030 303 665 840
anfrage@guhr-steuerberatung.de
Auerstr. 14, 10249 Berlin
Industry · E-Commerce
Tax advisory for e-commerce that truly scales.
We are the tax firm for established online sellers from €500,000 in annual revenue – shop operators, Amazon FBA sellers and D2C brands whose OSS scheme is already running. We handle bookkeeping and annual accounts reliably – and beyond that we get your PAN-EU VAT and your payment settlements in order and show you the real margin after ad spend. Connected via Account One or Taxdoo, nationwide, digital and personal.
Nationwide · 100% digital- From €500,000 annual revenue
- Account One & Taxdoo connected
Sound familiar?
Problems online sellers know all too well.
We talk to shop owners, Amazon sellers and D2C founders every day. This is what we hear again and again:
You don't know what actually ends up in your pocket.
Revenue looks great, but after Amazon fees, ads, returns and cost of goods, nobody knows what margin is left – or which product is quietly burning money.
Your OSS runs – but nobody checks it.
You are registered and you file dutifully. Whether the VAT rates, country allocation and returns are actually right has not been reviewed since registration – until the tax office or a foreign authority asks.
Amazon PAN-EU triggers registration duties.
Your stock suddenly sits in Poland, Czechia and France. That creates intra-Community transfers and foreign VAT registration duties – often unnoticed until the letter arrives.
Payment settlements never match your books.
Amazon, Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, Shopify – payouts arrive bundled, with fees and reserves. No one can reconcile that against DATEV by hand.
You pay too much tax.
No one shows you the levers – not on legal form, managing-director pay, the investment deduction (IAB) or a holding structure once the shop scales.
Your tax advisor doesn't understand your business.
FBA transfers, PAN-EU registrations, IOSS for imports under €150 – you end up explaining it to your advisor instead of getting answers.
What changes for you
More clarity. Less tax. More time for your shop.
We are not a classic tax firm. We deliver what you actually need as an owner – results, not just binders.
You see your real margin – per channel.
Contribution margin after ad spend (ROAS/MER), marketplace fees and cost of goods shown cleanly. You know which product and which channel actually earns.
OSS and foreign VAT run without your input.
We take over your OSS filings, check VAT rates and country allocation, keep an eye on new registration duties and meet the deadlines – you no longer have to think about it.
PAN-EU set up compliantly.
Foreign VAT registrations, intra-Community transfers and filings are coordinated. Amazon's warehousing logic becomes a clean, controlled process.
Payment data lands in DATEV automatically.
Amazon, Stripe, PayPal, Klarna and Shopify settlements run through Account One or Taxdoo into DATEV automatically, including fees, reserves and payout cycles. No more nights in Excel.
A noticeably lower tax burden.
We review legal form, the investment deduction, a holding structure and managing-director pay – proactively, not first in April.
Structures that grow with you.
From an established marketplace business to your own D2C brand across several countries – your bookkeeping scales with you, without setting everything up again.
Personally from Karsten Guhr
An online shop rarely fails on revenue. It fails on VAT that spirals out of control across the EU, on settlements no one reconciles, and on a margin nobody can see after ad spend. That is exactly where we come in: we turn OSS, PAN-EU and payments into one clean process – and give you the numbers to scale profitably instead of growing blind.
We know your business
We speak e-commerce.
OSS, PAN-EU, import VAT, IOSS, chain transactions, settlement reports, ROAS and the lower-of-cost-or-market principle – we know how an online business ticks. So you don't waste time explaining your model.
- 01
OSS scheme (One-Stop-Shop)
Report EU distance sales centrally via OSS – instead of registering in each country. Your scheme is already running: we take over the filings, check VAT rates and country allocation and watch for further registration duties.
- 02
Amazon PAN-EU & FBA
Warehousing across several EU countries triggers VAT registration duties. We map the movements correctly as intra-Community transfers.
- 03
Import VAT, IOSS & customs
Handle imports from third countries correctly: import VAT recovered as input tax, IOSS for consignments under €150 and clean customs valuation.
- 04
Marketplace liability (§ 25e UStG)
Certification and record-keeping duties for marketplace sellers. We make sure your VAT data is clean and marketplace liability is excluded.
- 05
Payment & settlement reconciliation
Amazon, Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, Shopify: fees, reserves and payout cycles reconciled into DATEV automatically via Account One or Taxdoo – transaction-level, not lump-sum.
- 06
Inventory, stocktaking & returns
Valuation under the lower-of-cost-or-market principle, ongoing stocktaking and correct booking of returns – so your accounts and margin match reality.
- 07
Account One & Taxdoo
The two tools that connect almost any shop and marketplace. We set up your integration, check the VAT-rate mapping and pull revenue, fees and OSS data cleanly into DATEV.
- 08
Contribution margin after ad spend
Translate ROAS and MER into real margin. We make visible what is actually earned after ads, fees and returns.
Industry benchmarks
We know e-commerce margins. And we get more out for you.
We see the real numbers of our seller clients every month – not revenue screenshots from ad managers. We know what's normal for your model, where you should be, and which tax levers lift your after-tax margin.
