s recipient. The delivery address must be in another country within the EU if you want the invoice to be net. For deliveries within the same member state of the EU the setting are ignored and VAT is always applied. However, there is one option that allows a different result. You need to add an entry certificate to your delivery and you need to choose the entry certificate option for the delivery address within the data set of an order. If the customer does not have a VAT number, this means that it is a private purchase and that VAT is applied anyway. The only time VAT is not applied for private purchases is if you are a small business owner as described above.

Setting up gross or net invoices for deliveries within the EU:

Select a location under Setup » Client » [Select Client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Select one option from the VAT number drop-down list. Pay attention to the information given in Table 2.
Save () the settings.

Table 2. Issuing invoices for deliveries within the EU
Setting	Explanation
VAT number	Only applies to deliveries within the EU. This setting does not have any effect for non-EU locations. Gross invoice = All invoices for inner European Union deliveries are issued as gross. Net invoice = Invoices are issued without VAT for customers who have a VAT number. However, if the customer’s delivery address is in the same country as the accounting location, then VAT is calculated for the order regardless of the setting that you have chosen. German law permits orders to be issued as net for customers from other European countries who have a valid VAT number and provide a German delivery address, but a certain paper must be provided in this case. This paper is an entry certificate and needs to be included with the order. For this reason the delivery address in an order as well as in the customer data includes the option Entry certificate. If you want to apply the entry certificate only once for a specific order, then activate the option in the order settings. If you want to use the entry certificate repetitively for this delivery address of the customer, then you need to activate the option in the customer’s delivery address data. If you activate the Entry certificate option, then orders that are placed by customers in other European countries but shipped to a German delivery address is treated like shipments to foreign EU countries. The settings VAT number and Export shipping in this menu then determine whether the invoice is issued as gross or net. If the Entry certificate is not active, then these orders are calculated as gross.

3.4.1. Examples with the settings' effect

In the following section 6 possible setting combinations and the effects are described.

What is the result if the sender, the delivery’s recipient and the invoice recipient are in the same member state of the European Union and if the setting net invoice is selected?

The invoice is always gross despite the selected setting.

What is the result if the sender and the delivery’s recipient are in the same member state of the European Union, but the invoice recipient is in a different member state and if the setting net invoice is selected?

The invoice is gross despite the selected setting. However, in this case a net invoice is actually allowed if the invoice recipient has a VAT number. An additional setting has be carried out to issue a net invoice. The entry certificate must be activated in the delivery address data of the order. The invoice is gross as long as the entry certificate setting is not activate. The entry certificate is an individual delivery address setting.

What is the result if the sender and the invoice recipient are in the same member state of the European Union, but the delivery’s recipient is in a different member state and if the setting net invoice is selected?

The invoice is net if the recipient of the delivery has a VAT number. The invoice recipient does not play a role in this scenario.

What is the result if the sender is in one member state of the European Union, but the invoice recipient and the delivery’s recipient are in a different member state and if the setting net invoice is selected?

The invoice is net as soon as either the recipient of the delivery or the recipient of the invoice has a VAT number. The invoice is gross if neither the recipient of the delivery nor the recipient of the invoice has a VAT number.

What is the result if the sender is in one member state of the European Union, but the delivery’s recipient is in a different member state and the invoice recipient is in a country outside of the EU and if the setting net invoice is selected?

What is the result if the sender is in one member state of the European Union, but the invoice recipient is in a different member state and the delivery’s recipient is in a country outside of the EU and if the setting net invoice is selected?

In this case the delivery is an export shipment and the setting setting for export shipping is applied. The settings for export shippings are explained in the next section on this page.

3.5. Issuing an invoice for export shipments

For each accounting location you can individually define whether the invoice for export shipments is net or gross. The basic assumption is that your business is based in the European Union. The setting is applied if the delivery is sent to a country outside the European Union. Your customers receive an invoice without VAT if the invoice is net.

Setting up gross or net invoices for export shipping:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Select one option from the export shipping drop-down list. Pay attention to the information given in Table 3.
Save () the settings.

Table 3. Invoice settings for export shipping
Setting	Explanation
Export shipping	Net invoice = Invoices for export shipping are issued without VAT. This setting is ignored if VAT rates are saved for the export country. This means that the invoice is gross. Gross invoice = Invoices for export shipping are issued with VAT. If you have set up VAT rates for the country of delivery, then these VAT rates are applied. If no VAT rates are set up for the country of delivery, then the VAT rates of your location are used.

