The website for your bookkeeping firm: which pages you need and how to describe your services correctly

What a bookkeeping firm's website has to do

People looking for a bookkeeping firm usually have a specific reason: the receipts are piling up, the first employee is being hired, the previous bookkeeper is retiring or the tax adviser no longer takes on ongoing bookkeeping. These people don't read image copy. They are looking for answers to very practical questions and compare two or three providers side by side.

• Fit: Do you handle bookkeeping, payroll or both, for my industry and my company size?
• Cost: What should I expect to pay per month, and what does the price depend on?
• Collaboration: How do my receipts get to you, and do I have to switch software?
• Getting started: What happens after the first meeting, and who is my contact person?

Services: exactly within your scope of authorisation

This is where a bookkeeping firm's website differs from any other. In Austria, § 61 Abs. 1 Z 1 BiBuG penalises not only those who carry out activities without authorisation but also those who offer them, with fines of up to 20,000 euros. A website is an offer. In Germany there is no appointment procedure, but there is a narrow legal framework: § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 StBerG in the version in force since 1 September 2026. Advertising that promises more than the reference to their powers allowed by § 8 Abs. 4 StBerG is misleading under the UWG (Unfair Competition Act), and Steuerberaterkammern (chambers of tax advisers) regularly send cease-and-desist letters over such pages.

This leads to two rules for every services page. First: describe the scope in words, right in the first paragraph. A reference to a section of the law alone does not dispel the impression of full authorisation; the BGH (Federal Court of Justice) ruled this for Germany (judgment of 25 June 2015, I ZR 145/14). Second: say who handles the rest. “Your tax adviser prepares the advance VAT return and the annual accounts, and we hand over the data to them in full” is honest, legally sound and for many business owners even a selling point.

Personalverrechner:innen accordingly write only about payroll, registrations and deregistrations and payroll-related levies, and Buchhalter:innen don't write about wages. If your team in Austria holds several authorisations, assign them to the individuals on the team page. How far each authorisation reaches is summarised in the WKO FAQ on the scope of authorisation under the BiBuG. Specific wording for both countries can be found in the guides on advertising for bookkeepers in Austria and advertising as a bookkeeper in Germany.

Show packages and prices transparently

Unlike tax advisers in Germany with their fee regulation (Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung), the bookkeeping professions have no fee schedule in either country. Fees are freely negotiable, and you may advertise prices. That is an opportunity: many competitors only write “price on request”, and prospective clients then jump to the firm that at least gives a ballpark figure. Which pricing models exist and how to calculate your hourly rate is covered in the guide to pricing models for bookkeeping firms.

• Packages by receipt volume: for example up to 50, up to 150 and up to 300 booking lines per month, with a clear rule for months above that.
• Price per payslip or per payroll run, stating what registrations, deregistrations or annual reports cost.
• Additional services listed individually: catching up on past months, dunning, cost accounting, organising receipts.
• Net or gross: In Austria, § 5 Abs. 2 ECG requires that it is clear whether VAT is included. In Germany you give consumers the total price under § 3 PAngV; for business clients “net plus VAT” is customary.

Avoid bait prices. A “from” price must actually apply to a typical small business. And in Germany a comparison such as “cheaper than a tax adviser” is risky because it suggests the service is the same. A better approach: explain how sharing the work with the tax adviser can save costs because the ongoing postings are done by you.

Digital receipt transfer and software

For many prospective clients the question “How do my receipts get to you?” matters more than any qualification. Give it its own page and be specific: photograph receipts with an app, upload them to a portal, import bank data automatically, or still drop off folders in person. If you work digitally only, say so clearly; if you also accept physical folders, say that too.

Only show software vendors' partner logos if you really are a partner and the vendor permits their use. Only use a label like “certified” with a genuine certification. A link to the upload portal belongs prominently in the header so existing clients don't have to look for it.

Process, team and contact

Switching bookkeeping firms is a risk for business owners: what about the current months, who gets the data from the previous firm, when is the first payroll run with you? A process page takes away this worry. Describe the first meeting, the quote, the data handover and the first regular month with realistic timings.

On the team page, professional titles appear exactly as awarded. In Austria, for example, “Bilanzbuchhalterin” or “Personalverrechner”, ideally with a link to the entry in the register of the Bilanzbuchhaltungsbehörde (the authority for the bookkeeping professions). In Germany, “Geprüfte Bilanzbuchhalterin (IHK)” only with the IHK qualification, and never shorten “Bachelor Professional in Bilanzbuchhaltung” to “Bachelor”. Photos and responsibilities (who does payroll, who does bookkeeping) help more than long CVs. More on this in the article on the team page.

The contact page gives phone hours, a central email address and ideally online booking for the first meeting. In the form, only ask what you need for an initial quote: legal form, industry, approximate receipt volume, number of employees, desired start date. The articles on the contact page and online appointments show what this looks like in practice.

Imprint and mandatory information by country

A bookkeeping firm's imprint contains profession-specific information, and it differs considerably between the two countries.

• Austria: Imprint under § 5 ECG with the Bilanzbuchhaltungsbehörde as supervisory authority, the Chamber of Commerce of your federal state (UBIT trade group), the professional title with the country in which it was awarded and the BiBuG 2014 as the professional regulation, plus the disclosure under § 25 MedienG. Details in the guide to the imprint for bookkeeping firms in Austria.
• Germany: Imprint under § 5 DDG. Supervisory authority and professional chamber usually don't apply because there is no licensing and no chamber. What matters is the scope of activity under § 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 StBerG in words. Details in the guide to the imprint for bookkeepers in Germany.

The imprint generator creates the draft text for both countries. Afterwards, check that the services pages, imprint, Google profile and business card all use the same terms.

Common mistakes on bookkeeping firms' websites

A common mistake hides in images and headings: a hero text such as “Your partner for bookkeeping and tax” seems harmless but in Germany creates exactly the impression the courts object to. So check not only the list of services but also the home page, meta titles, ads and social media profiles.

Checklist before going live

Work out what a website costs overall with the cost calculator. How to win clients and get found on Google afterwards is covered in the articles Winning clients as a bookkeeper and SEO for bookkeeping firms.