Typical EBIT range
- 3 – 8%Marketplace reselling (Amazon/eBay)Fee- and competition-driven · clean cost of goods is a must
- 8 – 18%D2C own brand (Shopify)Stronger brand and margin · ROAS/MER control is decisive
- 15 – 30%Niche & premium brandHigher margin through positioning · a holding pays off early
How we lift your after-tax margin – legally and without balance-sheet acrobatics:
- Holding structureProfits of the trading GmbH flow into a holding roughly 95% tax-free (§ 8b KStG) – effectively around 1.5% instead of over 26% at private level.
- Investment deduction (IAB)Claim up to 50% of planned investments against profit in advance – ideal for warehousing, packaging tech, photo studio and IT.
- Optimised inventory valuationConsistent use of the lower-of-cost-or-market principle and a clean stocktake reduce the profit on slow-movers – real cash saved at year-end.
- Legal form & MD payOnce your margin is stable, switching to a GmbH pays off. A mix of salary, bonus and distribution tuned to your profit.
- Input tax & import VATConsistently recover import VAT as input tax and steer the timing of payments – this protects your liquidity month after month.
- IP & brand holdingMove trademark rights and your own designs into a holding – with a clearly separable licence stream and protection from operating risk.
Why GUHR
Tax advisory that finally thinks ahead.
We don't want to be the next advisor who emails „receipts by the 10th, please“. We want to be the partner who makes your shop safer, more profitable and more predictable.
Specialised in e-commerce
We know the typical VAT traps in FBA, PAN-EU and OSS – and the levers that actually make money in online retail.
Nationwide · digital
Set up entirely digitally. Payment connections, DATEV and reporting run automatically – wherever you run your shop from.
Proactive, not reactive
We reach out before the tax office – or a foreign authority – asks. Tax strategy for the current year, not the last one.
Personal, not anonymous
One dedicated contact who knows your assortment, your channels and your numbers. Answers in hours, not weeks.
Is this a fit?
Who we work with – and who we don't.
In e-commerce we deliberately only take on clients where we have real leverage. That keeps our service fast and the quality high – and saves you an intro call that leads nowhere.
You're a fit if …
You have at least €500,000 in annual revenue.
From that size the levers we talk about start to work: OSS structure, payment automation, legal form and holding.
Your OSS scheme is already running.
You are registered and filing. We take over, review and optimise – initial registration is not our starting point.
You sell your own goods via shop or marketplace.
Own stock, own brand, own warehousing – including Amazon FBA and PAN-EU. That is our core case.
Your business has been running for several years.
You have solid numbers, established processes and a fairly precise idea of where things get stuck.
Not the right time if …
You run dropshipping.
We currently don't take on chain transactions across changing suppliers in e-commerce.
You have only just started.
We currently don't support newly founded online businesses in this industry – for start-ups outside e-commerce, do get in touch.
You are not registered for OSS yet.
Without a running OSS scheme we are not the right starting point. Once that's done, we're happy to talk.
You are below €500,000 in revenue.
Our setup usually isn't economical for you at that size. Get in touch once you cross the threshold.
Not sure whether you fit the profile? Describe your setup – we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right firm for you.
Head office Berlin · clients from Sylt to Garmisch
Nationwide · 100 % digital
One firm. Available anywhere in Germany.
Whether Berlin, Munich or somewhere in between: we run every mandate fully digital – DATEV-connected, signed PDFs, video meetings. No commuting, no postal delays, no 90s-style bookkeeping.
- 01
DATEV Unternehmen online
Receipts, banking, payroll, reports – you work in the standard interface every German tax advisor speaks. No vendor lock-in.
- 02
Video meetings instead of on-site visits
Quarterly review, tax strategy, holding check – via video with screen sharing. You save half a day every time.
- 03
Signed PDFs & digital powers of attorney
Tax filings, annual accounts, contracts – signed via qualified e-signature. Accepted by the tax office, done in minutes.
How we work with e-commerce
From intro call to worry-free bookkeeping.
On average 14 days from the decision to switch to a running digital operation – including payment and marketplace integration.
Intro call & status check
30 minutes. We review your setup, OSS/PAN-EU status, tax burden and the biggest levers – free of charge.
01
Onboarding in 14 days
We handle the switch from your current advisor, set up DATEV and connect Amazon, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal and Klarna automatically via Account One or Taxdoo.
02
Ongoing support
Monthly management accounts with real margin after ad spend, OSS filings, live numbers in a dashboard and one dedicated contact – plus proactive alerts.
03
Annual review & strategy
Accounts, inventory valuation, tax optimisation and a clear plan for the next financial year – not just a look back, but a growth concept.
04
030 303 665 840FAQ
Answers for online sellers.
What you most often ask us before switching.
Intro call for e-commerce
What your shop is leaving on the table – we'll show you in 30 minutes.
You describe your setup, we name the concrete levers (OSS, PAN-EU, payment reconciliation, holding, IAB) and send a written proposal within 48 hours. Nationwide and free of charge.