Lexware
Product typeBusiness and tax software
OwnerHaufe Group
CountryGermany
Introduced1989
Websitewww.lexware.de

Lexware is a German software brand owned by the Haufe Group. Based in Freiburg im Breisgau, it offers accounting, invoicing, payroll and tax software for the self-employed and small businesses. Its products include desktop software and the online accounting suite Lexware Office.[1][2]

Axel Wessendorf founded the business in 1989, and it became part of the Haufe Group in 1993.[3][4]

History

Wessendorf founded the business in Freiburg in 1989. Its first product, Voyage, was a program for calculating travel expenses. The Rudolf Haufe Verlag acquired a majority stake in 1993, and Wessendorf sold his remaining interest to the publisher in 1997.[3][5]

An agreement with the American software company Intuit in 1999 gave Lexware responsibility for marketing, distribution and customer service for Intuit's products in Germany.[6]

By 2005, Lexware sold programs for accounting, payroll, inventory management and travel expenses, both separately and as software suites. Its business focused on ready-made software for small businesses, distributed online and through retailers.[4]

Lexware expanded into cloud-based accounting in 2012 with the launch of lexoffice, an online service for self-employed people and small businesses.[1] Lexoffice was renamed Lexware Office in 2024.[2]

Software

Lexware offers desktop programs for bookkeeping, payroll, invoicing, inventory management and travel expenses.[4][5]

Lexware Office

Lexware Office is a cloud-based accounting service. Users can create invoices, record income and expenses, manage receipts and connect bank accounts. Payroll is available as an additional service. A mobile app allows users to photograph receipts, and tax advisers can be given access to the accounting records.[1][7]

Accounting data can also be transferred to smartsteuer, an online service for preparing German tax returns.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Santo, Daniela (January 2024). "Kompliziertes einfach". Wirtschaft im Südwesten (in German).
  2. ^ a b "lexoffice heißt jetzt Lexware Office". Lexware (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  3. ^ a b Scheich, Anna (2001-12-10). "Lexware: Den Gründerschuhen entwachsen". Computerwoche (in German).
  4. ^ a b c Lixenfeld, Christoph (2005-10-28). "Unternehmensporträt Lexware: Für jeden das Passende". Computerwoche (in German).
  5. ^ a b "Historie". Lexware (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  6. ^ "Haufe-Tochter Lexware übernimmt deutsche Geschäfte von Intuit Inc". BuchMarkt (in German). 1999-09-02.
  7. ^ Lorenz, Björn (2025-02-05). "Lexware Office XL im Test". connect (in German).
  8. ^ "Wie übertrage ich meine Daten aus Lexware Office an smartsteuer?". Lexware Office Help Center (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-22.