Guide: How to use Accountable as a self-employed gardener in Germany

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Managing your finances as a self-employed gardener in Germany involves various tasks: service-based income, VAT rules, equipment costs, and other professional expenses. The right tools can make all the difference in streamlining your work and staying compliant with tax laws.

With Accountable, you can simplify your bookkeeping and avoid time-consuming tasks - so you can focus on what matters most: your gardening projects and clients.

🌳🪴

This guide answers the most common questions we receive from self-employed gardeners in Germany and helps you make the most of the app.

These are the topics that will be covered:

✅ Gardening-specific accounting basics

• How to encode your revenue

• Cash payments and daily turnover

• VAT in Germany (subject to VAT or small business owner)

• Renting Equipment and tool storage costs

• Transport and travel

• Training and certifications

✅ List of deductibles and categories to use

• Common deductions for gardeners

• Sharing costs with collaborators

✅ FAQ

By following this guide, you’ll save time, avoid mistakes, and keep your finances in order - while you focus on growing your business. 🌿✨

🌟 Prefer following a webinar? Pre-register now to get the details live from a tax coach!

📈 1. Gardening-specific accounting basics

As a self-employed gardener, your income primarily comes from services like garden design, maintenance, landscaping, and possibly product sales such as plants or garden tools.

How to manage your income:

Group your daily revenue
Track your daily turnover with:

• A cash register

• A POS system

• A simple sales journal

You can group transactions per day or week instead of recording each client separately.

Encoding in Accountable:

• Go to the green “Revenue” screen

• Click “Add non-invoice revenue”

• No need for client names (ideal for cash-based businesses)

• Group multiple payments (daily or weekly)

We also have a step-by-step guide for you:
📂 How to properly record your cash income in Accountable

💡 Tip:

• Garden maintenance, landscaping services → Service income (Category: Sales of Services)

• Plants, soil, garden tools → Product sales (Category: Sale of goods)

📊 2. VAT in Germany: what you need to know

What is the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business owner)?

Many self-employed gardeners in Germany fall under the Kleinunternehmerregelung (§19 UStG). This means:

• You do not charge VAT on your invoices

• You do not submit VAT declarations

• Your turnover must stay below €25,000 annually

In Accountable:

• Go to Settings > Taxes

• Select Kleinunternehmer if applicable

⚠️ Important:

• You still pay VAT on your purchases

• You cannot reclaim VAT

• VAT paid becomes part of your deductible business expenses

If you are subject to VAT

If your turnover exceeds the Kleinunternehmer thresholds or you opt out voluntarily:

• You must charge 19% VAT

• Submit VAT declarations and VAT pre submissions

Accountable helps you manage both situations correctly.

🔧 3. Renting equipment

If you need to rent tools or machinery for your gardening business, these costs can be deducted as business expenses.

• Examples of equipment you might rent:

  • Lawn mowers

  • Hedge trimmers

  • Excavators

  • Other specialized tools

• How to record the expense in Accountable:

  • Upload the rental invoices under Expenses

  • Categorise them as subcontracting

These rental costs help lower your taxable income and ensure your equipment is properly accounted for.

🏠 4. Tool Storage Costs

If you rent space for storing equipment or materials (e.g., a storage unit for tools or plants), these costs are deductible as business expenses.

Examples of deductible storage costs:

• Renting a storage unit for tools, plants, or materials

• Renting space in a warehouse for larger equipment

How to document it:
For rented space, simply upload the rental invoices under Expenses and categorise them as Rent (External Office).

By keeping track of these expenses, you can reduce your taxable income and manage your business more effectively.

🛣️ 5. Transport and travel

🚗 Private car:

You can only deduct an allowance for the kilometres you drive to the workspace and for business trips:

• Commuter allowance (trips to your workplace)

• Mileage allowance (business trips, travel for client visits)

🚗 Business car:

You can deduct:

• Fuel

• Insurance

• Maintenance & repairs

• Depreciation

• Parking fees

Deductibility depends on:

• Professional use percentage

• Vehicle ownership type (1%-Rule or mileage log)

In Accountable:

• Add your vehicle

• Record each expense

• Indicate professional use

For more details, check out our article:
📂 How can I deduct my car expenses?

