Haufe is a German publisher of professional information and software. For the purposes of licensing, the entity that sells and bills the products is Haufe Service Center GmbH in Freiburg, which concludes contracts in its own name for the account of third parties (a commission arrangement).[1] The Lexware brand covers accounting, payroll and invoicing software for small businesses, including the cloud product Lexware Office (lexoffice) and a range of locally installed desktop products.[2][3] Haufe also sells SaaS solutions, software, online seminars and eBooks under its own general terms,[1] and the cloud ERP system Haufe X360.[4] This article describes the licence model across these families. The source documents are in German; quotations below are translated in the text and the original wording is preserved in the catalog evidence.
Document set
Haufe-group licensing is spread over several general terms (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen, AGB), each tied to a product family:
| Document | Covers | Dated |
|---|---|---|
| Haufe Service Center GmbH AGB | SaaS solutions, software, online seminars and eBooks sold under the Haufe name | Stand September 2026[1] |
| Lexware Desktop AGB | Lexware desktop software, online products, eBooks, training, Fahrtenbuch | Stand April 2026[3] |
| Lexware Office AGB | Lexware Office versions, payroll module, payment services, business account | Stand 11 August 2026[2] |
| Lexware Office Fair Usage Policy | Usage thresholds for Lexware Office | Stand 13 November 2025[5] |
| Public API and Partner API terms | Interfaces to Lexware Office | August 2026 and May 2019[6][7] |
The Lexware Desktop AGB expressly refer customers to the separate Lexware Office terms for all versions of Lexware Office (lexoffice).[3] Haufe X360 is sold under a usage contract (Nutzungsvertrag) whose monthly cost is set in the contract; its public price page describes the model, and the terms of the Haufe AGB for SaaS solutions apply to Haufe SaaS products in general.[4][1]
Common licence principles
Several principles recur across the documents.
One person per licence. The Haufe AGB provide that software may be installed once per licence and used by one person, and that a network version or multi-licence entitles use by as many persons as licences purchased. The same one-person-per-licence rule is applied to SaaS solutions.[1] Lexware Office labels this a named user.[2] The Lizenz metric is therefore a count of persons, not of installations or devices.
Time-limited, non-transferable rights. Usage rights are non-exclusive and non-transferable and granted only for the agreed term of the usage contract.[1][3] Rights are granted under the condition precedent of full payment.[1]
Own purposes only. The customer may use software for its own purposes. Using it on behalf of third parties, whether free or paid, and passing results on to them is not permitted unless the results are handed over for the third party’s exclusive personal use. The Lexware desktop terms except the licence for commercial use of TAXMAN.[1][3] This clause is important for accountants and payroll service bureaus, who would otherwise process clients’ data on their own licence.
No credential sharing. Access IDs and passwords must not be passed to third parties; transferring the user account or giving third parties access data without consent is a ground for extraordinary termination.[1][2]
Indirect use. The Haufe AGB for SaaS solutions prohibit copying the content completely and making it available so that third parties can access it without being licensed users, a clause they label “indirekte Nutzung” (indirect use).[1]
Terms and renewal
Haufe subscriptions run for a minimum of 12 months and renew automatically by 12 months unless cancelled in time; cancellation can be declared until the last day of the term and must be in text form (letter, email or a cancellation button), and in most cases can be made in the customer account (Mein Konto).[1] The same structure appears in the desktop terms.[3] Lexware Office departs from it: the customer may cancel at any time to the end of the current billing period, and the price page states there is no minimum term.[2][8]
Haufe may adjust prices once per calendar year; increases must be announced at least six weeks before they take effect, and an increase above 10% gives the customer a right to cancel.[1] Lexware Office has a parallel rule for increases above 10%.[2] The Lexware desktop terms allow a price change once per calendar year, announced at least 30 days ahead, with a right for the customer to cancel without notice period.[3]
Metering by product family
| Family | Metric | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lexware Office | Version S, M, L or XL per account; optional payroll tier by number of employees | Fair Usage Policy thresholds[8][5] |
| Lexware desktop | Licence (one person) or multi-licence by number of persons | Subscription with update cycle[3] |
| Haufe online products | Licence per person, or the limit named in the order | Use outside a declared limit allows termination[1] |
| Haufe X360 | Base licence per user plus per-user function modules plus interfaces | Minimum EUR 449 per month[4] |
Compliance mechanics
None of the documents grants a contractual audit right comparable to those of large enterprise vendors. Compliance is handled through account controls and termination rights: Haufe may block access after two consecutive months of payment default, may terminate without notice if the SaaS solution is used outside a limit declared in the order offer, and may restrict access to a database that is used in a way that unreasonably impairs its legitimate interests.[1] Lexware Office applies a published Fair Usage Policy, and non-compliance is use contrary to the contract.[5] Because most usage is through named accounts, a customer’s licence position is chiefly the number of persons with access and any limit in the order.
Data and exit
For SaaS products the Haufe AGB give the customer a right to switch provider, move exportable data to its own infrastructure or have it deleted, on two months’ notice with a 30-day transition, and state that an early-termination charge applies only to contracts concluded before 12 January 2027.[1] See Haufe general terms and SaaS conditions.
Related articles
- Lexware Office licensing
- Lexware desktop licensing
- Haufe general terms and SaaS conditions
- Haufe X360 licensing
Out of scope
This overview does not cover the printed and digital publishing contracts, advertising terms, the lead-generation terms of the media business, data protection notices, or consumer withdrawal rights beyond noting they exist. It does not cover Haufe Suite or the Haufe Office product line (Personal Office, Steuer Office and others), whose shop pages could not be retrieved because the Haufe shop answers automated requests with a bot challenge; those products are expected to fall under the general Haufe AGB but this has not been verified product by product.