3.6. Setting up VAT rates

You need to differ between your accounting locations and countries of deliveries that you need to pay tax to. An accounting location is a registered business address. 2 accounting locations exist per default in plentymarkets. The default locations are Germany and United Kingdom. You need one location at the very least and you can add further locations for each of your subsidiaries. The 2 default locations include default VAT configurations with VAT rates etc. However, do not use these configurations for the productive mode of your system. Add your own configurations and delete the default ones. You need to set up at least one configuration. You can use this configuration to ship worldwide. However, you need to add further configurations for other countries if you exceed the delivery threshold for a country. Otherwise the system cannot calculate the correct VAT amounts. You need to set up a location for your registered business address and then you need to set up the country that the business is in with a VAT configuration. Once you become liable for taxation in other countries because you exceeded the delivery threshold, you need to add further countries with VAT configurations within the same location.

Information from the German Federal Central Tax Office

For Germany, the Federal Central Tax Office provides tax information about the European countries of delivery as well as the USA and Japan.

Figure 2. Default VAT rates and locations

Replacing the default VAT rates and locations

The VAT configurations shown in Figure 2 is a default configuration and contains a fantasy VAT number. This VAT number is not yours and is not correct and that is why you need to set up your own configuration with a correct VAT number. You can delete the default configuration.

Setting up VAT rates:

Select a location under Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the VAT rates tab.
Click on New configuration.
Please select a Country.
Enter the highest VAT rate as VAT rate A.
→ Enter further VAT rates in descending order.
Enter your VAT number.
Select a starting date from which the rates will become valid.
Pay attention to the explanations on the settings given in Table 4.
Save () the settings.
→ The new configuration opens and an additional setting for margin scheme is displayed.

Table 4. Settings of a VAT configuration
Setting	Explanation
Country	Select the country that you have become liable for taxation in. Important: The country cannot be changed later.
Tax rate A in % Tax rate B in % Tax rate C in % Tax rate D in %	Enter tax rates. Start with the highest rate and continue in descending order. Important: You can only change the VAT rates as long as they are not valid. Once the rates are valid they cannot be changed. The names are only relevant for the accounting software Xero.
Revenue account (optional)	This is an optional field that can also be filled later. Only enter a revenue account for a tax rate if the tax rate differs from the one assigned to an account under revenue accounts, but the differing one is the valid tax rate. To do this, enter the corresponding revenue accounts in the tax rate configuration which represents the lowered tax rates. By doing this, these have priority. Note that the values entered here take precedence over those entered under Accounts for the determination of revenue accounts.
Margin scheme	Specify which tax rate is to be used for stock units to which the margin scheme applies. If no tax rate is selected, then stock units that the margin scheme applies to cannot be displayed on invoices (= basic setting). The margin scheme setting is not visible until you save a VAT configuration. Important: The margin scheme setting in plentymarkets is an older customised implementation. The tax rate is applied to the entire amount of the stock units that the margin scheme applies to. In other words, the tax rate is not applied to the difference between sales price and purchase price.
VAT number	Enter your VAT number.
Valid from	Select the date from the calendar. The VAT rates will go into effect on this date. Important: When you enter the date manually instead of picking it from the calendar, make sure that you enter the year as a four digit value. Entering only two digits for the year may cause errors.
Invalid from	Select the date from the calendar. The VAT rates will no longer be applied from this date on. Enter a date for invalid from if you no longer need to pay taxes to a country. Your duty to pay taxes may cease if have not passed the delivery threshold in a while or you have stopped delivering to that country. Important: When you enter the date manually instead of picking it from the calendar, make sure that you enter the year as a four digit value. Entering only two digits for the year may cause errors.
For digital items only	Activate if the VAT rate should only apply to digital items. For further information, refer to chapter VAT for digital items.

3.7. VAT for digital items

The buyer’s VAT rate must be used for digital items. An EU regulation put these VAT rates into effect on January 1st, 2015. If a VAT rate is already available for a country of delivery, e.g. because the delivery threshold was exceeded, then it is not necessary to create an additional VAT rate for digital items only. The existing VAT rate is used. If no VAT rate is set up for one or more countries of delivery, then set up your accounting procedures in plentymarkets as described below. The EU regulation applies to B2C revenues.
This regulation applies to B2C revenues. B2B revenues without VAT are not affected.

Identifying the VAT for digital items:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the VAT rates tab.
Create a VAT configuration for every country of delivery where digital items are sold.
Open the VAT configuration and activate the option For digital items only.
Create a characteristics for digital items and give it a name, e.g. Digital. The characteristic cannot be an order characteristic.
Go to System » Item » Settings and select the characteristic for the option Item characteristic for identifying digital items.
Open every item that should be sold as digital media and save the characteristic in the characteristics tab.

