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Crates of white and red cabbage at goods receiving

Guide · Receipts · Goods receiving

Keeping delivery notes digitally: periods in Austria and Germany

Venheim editorial team

10 min read

In Austria seven years: as a receipt the delivery note must, as another business paper it should be kept that long (§ 132(1) BAO). In Germany the period ends when the invoice is received, unless the delivery note is an accounting voucher: then eight years (§ 147(3) AO). A scan or photo is allowed if it matches the original and stays legible.

The periods at a glance

A delivery note falls under two sets of rules: the tax law of its country and traceability under EU food law. Each row says where the period comes from.

Austria: tax and bookkeeping

  • 7 years

    Delivery notes that belong to the bookkeeping as a receipt, for example because the invoice refers to them for the quantity or type of goods

    Law · AT§ 132(1) sentence 1 BAO, § 11(2) UStG 1994

    The details of an invoice "may also be contained in other documents referred to in the invoice" (§ 11(2) UStG 1994).

  • 7 years (should)

    All other delivery notes, where they matter for tax assessment

    Law · AT§ 132(1) sentence 2 BAO

    In its own words: business papers "should" be kept for seven years. Austria has no rule that ends the period with the invoice, as Germany does.

  • 7 years

    Copies of your own delivery notes that your invoice refers to, if you supply goods yourself, for example as a caterer

    Law · AT§ 11(2) UStG 1994

Germany: tax and bookkeeping

  • until the invoice is received

    Delivery notes received that are not an accounting voucher

    Law · DE§ 147(3) sentence 3 AO

    Since 1 January 2017, also for older delivery notes whose period was still running then (Art. 97 § 19a(1) EGAO).

  • until the invoice is sent

    Your own delivery notes sent out that are not an accounting voucher

    Law · DE§ 147(3) sentence 4 AO

  • 8 years

    Delivery notes used as an accounting voucher

    Law · DE§ 147(1) no. 4, (3) sentence 1 AO

    Until the end of 2024 it was ten years. The period does not expire while the voucher matters for a tax whose assessment period is still open ((3) sentence 5).

  • 8 years, like the invoice

    Delivery notes the invoice refers to for quantity, type or delivery date

    Recommendation · DE§ 31(1) UStDV, § 14b(1) UStG

    Our reading, not stated expressly in the law: an invoice "may consist of several documents" (§ 31(1) UStDV), and invoices are kept for eight years. The Bundesrat argued the same in 2016.

Traceability, in both countries

  • no fixed period

    Being able to identify who supplied you with which food

    Law · EUArt. 18(2) Regulation (EC) 178/2002

    The WKO writes: whether you document with inventory software or by hand "is up to you" (handbook Hygiene in hospitality, p. 24).

  • 5 years as a rule

    Traceability records, such as supplier, goods and delivery date

    Recommendation · EUEuropean Commission guidance on Art. 18 Regulation (EC) 178/2002

    For goods with a best-before date: shelf life plus 6 months. For highly perishable goods supplied directly to the final consumer: 6 months.

  • until consumed

    Supply details for food of animal origin: description, quantity, supplier, batch, dispatch date

    Law · EUArt. 3(3) Implementing Regulation (EU) 931/2011

Austria: seven years, as a must or a should

The Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO) distinguishes two cases. Receipts that belong to the books and records "are to be kept for seven years". Business papers and other documents "should" be kept for seven years where they matter for tax assessment (§ 132(1) BAO). A delivery note is at least the second, and it becomes the first as soon as the invoice refers to it for the quantity or type of goods (§ 11(2) UStG 1994, the Austrian VAT Act).

The period starts at the end of the calendar year to which the delivery note relates. One dated 14 March 2026 is therefore kept until the end of 2033, and beyond that for as long as it matters in pending tax proceedings. In practice this means: in Austria, keep delivery notes for seven years, even if the invoice arrived long ago.

Germany: since 2017 the period ends with the invoice

Until the end of 2016, delivery notes counted as business letters and had to be kept for six years. Since the Second Act to Reduce Bureaucracy, the period ends for delivery notes received when the invoice is received, and for those sent out when the invoice is sent, as long as they are not accounting vouchers (§ 147(3) sentences 3 and 4 AO, the German Fiscal Code). If a delivery note is used as an accounting voucher, eight years apply, counted from the end of the calendar year (§ 147(4) AO).

Why the rule was disputed

In 2016 the Bundesrat, the chamber of the German states, wanted to drop the change: if the invoice refers to the delivery note, for example for the quantity and type of goods, the delivery note is "to be regarded as part of the invoice" and must not be destroyed. The federal government refused. The rule only waives delivery notes "whose content is documented by the corresponding invoice on the incoming or outgoing side" (BT-Drs. 18/9949, pp. 30 f. and 33).

Hence our recommendation: keep delivery notes the invoice refers to for as long as the invoice, that is, eight years (§ 14b(1) UStG).

Traceability: the period tax law doesn't know

For food law, the delivery note is often the only place where supplier, goods and date are recorded together. You must be able to identify every person who supplied you with a food (Art. 18(2) Regulation 178/2002). How long the law does not say; the European Commission suggests five years. Anyone in Germany who disposes of delivery notes after the invoice therefore needs these details somewhere else, for example in a goods-receiving log. More in the guide How long to keep HACCP and cleaning records.

Scan or photograph and dispose of the paper?

