DATEV’s price lists distinguish six licence types, and the choice of type changes what a software asset manager counts. Three are user-based: the Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung, the Benutzerlizenz Set and the Benutzerlizenz unbegrenzt. Three are location-based: the Betriebsstättenlizenz, the Netzlizenz and the PC-Lizenz.[1] DATEV has cancelled the three location-based types, together with a “Betriebsstättenlizenz (Fall)” and a “Generallizenz” that the price lists name but do not describe, effective 2027-12-31 (“Zudem kündigt DATEV zum 31.12.2027 die Verträge mit den bisherigen Lizenztypen”, in the wording of the 2025 to 2028 price overview).[3] The 2028 price tables show only the Benutzerlizenz.[3] This article describes each type as the price lists define it, then the conversion.
Editions
The licence type is a property of the order, not of the program edition. A program such as Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen or LODAS comfort is shown in the price list with price rows for each type that applies to it: Netzlizenz, PC-Lizenz (marked as no longer orderable), Betriebsstättenlizenz by tier, Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung and Benutzerlizenz Set by tier.[2] Package offers such as the Basis-Angebot and the Mehrwert-Angebot are sold as Betriebsstättenlizenz or, after conversion, as Benutzerlizenz Set.[2] Cloud applications such as Unternehmen online are sold as Benutzerlizenz unbegrenzt.[1]
Metrics
Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung. “Für jede Person, die mit der DATEV-Cloud-Anwendung oder Software arbeitet, wird eine Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung benötigt” (each person who works with the cloud application or software needs one licence). It can be used regardless of location within one membership or company, and after the order a link leads to DATEV Lizenzverwaltung online, where persons are assigned to the licences.[1]
Benutzerlizenz Set. The set is an individually composed bundle of cloud applications and software, or one of the packages Basis-Angebot and Mehrwert-Angebot. Each person who works with the set needs a licence. The Benutzer-Zähler fixes the maximum number of persons accessing the set at the same time, and the counter applies to every application in the set. Persons can be assigned a licence permanently or dynamically, which allows licences to be shared.[1] DATEV gives the example of two part-time employees sharing one licence and adds that DMS and MyDATEV Kanzlei licences can now be shared with the Set as well.[4]
Benutzerlizenz unbegrenzt. This type allows an unlimited number of persons to access the application. No assignment in Lizenzverwaltung online is needed, and the products are either free or sold at a flat price from the price list.[1]
Betriebsstättenlizenz. It gives access to a software set per location of a membership or company. The PC-Zähler fixes the maximum number of PCs accessing the set at the same time and applies to every program in the set.[1]
Netzlizenz. It allows simultaneous use on several PCs per location, and the number of licences determines the maximum number of simultaneous users, independent of the PC count of the Betriebsstättenlizenz. To connect several locations to one multi-user system, the products must be licensed as Netzlizenz.[1]
PC-Lizenz. Software in this type cannot be ordered since 2024-01-01; existing licences are billed per location.[1]
A location (Standort) is the customer’s head office and its branches that are not legally independent.[1]
Counting / floors
Billing differs by type.[1]
| Type | What is billed | When a change is billed |
|---|---|---|
| Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung | Highest number of licences set in the calendar month for the application, across all locations | Month in which the peak occurs |
| Benutzerlizenz Set | Highest Benutzer-Zähler set in the calendar month for the set, across all locations | Month in which the peak occurs |
| Benutzerlizenz unbegrenzt | Flat price or free | Not applicable |
| Betriebsstättenlizenz | PC-Zähler per location | Following month |
| Netzlizenz | Number of Netzlizenzen per location | Following month; increases available immediately from the licence pool |
Some offers count differently. The price list names Teamservice classic and the Mehrwert-Angebot as cases where PC-Zähler are counted across all locations.[1] The Mehrwert-Angebot price tier is based on the total PC-Zähler of all locations of a membership used by the firm, or on the Benutzer-Zähler after conversion.[2]
The price structure shows why the choice matters. For Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen the firm price list (Stand 10/2025) shows EUR 153.96 per month for the first Netzlizenz or Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung and EUR 25.52 for each further one, while the Benutzerlizenz Set tier price for five users is EUR 205.10.[2] Counting five Netzlizenzen at the first-plus-further prices gives EUR 256.04 (this is arithmetic on the published figures, not a DATEV statement). The tiers are specific to each program, so the comparison has to be repeated per program.
Virtualization & partitioning
The licence-type descriptions contain no processor, core or virtual-machine rule. The location definition applies to the customer’s own sites. For terminal-server environments, a separate footnote states that connecting several locations to a central terminal server (WTS) or farm bills the Kommunikationsserver once per server or farm, independent of the number of connected PCs, users and locations.[1]
Cloud / BYOL
Cloud applications are sold per user type and not per device, and credentials may not be passed on.[5] Where the customer connects a client company to the firm’s systems, the Arbeitsplatz/Benutzer eines Mandanten product governs: it is the right to provide the firm’s program licences to the connected company, licence sharing among several client companies is allowed, and extra licences are charged at the price of a further Netzlizenz or Benutzerlizenz Einzelanwendung.[1]
Programs
Conversion to the Benutzerlizenz (2027-12-31). DATEV states that the former types (Netz-, PC-, Betriebsstätten- and Generallizenz) are cancelled and run out on 2027-12-31, so conversion must be complete by then. The conversion is possible immediately; members and clients are asked to convert in stages. DATEV offers the Lizenz-Umstellungsassistent, which lists affected applications and guides the conversion. As long as number and use of the licences stay the same, DATEV says no extra cost normally arises during the conversion phase until the end of 2027.[4] The price lists extend their tables with the Benutzerlizenz since October 2025.[1]
Clients. Clients must convert as well when they use software installed on site. The firm can perform the conversion, or the client can do it.[4]
Duty to report. Customers tell DATEV the intended scope of use before using a product and must answer requests for information on use. Changes that affect the basis of licensing must be reported without delay.[5] A conversion that changes the number of persons or sets is such a change.
Audits and compliance
Concurrency counters and named persons are the two enforcement concepts. Where a maximum number of simultaneous accesses is agreed, the use right is limited to it. Where use is agreed only for named natural persons, it is limited to those named, and the customer must administer them itself through DATEV’s applications.[5] The price list names the peak count per calendar month as the billing basis, so a temporary rise in assigned persons or counters during a month is billed for that month.[1]
Out of scope
The article does not list prices for each program, describe the Generallizenz (which the retrieved price lists mention only in the termination notice), or cover the help-center procedures of the Lizenz-Umstellungsassistent, which are served by pages that do not render without a browser.