030 555 721 370
anfrage@guhr-steuerberatung.de
Auerstr. 14, 10249 Berlin
Industry · Manufacturing & Engineering
Tax advisory for manufacturing & engineering that thinks ahead instead of reacting.
We are the tax advisors for owners and managing directors of mid-sized manufacturing, production and mechanical-engineering companies. We handle your bookkeeping and annual accounts reliably – but we also steer your depreciation, secure your research allowance and value your inventories correctly. Nationwide, digital and personal.
Nationwide · 100% digital- Specialised in manufacturing & engineering
- Personal point of contact
Sound familiar?
Problems that manufacturing owners know all too well.
We speak with managing directors from mechanical engineering, metalworking and contract manufacturing every day. This is what we hear again and again:
Your capital sits in machines – not in the bank.
High fixed assets tie up liquidity while depreciation runs over years. Your balance sheet shows a profit, but the next replacement investment isn't financed.
Your profit swings with the warehouse.
Semi-finished and finished goods, material prices and set-up costs distort the result. Depending on how inventories are valued, the reporting date shows now a profit, now a loss – without the business having changed.
You pay too much tax.
No one shows you the levers: the investment deduction (IAB) and special depreciation under § 7g (German Income Tax Act) for the next machine, the research allowance (Forschungszulage) for your design and development, the accounting options for production costs.
Fear of the next tax audit.
Inventory valuation, hidden profit distribution, transfer prices to your foreign subsidiary – you know this is exactly where the auditor starts, but no one has prepared you for it.
Your tax advisor doesn't understand your production.
Cost of goods manufactured, series and job-order production, warranty provisions, intra-Community supplies – you first have to explain to your advisor how your plant even calculates its costs.
Business succession is unresolved for tax.
Millions in business assets, but no plan for the handover. Without the relief under § 13a/§ 13b ErbStG (German Inheritance Tax Act) inheritance tax can arise that the company has to pay out of its substance.
What changes for you
More clarity. Fewer taxes. More time for your production.
We are not a classic tax firm. We deliver what you as management really need – results, not just ring binders.
Crystal-clear numbers – despite fixed assets.
A live P&L with a clean depreciation view and valued inventories. You see the real production margin and know which investment you can afford and when – not only once the annual accounts arrive.
Depreciation actively steered.
We plan depreciation, the investment deduction (IAB) and special depreciation under § 7g so your replacement investments lower profit exactly when you need it – and liquidity grows with it.
Noticeably lower tax burden.
The research allowance for design and development, the accounting options for production costs, provisions for warranty and dismantling – we check every lever proactively.
No surprises from the tax office.
We prepare your tax audit, document inventory valuation and transfer prices cleanly and plan your tax in advance. You know months earlier what is coming.
Time that flows into production.
Receipts via app, banking automated, incoming supplier invoices booked directly. No more evenings spent on inventory and investment bookkeeping.
Succession that protects the substance.
We structure the handover of your business early and use the relief for business assets – so the next generation keeps the plant, not the tax office.
Personally from Karsten Guhr
A manufacturing company rarely fails for a lack of orders. It fails because of tied-up capital, an inventory valuation that distorts profit and a business succession no one calculated through in time. That is exactly where we come in: we steer your depreciation, secure your research allowance and protect the relief for your business assets – so you lead strategically instead of just reacting.
We know your business
We speak engineering language.
Depreciation and fixed assets, IAB and § 7g, production costs, inventory valuation, research allowance, intra-Community supplies, transfer pricing – we know how a manufacturing operation ticks. So you waste no time explaining your business model.
- 01
Depreciation steering & fixed assets
Useful lives, declining-balance and straight-line depreciation, the component approach – we steer the depreciation of your machine park so that profit and liquidity line up.
- 02
IAB & special depreciation § 7g
Up to 50% of planned investments deducted in advance (IAB) plus 20% special depreciation for machines, plant and tooling – profit-reducing in exactly the right year.
- 03
Research allowance for design & development
In-house design, prototype building, process and product development – up to €1m allowance per year under the FZulG (Research Allowance Act). We handle the certificate and the application.
- 04
Production costs & accounting options
Manufacturing overheads, material and administrative shares correctly included in production costs under § 255 HGB (German Commercial Code) – the accounting options used deliberately to your advantage.
- 05
Valuing semi-finished & finished goods
Inventories and work in progress valued in a legally sound way at the balance-sheet date – so no phantom profits arise and no audit challenges follow.
- 06
Provisions: warranty, dismantling, losses
Warranty, dismantling obligations and impending losses from pending transactions provisioned correctly – lowering profit in the right year.
- 07
Export, EU supplies & customs
Intra-Community supplies, exports, chain transactions and customs matters mapped cleanly – legally sound for VAT, even with complex supply chains.
