Form Processing Procedures

The processing procedure structures the configuration, validation, review, and dispatch of tax forms.

The process bar shows the current status and controls the available actions.

The structured workflow ensures data quality, prevents faulty transmissions, and creates transparency about the status of all tax reports.

Forms are automatically locked during editing, so that only one person can make changes at a time.

Authorized persons can reset the processing step if necessary in order to make corrections.

Each form goes through a defined processing procedure. The process bar at the top of the detail view shows the current processing step.

This shows the process bar. — Process bar

The processing procedure comprises the following steps:

Step	Description
Not Started	The form has been created but not yet edited.
In progress	The form is actively being filled with data and edited.
Review	The form is being reviewed. In this step, you can no longer make changes.
Dispatch	The form has been reviewed and is ready for transmission.
Transmitted	The form has been transmitted to the tax authority.

The following commands are available in the detail view:

Button	Description
Set status "<>"	Moves the form to the next specified status within the process. If validation errors are displayed, the system may refuse the status change until the errors have been resolved.
Save	Saves the current entries in the form. Changes are applied without a full validation being performed or the process being moved forward to the next workflow stage. Useful for saving the current state (which may be faulty or incomplete) and continuing later.
Validate	Starts the validation of the entered form data. If errors occur, they are displayed under Overview. Only without validation errors can the process move to the next workflow step.

To configure a form:

Open the desired form under My forms.

In the process bar, click Set status "In progress".

In the Overview, select the responsible local tax office.

This shows the drop-down list for the local tax office in the overview. — Selecting the local tax office

Use the tree structure on the left to navigate between the individual form sections.

These are the workspaces of the form sections. — Form sections

Fill in the required fields in each form section.

Mandatory fields are marked accordingly.

Which fields you need to fill in depends on the selected form type.

This is an example of how fields are filled in. — Filling in fields, example 'Belege (supporting documents)'

Click Save.

The software automatically locks the form while you are editing it.

If the form is already locked by another person, you receive a notification with the name of the person editing it.

The three-dot icon at the top right of each form section provides the following additional functions:

Additional functions in the form section

Function	Description
Reset	Discards all unsaved changes in the current form section. The form section then shows the last saved state again.
Delete draft	Irreversibly deletes the entire draft.
Copy draft	Creates a copy of the current draft as a new draft and sets the status of the new draft to Not started.
Mark as finished	Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a check mark as finished, in order to track the processing progress.
Mark as incomplete	Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a cone icon as incomplete.
Unmark	Removes an existing marking ("Done" or "Incomplete") from the current form section.

After you have entered and saved all the required data, you can validate the form for completeness and correctness. To do this, click Validate at the top right.

Validation errors are displayed directly at the affected field and in a summary overview.

Possible causes of errors include:

Mandatory fields are not filled in

Entered values do not match the expected format

Plausibility checks were not passed (e.g. total checks)

This shows the errors identified during validation. — Error identification during validation

Resolve any displayed errors and validate the form again before proceeding to the next processing step.

After successful validation, you can release the form for review by another person.

To do this, click Set status "Review" in the process bar and inform the reviewer that they can begin the review.

Here the 'Review' status is reached. — Process bar with the 'Review' status

In the Review status, data changes can no longer be made. If corrections are necessary, you must first reset the form to the In progress status.

After the review, the reviewer releases the form for dispatch by clicking Set status "Dispatch" in the process bar and entering a reason for accepting the form data in the dialog that then appears:

Dialog for entering a reason for accepting the form data — Dialog for entering a reason

After the form has been released for dispatch, you can proceed with transmitting the form to the German tax authority.

To do this, click Send form in the process bar.

'Send form' button in the process bar — Sending form

Tax Services then transmits the form electronically to the responsible tax authority. You can view the progress of the transmission steps and the transmission results in the form overview.

The transmission process comprises the following transmission steps, which are run through automatically one after another:

Option	Description
Upload	The form data is prepared for transmission.
Enrichment	The data is automatically supplemented with required additional information (e.g. local tax office data, tax identifiers).
Validation	The data is checked against the requirements of the tax authority.
Approval	The data is approved for transmission.
Review	A final review is performed.
Signature	The data is signed electronically.
Transmission	The data is sent to the tax authority.
Confirmation	The tax authority confirms receipt.
Completion	The process is completed and logged.

During transmission, the form can have the following statuses:

Option	Description
In processing	The transmission is currently in progress.
Failed	The transmission has failed due to an error. A warning icon is displayed. Check the error and restart the transmission if necessary.
Successful	The transmission was completed successfully.

After a successful transmission, the form changes to the Transmitted status.

Shows the 'Transmitted' status. — Process bar with the 'Transmitted' status

After the transmission is complete, you can view the results:

To do this, open the transmitted form under My forms.

The transmission results are displayed in the form overview.

This shows the transmission results in the form overview. — Transmission results in the form overview

In the case of a successful transmission, the result contains the confirmation from the tax authority. If the transmission fails, the error messages are listed in detail.

Last updated on Aug 24, 2023

Form Processing Procedures

Overview

Process Steps at a Glance

Configuring a Form

Validating the Form

Submitting the Form for Review

Releasing the Form for Dispatch

Transmitting the Form

Overview

Process Steps at a Glance

Configuring a Form

Additional Functions for Form Sections

Validating the Form

Submitting the Form for Review

Releasing the Form for Dispatch

Transmitting the Form

Transmission Steps

Transmission Status

Viewing the Transmission Results

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