Integrations in the skilled trades

In the skilled trades, data moves between wholesaler, trades software, job site and accounting. Products and prices come from the wholesaler through DATANORM or IDS Connect, invoices go to DATEV or Lexware Office. Some programs bring ready-made interfaces for this. We build the connection when one is missing or the business works with several programs.

Typical system landscape

What the programs bring along varies. According to Lexware, HERO is cloud-based trades software that automatically hands outgoing invoices to Lexware Office and retrieves the payment status. According to the Deutsches Handwerksblatt, ToolTime added a DATEV interface based on the invoice data service 1.0 in May 2026. Craftnote is an app for construction documentation and, according to a 2022 announcement, has an interface to openHandwerk for job folders and customer data.

Typical data flows

1. Products, prices and discounts are imported via DATANORM on a new price list
2. Order is triggered via IDS Connect in the wholesaler's shop as needed
3. Incoming invoice is imported on receipt

1. Outgoing invoice is handed over as a posting or receipt daily
2. Customer is created as a debtor account as needed
3. Payment status is reported back daily

Besides DATANORM there is Open Masterdata. According to STREIT Software, it is used to exchange product master data such as data sheets and photos. We clarify in advance which paths your wholesaler offers.

Typical problems

• Isolated solutions

  Office, job site and accounting use separate programs. Customers and jobs are entered twice, and photos or timesheets from the job site are missing later at billing.

• Missing interface

  The software supports DATEV but not Lexware Office, or the other way around. Switching tax advisors breaks the workflow.

• Legacy software

  Older industry programs have no API, only a file export or a local database. Data from there moves on only by hand.

• Outdated prices

  New price lists from the wholesaler are not imported. Quotes are then calculated with old purchase prices.

• E-invoicing

  Receiving has been mandatory since 1 January 2025. Sending follows from 1 January 2027 for businesses with more than €800,000 in prior-year revenue, and from 1 January 2028 for everyone, with transitional rules.

Examples of connections

• Trades software with DATEV: outgoing invoices and receipts to your tax advisor, see DATEV integration
• Trades software with Lexware Office: invoices out, payment status back
• Legacy program without an API to accounting, see integration without an API

How a project in the skilled trades works

• Take stock

  Which programs do office, job site and tax advisor use? Which interfaces already exist and are paid for?

• Close the gap

  We connect only what is missing. What the software already does stays as it is.

• Test with your tax advisor

  Before going live, your tax advisor checks real sample invoices. Only then does the handover run automatically.

What we build

First we check what your software can already do. If the built-in interface is enough, we say so. If it is missing, we connect the programs directly, through an API or through export and database. For e-invoices we add XRechnung or ZUGFeRD, see e-invoice integration. The code belongs to you, and on request operation runs with us, with hosting in Germany.

Updated: 10/20/2026