Both countries allow digital retention. Austria requires that a "complete, orderly, identical and true-to-original reproduction is guaranteed at any time until the end of the statutory retention period" (§ 132(2) BAO). Anyone who keeps records this way must provide the means to read them at their own cost during an audit ((3)).

In Germany, the image must match the paper received "visually" and be available and readable throughout the period (§ 147(2) AO). How that works is set out in the GoBD, the Federal Ministry of Finance's principles for proper digital bookkeeping: capturing expressly includes smartphones (para. 130), no signature or time stamp is needed (para. 138), and afterwards "paper documents may be destroyed" unless a rule requires the original (para. 140). The condition: the procedure is documented (para. 136).

Five steps at goods receiving

The order follows the GoBD. It also works for Austria, where the law requires the same properties but sets no steps.

  1. Check and sign first, then capture

    Count the goods, note discrepancies and defects on the delivery note, sign it. After capturing, only the image is used; anyone who writes on the paper afterwards has to capture it again.

    Basis: GoBD para. 139

  2. Photograph it complete and legible

    All pages, straight and without cut-off edges, stamp and signature visible. In colour if coloured notes prove something, such as a red minus amount.

    Basis: GoBD paras. 130, 137

  3. File and match it straight away

    By month and supplier, and the invoice with it as soon as it arrives. Then you will still find what an audit wants to see years later.

    Basis: § 132(2) BAO ("orderly" reproduction)

  4. Write down the procedure

    Who captures, when, which papers, how legibility and completeness are checked and what happens if something goes wrong. How detailed depends on the size of the business.

    Basis: GoBD para. 136

  5. Dispose of the paper only after the check

    Only once the image has been checked and filed, and only papers that no other rule requires in the original. Everything must remain traceable and verifiable.

    Basis: GoBD paras. 140, 141

Important: not legal advice

This guide is an overview, not legal or tax advice. Whether a delivery note is an accounting voucher in your business, and whether your capture procedure meets the requirements, is for your tax adviser to judge. The GoBD are an instruction of the German tax administration; in Austria the wording of the law applies.

Keep it digital with Venheim

In Venheim the team photographs the delivery note at goods receiving on their own phone. The image goes into the receipt archive, grouped by month; nothing is ever deleted, a wrong receipt is cancelled with a reason and stays traceable. For the accountant, the manager downloads the month as a ZIP with an Excel report. The receipt archive is part of the Pro plan.

Start free

Try Premium for 30 days, no payment details. After that your business carries on free on the Start plan; records stay readable and exportable.

The sign-up form is in German for now. Inside the app, everyone picks their own language — nine languages, English included.

Related

Inventory managementStock, stocktaking and goods receiving on the phone — the delivery note goes into the receipt archive as a photo.Monthly package for your tax adviserAll receipt photos of the month as files, plus the receipts table in the Excel report.

Frequently asked questions

How long do delivery notes have to be kept?
In Austria, seven years from the end of the calendar year: if the delivery note belongs to the bookkeeping as a receipt, it must be kept that long; otherwise it should be, where it matters for tax assessment (§ 132(1) BAO). In Germany, the period for delivery notes received ends when the invoice is received, and for your own when it is sent (§ 147(3) AO). If the delivery note is used as an accounting voucher, eight years apply.
Can I throw delivery notes away once the invoice has arrived?
In Germany yes, if the delivery note is not an accounting voucher (§ 147(3) sentence 3 AO). Check two things first: if the invoice refers to the delivery note for quantity, type or delivery date, it is part of the invoice (§ 31(1) UStDV), and that is kept for eight years. And for traceability you still need supplier, goods and date if they are not recorded anywhere else. Austria has no such rule; seven years apply there.
When is a delivery note an accounting voucher?
When a booking is based on it, so it is the voucher for an entry in the books or records. The 2016 explanatory memorandum to the law speaks of delivery notes that are "used as an accounting voucher". Whether that is the case in your business depends on how your bookkeeping works; your tax adviser will answer that.
Can I scan delivery notes and dispose of the paper?
Yes, in both countries. Austria allows data carriers if a "complete, orderly, identical and true-to-original reproduction" is guaranteed at any time until the end of the period (§ 132(2) BAO). In Germany the image must match the original visually and be available and readable throughout the period (§ 147(2) AO); after that, paper documents may be destroyed (GoBD para. 140). According to the GoBD, the procedure must be documented (para. 136).
Is a phone photo enough?
In Germany yes: the GoBD expressly name smartphones as a device for capturing images (para. 130). An electronic signature or time stamp is not needed (para. 138). What matters is that the image is complete, legible and matches the original, in colour if coloured notes prove something (para. 137). In Austria the law names no device but the condition: complete, orderly, identical and true to the original.
Do I have to keep delivery notes for food inspections?
Not the delivery note itself, but what is on it: you must be able to identify every person who supplied you with a food (Art. 18(2) Regulation 178/2002), and the form is up to you. The law gives no fixed period; the European Commission suggests five years, and for goods with a best-before date the shelf life plus six months. For food of animal origin, the supply details must remain available until the food is likely to have been consumed (Implementing Regulation 931/2011).

Sources

About Venheim

Venheim is operations software for hospitality, studios and retail — built inside a real business and used there every day. Every feature and every guide comes from that daily work and is tested against it. More about Venheim. Not legal advice — where in doubt, the authority, the chamber or a law firm has the final word.