Export to DATEV Lohn und Gehalt

The export for DATEV Lohn und Gehalt (DATEV payroll software) transfers the reimbursable travel expenses from Spesenfuchs into your payroll accounting. This page guides you step by step through the one-time setup and the regular monthly import.

The essentials at a glance

1. One time only: Register the format description (INI file) in DATEV Lohn und Gehalt
2. Every month: Import the transaction data (LuG…txt file)
3. Prerequisite: The personnel numbers in Spesenfuchs and DATEV Lohn und Gehalt must match

Prerequisites

• The employees are already set up in DATEV Lohn und Gehalt. Exporting master data from Spesenfuchs is not necessary – the personnel number links the records.
• The personnel numbers in Spesenfuchs match those in DATEV Lohn und Gehalt. If not: adjust the personnel number in Spesenfuchs and create the export again (using "Re-export already exported items").
• The wage types are configured in the Spesenfuchs settings (see below).

Files created by the export

For a DATEV Lohn und Gehalt export, Spesenfuchs creates a ZIP file containing three files:

Important: Always pass the complete ZIP file on to your payroll department or tax advisor – not just individual files from it.

Note: The top area of the download section shows how long the export files remain available. After that, simply create the export again using "Re-export already exported items".

Step 1: One-time setup – import the format description

This step tells DATEV Lohn und Gehalt how the data produced by Spesenfuchs is structured. It is required only once. The INI file is included with every export, but you will not need it again afterwards.

1. In DATEV Lohn und Gehalt, at firm level (Kanzleiebene), open the menu item Extras | ASCII-Import-Assistent (ASCII import wizard).
2. Click the Neu (New) button. All buttons except Importieren (Import) are now grayed out.
3. In the empty field under Hersteller-Formatbezeichnung (vendor format name), enter a name of your choice, e.g. Reisekosten Spesenfuchs.
4. Click Importieren (Import).
5. Select the file …Formatbeschreibung.ini from the ZIP file.

The format description is now permanently registered.

Click-through tutorial: Import the format description

Step 2: Import the transaction data (monthly)

This is the actual import of the travel expenses – you perform this step for every export.

1. In DATEV Lohn und Gehalt, at client level (Mandantenebene), open Bewegungsdaten importieren (import transaction data).
2. In the drop-down, select the format description you registered earlier (e.g. Reisekosten Spesenfuchs).
3. As the import file, select the file matching the pattern LuG…_Spesenfuchs_….txt, for example: LuG20260601-20260630_Spesenfuchs_20260714-46889227.txt

Caution – common mistakes:

• Do not select the file for capital letter M (that comes in step 3).
• Do not select the INI file (that was only for step 1).
• Do not import renamed or edited files – DATEV will not recognize the format.

Click-through tutorial: Import transaction data

Pay particular attention to these points in the tutorial:

• Step 12: use the format description you registered earlier
• Step 14: select the LuG…Spesenfuchs….txt file – not the file for capital letter M

Step 3: Import capital letter M

The third file contains the information for capital letter M for the wage tax certificate (master data).

The import is done via: client level (Mandantenebene) | Stammdaten importieren (import master data) | von diesem PC (from this PC)

Settings in Spesenfuchs

Wage types

In the Lohn und Gehalt section, you configure the wage types used to transfer the travel expenses. If you do not want to transfer a certain type of payout, simply leave the corresponding field empty.

An overview of the DATEV wage types is available here: https://apps.datev.de/help-center/documents/1005132

Payroll month (Lohn und Gehalt accounting month)

The payroll month setting determines which month is written into the export file – i.e. which payroll run the data goes into. Independently of this, the date range you choose during the export determines which trips are included in the export.

The options explained by example (assuming the current month is August):

Note on the trip month option: DATEV Lohn und Gehalt accepts only one month per file. With this option, you therefore have to restrict the date range selection to a single month.

DATEV describes the transfer in detail here: https://apps.datev.de/help-center/documents/5303224

Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting

An error message appears during the import ("ASCII…"). Check that you selected the correct file: for the transaction data it must be the LuG…_Spesenfuchs_….txt file – not the INI file, not the file for capital letter M, and not a renamed or edited file.

Can I obtain an export file again at a later time? Yes. The top area of the download section shows how long the export files remain available there. After that, use the Spesenfuchs function "Re-export already exported items" – the export is recreated with identical content.

The personnel numbers do not match. Adjust the personnel numbers in Spesenfuchs and then create the export again using "Re-export already exported items".

I only received individual files, not the ZIP file. Ask the person who creates the export in Spesenfuchs to always send you the complete ZIP file. Only then do you have all three required files.