Automated DATEV Export from Business Central

For month-end closing, the required account movements were available in Business Central, but had to be transferred into a very specific booking batch format for import into DATEV.

Manual preparation in spreadsheets was error-prone, time-consuming, and hard to validate cleanly. In recurring closing work, every manual intermediate step increases the risk that import files are rejected or postings have to be corrected afterward.

• Signs had to be translated correctly into debit and credit indicators.
• Amounts had to be formatted with the German decimal separator.
• Empty DATEV fields had to be set correctly.
• All mandatory columns had to be delivered in the required order.

CERTAINCE developed a lean, custom solution that automatically transforms the filtered Business Central export into a DATEV-compatible booking batch.

The application processes only general ledger accounts with movements and creates structured posting records with amount, debit or credit indicator, account, contra account, document date, and booking text.

The business logic was tailored directly to MAFU-SHERPA’s closing process: movement amounts are taken as absolute values, the sign is represented through the DATEV debit or credit indicator, the document date is derived from the posting period, and the file contains all DATEV-expected columns in the correct CSV structure.

A web-based interface was added as well. Users can upload the Business Central export via drag and drop, review the transformed data before import, and download the finished DATEV file directly.

The DATEV export is now a reproducible workflow step instead of a manual spreadsheet task. Financial accounting receives an import file in the expected DATEV format, including metadata, complete column structure, correct formatting, and Windows-compatible line endings.

MAFU-SHERPA reduces the risk of formatting and transfer errors during month-end closing. Mapping changes can be maintained deliberately inside the application instead of being re-explained in spreadsheets every closing cycle.

The solution intentionally remains lean, but can be extended if additional DATEV fields such as cost centers, BU keys, or differentiated contra accounts are needed in the future.