- 08
Transfer pricing & permanent establishments
Transfer pricing to foreign subsidiaries and foreign permanent establishments documented – audit-proof to the requirements of the tax audit.
Industry benchmarks
We know the margins in your industry. And get more out for you.
We look after more than 50 manufacturing and engineering companies in Germany and see real balance sheets every month – not trade-show brochures. We know what EBIT margin is typical in your segment, where you should be and which tax levers pull your after-tax result upward.
Typical EBIT range (mid-sized)
- 6 – 12 %Machinery & plant engineeringProject- and order-driven · high capital tie-up · § 7g as a lever
- 4 – 9 %Metalworking / suppliersOEM price pressure · inventory and depreciation steering is decisive
- 6 – 11 %Plastics & electricalTooling- and energy-intensive · check special depreciation and relief schemes
- 5 – 10 %Contract manufacturingUtilisation-driven · low material depth · keep capital tie-up in view
This is how we lift your after-tax result – legally and without balance-sheet acrobatics:
- IAB & special depreciation § 7gUp to 50% of planned investments deducted in advance (IAB) plus 20% special depreciation for machines and plant – so replacement and expansion investments lower profit in exactly the right year.
- Research allowance (FZulG)Up to €1m per year for design, prototype building and process development. Many engineering firms don't know that routine development in the plant often qualifies.
- Steer production costsThe accounting options under § 255 HGB used deliberately – so you shift profit predictably between years and smooth tax progression and advance payments.
- Build up provisionsWarranty, dismantling and impending losses provisioned in a legally sound way – lowering taxable profit in the right year instead of surprising you later.
- Holding & MD compensationPark participation income via a holding effectively at around 1.5% tax and align the managing-director salary optimally with your margin and tax allowance.
- Relief for business assetsThe handover structured early and the standard or optional relief under § 13a/§ 13b ErbStG used – inheritance and gift tax often drop to zero.
Why GUHR
Tax advisory that finally thinks along.
We don't want to be the next advisor who writes 'receipts by the 10th, please'. We want to be the partner who makes your operation safer, more profitable and ready for handover.
Specialised in manufacturing
More than 50 mandates from mechanical engineering, metalworking, plastics and contract manufacturing – we know the depreciation traps, the audit focal points and the real optimisation levers.
Nationwide · digital
Set up entirely digitally. Whether Munich, Stuttgart, Bielefeld, Berlin or Leipzig – we are as fast as your production.
Proactive, not reactive
We reach out before the tax office asks. Investment and tax strategy for the current year – and succession before it becomes urgent.
Personal, not anonymous
A dedicated point of contact who knows your machines, your balance sheet and your supply chains. Answers in hours, not weeks.
More than tax advisory
A network of renowned manufacturing companies. Included.
With GUHR you become part of a client circle you would otherwise only meet at trade fairs. Owners who speak openly about margins, investments, succession and growth – because they trust the same advisor.
A selection from our manufacturing client circle
We only name specific clients once released to do so. In the initial call we show you relevant cases from your niche.
What that means for you in concrete terms:
- 01
Owner round-tables
Quarterly meetings in a small circle – topics such as investment strategy, transfer pricing, business succession, retaining skilled staff. By invitation, under NDA.
- 02
Peer benchmarks
We mirror your key figures anonymously against comparable operations of your size and segment. So you see where your EBIT margin and capital tie-up really stand.
- 03
Warm introductions
Looking for a supplier, a grant advisor or an M&A opportunity? We connect you directly – with no commission chatter.
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 manufacturing companies
From the initial call to worry-free bookkeeping.
On average 14 days from the decision to switch to a running digital operation.
Initial call & status check
30 minutes. We check depreciation steering, § 7g potential, inventory valuation, the research allowance and the biggest tax levers – free of charge.
01
Onboarding in 14 days
We handle the switch from your previous advisor, set up DATEV and connect your banking as well as your ERP or inventory-management system or existing bookkeeping.
02
Ongoing support
Monthly P&L with a depreciation and inventory view, live figures in the dashboard, a dedicated contact – and proactive alerts as soon as we see optimisation potential.
03
Annual review & strategy
Balance sheet, investment and tax optimisation, research allowance and a clear plan for the next financial year – right through to a business-succession and relief strategy.
04
030 555 721 370FAQ
Answers for manufacturing owners.
What clients ask us most often before switching.
Initial call for manufacturing & engineering
What your operation is giving away in tax – we'll show you in 30 minutes.
You describe your operation and your machine park, we name the concrete levers (§ 7g, research allowance, production costs, relief for business assets) and send a written proposal within 48 hours. Nationwide and free of charge.