🚲 Bicycle:

If you use a bicycle for business:

• Deduct actual expenses (repairs, accessories, depreciation)

• Keep proof of professional use

🚕 Public transport & taxis:

Tickets and subscriptions used for business purposes are deductible under:
​Travel > Other travel costs

🎓 6. Training & certifications

As a gardener, staying current is important for your business and tax deductions. Be sure to include the following in your expenses:

• Gardening courses

• Sustainability or eco-friendly certifications

• Health & Safety certification

• Landscaping and Garden Design Permits

• Garden shows or exhibitions

• Trade fairs, workshops, or online trainings

Associated costs:

• Transport

• Meals (meal allowance > 📂 How to deduct your travel expenses?)

• Tools or equipment required for training

💡 Tip to maximise deductions:

• Training fee → Category: Professional Training

• Food → Category: Canteen & reception

💵 7. Deductions for gardeners

Deductible expenses lower your taxable income, meaning:

• You pay less income tax

• You keep more cash for your business

• You can reinvest in better tools, products, or training

Here are some common expenses you can deduct to lower your taxable income:

🤝 8. Sharing costs with a collaborator

If you share:

• Garden tools

• Equipment

• Workspace

You can:

• Pay the expense yourself

• Invoice your collaborator for their share

This ensures that both parties can deduct their portion correctly.

❓ 9. FAQ

💭 Which Accountable subscription should I choose?

For most self-employed gardeners, especially those under the Kleinunternehmerregelung, the Bookkeeping-Plan is sufficient.

If you are subject to VAT, we recommend the Taxes-Plan.

Check out our article:

📂 I'm not sure which plan to go for, what is the difference?

💭 How do I manage income from recurring garden maintenance contracts?

If you have clients who pay you on a recurring basis (e.g., monthly, quarterly or annually) for garden maintenance services, you can easily manage this income using the Recurring Invoices feature in Accountable.

This feature lets you enter the details once, and Accountable will automatically generate invoices on a recurring basis for you - giving you more time to focus on your clients.

For a step-by-step guide on how to create recurring invoices, check out:
📂 Create recurring invoices

💭 What if I work with another gardener on a shared project?

If you collaborate with another gardener, you must agree upfront on who is hiring whom:

• If you hire the other gardener as a subcontractor:
  The other gardener will issue an invoice to you for their services. Upload this invoice under Expenses and categorise it as Subcontracting.

• If the other gardener hires you:
  You will issue an invoice for your services, and they’ll record the payment as an expense.

Ensure both income and expenses are clearly documented to avoid any confusion.

💭 Can I deduct the cost of plants and tools used for personal gardening projects?

No, plants and tools purchased for personal use cannot be deducted.

Only tools that are used directly for professional work are deductible as business expenses.

However, if you start using personal tools solely for business purposes, you can bring them into your business assets. This means you can begin depreciating the tools over time and deduct their value as a business expense.

To do this, you would need to:

• Document the date and value of the tools when they are transferred to your business.

• Record them in Accountable in expenses under the category "Tools"

• Depreciate the tools over their expected useful life, following the guidelines for business assets.

By doing this, you ensure that personal tools used for your business are properly accounted for and eligible for tax deductions.

Check out our article:

📂 How to manage assets and amortization?

💭 Do I need to issue invoices for every client?

For cash payments, a daily or weekly turnover record is sufficient. Invoices are required for:

• Business clients

• Collaborations

• Clients outside of Germany

💭 Can I use Accountable if I’m self-employed part-time?

Yes! Accountable is ideal for part-time self-employment and side businesses, as well as full-time self-employment.

💭 Can I use Accountable if I operate as a GmbH?

You can still use Accountable to create invoices for your GmbH, but please be aware of the following:

• No tax declaration submission: Accountable does not support the submission of tax declarations for GmbH entities.

• Different Accounting and Tax Requirements: GmbHs have different accounting and tax obligations compared to sole proprietorships.

💭 What if my exact profession isn’t listed?

No problem, you can enter your profession manually in the app in your settings > personal details.

Webinar pre-registration

💡 Want to make the most of Accountable as a self-employed gardener?
Join our upcoming webinar, where we’ll:

• Walk you through the app

• Explain VAT & deductions

• Answer profession-specific questions

👉 Pre-register now and get all the insights you need!

If you have any questions about this, just drop us a message via tax-coach@accountable.eu. We’re happy to guide you 💬✨

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?