4. Taric codes

Taric codes, also called taric numbers, are used in EU-wide trading. These are unique and fixed numbers which are assigned to a specific commodity and have to be included in tax relevant documents.

Taric codes are relevant for you if you have VAT registrations in delivery countries because you are trading EU-wide or if you have exceeded a delivery threshold in a delivery country. In these cases, or if you know that you will exceed a delivery threshold in the foreseeable future, you should add all taric related data in time. We recommend to clarify all details regarding the taxation of your goods in other EU countries with your tax consultant.

Goods are charged with different taxes in different EU countries. In order to take this into account and thus also have a correct basis for the calculation of orders, the taric codes have to be entered into the system and also checked against the VAT rates which are set for different countries. Thus, as a first step, you have to maintain the taric codes in your system. Taric codes are entered in the variations. Moreover, you need to set VAT rates for the required countries. These VAT rates could also be entered later, but we recommend setting these in the system in time.

The table in the menu Setup » Client » Setting » Taric codes then enables the linking of taric code, VAT rate and country. Thus, this taric code table is a basis for the calculation of orders and has to be up to date.

This happens in the background when orders are calculated

For example, an order with France as the country of delivery enters the system. VAT rate A is set for the variation of the order item in the order. But in France, this item is taxed with the VAT rate B. That is why there is an entry in the taric code table with the same taric code as the one entered in the variation. The difference is that in the table, this taric code is linked with France and the VAT rate B. The order logic recognises these cases and uses the VAT rate set in the taric code table.

In case there is no taric code entered in the variation or in the table, no differing VAT rate is used for the calculation. This means that you only have to enter the corresponding taric codes in the table if a variation is taxed differently in other countries.

In order to import taric codes you can use either the import tool or enter them manually. We recommend to the import tool and to enter only single taric codes or carry out small adaptations manually. Note that only numbers up to 12 characters are allowed. Entering special or blank characters is not allowed.

You can find general information about imports via the import tool on the manual page Using the import tool. The import type for importing taric codes is Assignment taric codes.

To fill the table manually, proceed as follows.

Filling the taric code table manually:

Go to Setup » Client » Settings » Taric codes.
Click on Create new assignment ().
→ A new row is added to the table.
Enter the taric code and select the corresponding country as well as the VAT rate.
Click on Save () at the end of the row.
→ The saving is confirmed.

In the table, found variation links are marked with a green dot. This means that this taric code is currently in use in a variation. If a red dot is displayed, no variation link was found, i.e. this taric code is not in use in a variation.

More editing options are available to you. Take Table 5 into account.

Table 5. Editing options for the taric code table
Function	Explanation
Search	You can search () for assignments. For this, the filters taric code and country are available to you.
Editing an assignment	To edit an existing assignment, click on the appropriate row and carry out the necessary adaptations. After this, click on save (). The adaptation is confirmed.
Deleting an assignment	To delete an existing assignment, click on delete () in the column Actions at the end of the row. Deleting an assignment has to be confirmed by you.

5. Setting up posting keys, revenue and debtor accounts

Posting keys are only relevant for DATEV exports. You can ignore the posting key settings if you do not work with DATEV. You can set up revenue accounts to book your revenues. You can set up debtor accounts to book your pending amounts.

5.1. Setting up posting keys

Posting keys are relevant for DATEV exports. Continue with the next chapter on this page if you do not work with DATEV. Posting keys are called tax key in DATEV and are required for the correct transfer of posting information. There are some standard tax keys in DATEV. The standard tax key from the two standard charts of accounts 03 and 04 for 19 % VAT in Germany is 3. plentymarkets automatically determines whether it is dealing with a debit (D) or credit © posting. This information is included in the export. The information is displayed in a separate column in the export.

Setting up posting keys:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the Accounts tab.
→ The Posting key tab opens.
Enter a posting key for each tax rate.
Save () the settings.

5.2. Setting up debtor accounts

You can set up debtor accounts to keep an overview of your pending amounts. You can choose a criterion that is used to book pending amounts on debtor accounts. As a criterion you can for example use the names of the debtors or the country of delivery. Choose a criterion first and then enter the actual accounts.

Setting up debtor accounts:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the Accounts tab.
→ The Posting key tab opens.
Click on the Debtor accounts tab.
Carry out the settings. Pay attention to the information given in Table 6.
Save () the settings.

