Use DATEV with AI via MCP
In many German companies, accounting, payroll and tax work runs on DATEV – either in-house or together with the tax advisor. DATEV does not provide an MCP server, so the connection to CompanyGPT is built as a custom integration on the existing interfaces.
What is DATEV?
DATEV is a cooperative headquartered in Nuremberg that provides software for tax advisors, auditors and law firms as well as for their clients. Its range covers financial accounting and annual statements, payroll, and document and practice management. Some programs run classically inside the company network, others as cloud applications – and companies and their tax firm frequently work on the same data.
For AI use, DATEV matters because it holds a company’s commercial reality in structured form: journal entries, accounts, cost centres, open items and reports. In daily business this data is rarely queried, because someone has to open an application and run a report first. At the same time it is highly sensitive data – here, the operating model and the permission concept determine feasibility more than the technology does.
Connection at a Glance
- MCP server
- None from the vendor – custom integration
- Interfaces
- DATEVconnect (local REST API), DATEV data services, EXTF/CSV exports
- Authentication
- Local Windows/certificate authentication, data services via OAuth 2.0
- Operating model
- Hybrid – local applications plus cloud services
- Permissions
- Cloud data services require partner programme or certification
- Specifics
- Scope is defined per resource and service account
How to Connect DATEV to CompanyGPT
There is no MCP server from the vendor for DATEV. A few community projects exist that work on top of export files – for example github.com/ppronobis/datev-mcp-server based on EXTF exports – alongside commercial gateway products with an MCP add-on. For productive use in CompanyGPT we instead build the connection individually on the documented interfaces.
The usual route is DATEVconnect: a locally installed service that exposes a REST interface inside the company network (default port 58452, resources under /datev/api/). Authentication happens locally via Windows or certificate authentication. Together with your accounting team we determine which resources your questions actually require, set up a service account with a suitable permission scope, and expose the interface as an MCP tool in your CompanyGPT environment. The underlying principle applies to every system: any API with a machine-readable description can be made available as an MCP integration.
The DATEV data services – the cloud interfaces around invoice data and accounting exports – follow their own rules: access and OAuth 2.0 permissions require participation in the DATEV partner programme or a corresponding certification. Whether and to what extent this route is open for your project is something we clarify upfront with you and your DATEV contact. Since CompanyGPT runs in your own Azure tenant while DATEVconnect sits in the local network, the network connection is part of the project scope and is implemented together with your IT.
Note for on-premises operation: CompanyGPT runs in your own Azure tenant – so your on-premises network can be connected directly: via a site-to-site VPN (Azure VPN Gateway) or ExpressRoute between your corporate network and the virtual network of your CompanyGPT environment. The system does not need to be publicly reachable; we set up the connection together with your IT team.
Typical Use Cases
How AI agents in CompanyGPT work with DATEV
Open items without running a report
Accounting asks about overdue receivables for a customer and gets amounts and due dates with document references – no need to pull and filter an open-item list.
Preparing the monthly close
For management, the agent condenses reporting data on cost centres or general ledger accounts into a short overview that serves as the basis for the closing meeting.
Bundling questions for the tax firm
Ahead of a meeting with the tax advisor, users can look up how comparable transactions were posted in the past – unclear cases end up in a structured list of questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
DATEV and AI – the most important answers
Is there an MCP server for DATEV?
No. DATEV does not provide its own MCP server. Community projects based on export files exist, as do commercial gateway products with an MCP add-on; for productive use we build the connection individually on the documented interfaces.
Which interface does the integration use?
Usually DATEVconnect, a locally installed service exposing a REST interface inside the company network. Which resources are released is decided together with your accounting team.
Can CompanyGPT also access DATEV cloud applications?
The DATEV data services are tied to the partner programme and corresponding permissions. Whether that route is open for your project is checked upfront with you and DATEV. The starting point of our integration is DATEVconnect inside your own network.
Who in the company may use the integration?
Approval works on two levels: in CompanyGPT your administrators control by role and group who sees the DATEV integration at all. In addition, the configured service account limits which data is technically reachable – read-only access is possible.
Does the accounting data stay within the company?
The connection runs between your network and your CompanyGPT instance, which is operated in your own cloud tenant. No additional intermediary service is involved.
DATEV and Your AI – GDPR-Compliant with CompanyGPT
CompanyGPT is the enterprise AI assistant in your own cloud tenant: all relevant AI models, your company data and integrations like DATEV – centrally managed, with roles and permissions. We set up the connection together with you.
DATEV is a trademark of its respective owner (DATEV eG). Its mention describes compatibility and does not imply any partnership or endorsement. Availability and scope of the connection depend on the respective vendor.