Table 6. Setting up debtor accounts
Setting	Explanation
Standard debtor account	Enter a debtor account that is used if no other debtor account is saved or no other account applies. Important: The debtor account in the customer’s data set is always applied and exported if the customer’s data set contains an specific debtor account. The debtor account is saved in the customer data as soon as it has been identified for the first time. The identification of debtor accounts is carried out if revenue information are exported. The DATEV or Collmex export are exports that will trigger the identification of debtor accounts.
Save debtor account in the customer master data record	Place a check mark to save a debtor account in the customer’s master data. This is only carried out if no debtor account exists in the customer data. The debtor account is saved according to the option that is selected for the automatic assignment of debtor accounts. If no debtor account is saved for the selected process, then the standard debtor account is used.
Automatic assignment of debtor accounts based on	Select a criterion from the drop-down list that is used to assign the debtor accounts. The actual account information must be filled according to the selected criterion. Initial letter = Debtor accounts is assigned based on the initial letters of customer information. Choose the customer information and the order of the information that is used from the second drop-down list. If you choose the order Company, surname, first name, the name of the company has the highest priority. If no company name was entered, then the last name is used and so on. Payment method = Debtor accounts is assigned based on the payment method that is saved in an order. Country of delivery = Debtor accounts is assigned based on the country of delivery that an order is shipped to. Country of delivery, but payment method for domestic = Debtor accounts is assigned based on the country of delivery if the delivery goes to a country that is not the country of the location. If the shipment is a home country shipping, then the payment method is used as criterion. Note: Consult with your financial accounting department or your tax office when deciding which process to use.
Initial letters (A - Z or 0 - 9 Debtor account)	Enter debtor accounts depending on the initial letter. Do not enter debtor accounts here if you have selected another criterion.
Countries of delivery	Save debtor accounts for the countries of delivery activated in your system. Do not enter debtor accounts here if you have selected another criterion.
Payment methods	Save debtor accounts for the payment methods saved in your system. Do not enter debtor accounts here if you have selected another criterion.

5.3. Setting up revenue accounts

You can set up revenue accounts to book your revenues and to assign them to accounts. You can enter accounts for revenues that are liable to VAT and for revenues that are exempt from VAT.

Setting up revenue accounts for revenues that are liable to VAT:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the Accounts tab.
→ The Posting key tab opens.
Click on the Revenue accounts tab.
Enter an account for each VAT rate that you use.
Save () the settings.

With this configuration for revenue accounts for revenues liable to VAT, selected VAT rates are assigned to a specific revenue account. But what do you do if a VAT rate temporarily differs or changes, as was the case for the temporarily lowered VAT rates in Germany in 2020, for example? You enter the corresponding revenue account directly in the VAT rate configuration which displays the differing VAT rate. In the system, these then have priority in the determination of revenue accounts. Also take not of the table entry Revenue account (optional) in the chapter about setting up VAT rates.

Setting up revenue accounts for revenues that are exempt from VAT:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
→ The Basic settings tab opens.
Click on the Accounts tab.
→ The Posting key tab opens.
Click on the Revenue exempt from VAT tab.
Enter an account for revenues that are sold within the EU and that are exempt from VAT into the Revenue from EU field.
Enter an account for revenues that are sold to countries outside the EU and that are exempt from VAT into the Revenue from export field.
Save () the settings.

5.4. Saving booking accounts for POS events (plentymarkets App version 1.7.3 and higher)

Orders generated in plentyPOS are assigned to the revenue accounts saved in plentymarkets. Because deposits, withdrawals and till count discrepancies are not orders, you can save booking accounts for these POS events. For further information on how to save booking accounts for POS events, refer to the Integrating POS page of the manual.

5.5. Copying settings to other locations

Use the Copy settings function to copy the settings of the current location and apply these settings to one or more other locations. You can copy all of the settings or only specific settings.

The following settings can be copied:

Basic settings
VAT rates
Accounts

Proceed as described below to copy settings to one or more locations:

Copying settings to one or more locations:

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting.
Click on the Copy settings to another location.
Under Location, select one or more locations that the settings should be applied to.
Place check marks next to the Options that you wish to copy.
Click on Copy.
→ The settings are applied to the locations.

6. Exporting accounting data

plentymarkets allows you to export accounting data. You can use the export to transfer the data to your accounting software. When you export your accounting data the system automatically assigns debtor accounts, revenue accounts and posting keys according to the settings that you have set up prior to the export.

Go to Data » Data export and select the data format that you want to export. Set up the format and export the data.