Lexware Office is the cloud accounting, invoicing and payroll product of the Lexware brand. Its terms (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen, AGB) state that “Lexware Office” covers all versions and products of Lexware Company, and that contract handling, in particular delivery and billing, is carried out by Haufe Service Center GmbH in its own name for the account of third parties.[1] The terms are in German. This article summarises them and the price page, quoting the original wording only where it matters for counting.
Versions and prices
The price page offers four versions, S, M, L and XL, described as follows: S for document capture and archive; M for quotes, (e-)invoices and reminders; L for bookkeeping, income-surplus statement (EÜR) and VAT; and XL, which adds EU and progress invoices and API access.[2] The page shows two figures for each, a discounted price for a three-month discount period and the regular price, both per month excluding VAT: S 3.95 and 7.90 euro, M 6.45 and 12.90, L 10.95 and 21.90, XL 16.45 and 32.90.[2] The price includes hosting, backup, updates and support, the apps for Android and iOS, and the customer can change the version at any time in the account settings.[2] The page states that accounts can be cancelled monthly and that there is no minimum term.[2]
| Version | Focus | Regular monthly price (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| S | Document capture and archive | EUR 7.90 |
| M | Quotes, (e-)invoices, reminders | EUR 12.90 |
| L | Bookkeeping, EÜR, VAT | EUR 21.90 |
| XL | EU and progress invoices, API | EUR 32.90 |
The price page is undated, so these are the figures on the page on the retrieval date, not contractual list prices; the order confirmation governs.
Payroll: Lohn & Gehalt
Payroll (Lohn & Gehalt) is an optional module that can be combined with every version. It is priced by employee tier, with steps from up to 2 employees to up to 50 employees.[2] The AGB add that it can be used as an extension of an active Lexware Office account or, after a one-time registration, without Lexware Office.[1] It performs payroll with ITSG-certified software and communicates with social insurance bodies and the tax office through the Lexware Office Meldecenter.[1] Cancelling the module is independent of the rest of the account, but the customer must give a switch or cancellation reason so that deregistration with the social insurance bodies is proper; otherwise the notifications must be filed manually.[1] The Fair Usage Policy caps payroll at 50 payslips per calendar month.[3]
Finanzen and Geschäftskonto
Two further modules sit on top of the account. Lexware Office Finanzen provides payment initiation and account information services under a licence from BaFin, with its own terms (Nutzungsvereinbarung) that take precedence over the AGB for those services.[1] Lexware Geschäftskonto lets the customer open a business account and obtain a Visa Business Debit card from Solaris SE. The account contract (Girovertrag) is between the customer and Solaris, not Lexware, which acts as technical service provider; the module requires an active Lexware Office account, and when the Girovertrag ends the Geschäftskonto can no longer be used.[1]
Counting: one named user per licence
The AGB state that software (calculation programs) may be used by one person per licence, expressly labelled “named user”, and that under a network or multi-licence contract the number of persons equals the licences purchased.[1] Rights are non-transferable, non-exclusive and limited to the contract term. The customer may use the software for its own purposes; use on behalf of third parties and passing results on are not permitted unless the results are for the third party’s exclusive personal use.[1] The AGB and price page reviewed do not state how many users each version includes or how additional users are added; that is set by the order and the account configuration. A licence manager should therefore confirm in the account the number of users with access and compare it to the order.
The AGB also impose controls:
- Business customers only. The services are directed exclusively at businesses, and use including test accounts is a declaration of business status.[1]
- Account security. Access data must be kept secret; the customer is deemed responsible for misuse if two-factor authentication was not activated for all users with access at the time of the activity.[1]
- No account transfer. Lexware may terminate without notice if the user account is transferred or access data are made available to third parties without consent.[1]
- Undocumented interfaces. Using interfaces that are not offered through the Public API or Partner API and are undocumented is forbidden.[1]
Fair Usage Policy
The Lexware Office Fair Usage Policy (13 November 2025) sets maximum values to protect other customers and cloud resources. Per account the thresholds are: 50,000 incoming documents, outgoing invoices and invoice corrections per calendar year; 50,000 bank transactions per year; 59,999 customer contacts; 29,999 supplier contacts; 50,000 files in the contact manager; 50 payslips per calendar month; and 20 outgoing documents per minute.[3] If large data volumes cause error messages, the customer must stop mass processing at once and notify Lexware. Non-compliance is use contrary to the contract, which entitles Lexware to its contractual and statutory claims.[3]
Free test
The price page offers a free 30-day test with all functions of version XL and of Lohn & Gehalt.[2] In the AGB, test data are deleted irrevocably at the latest 13 months after the test phase ends, and the test payroll can cover exactly one period with no reports to authorities, no transfers and no hand-over to bookkeeping.[1]
Terms, price changes and liability
- Cancellation. The customer may terminate at any time to the end of the current billing period, without pro-rata refund; Lexware may terminate on two months’ notice to the end of a billing period. Cancellation is declared in the customer account and becomes effective after confirming a link sent by email.[1]
- Price changes. The AGB reserve the right to adjust prices annually in an appropriate manner, including for existing subscriptions.[1] For SaaS solutions, fee changes are allowed once a year with six weeks’ notice, and an increase of more than 10% gives the customer a special right to cancel on one month’s notice.[1]
- Service level. Operating time is 24 hours a day on seven days, with minimum availability of 99% as a monthly average excluding planned maintenance; the customer may terminate without notice if availability falls under 95% for three consecutive months, or three months within six, and Lexware is responsible.[1] Error response times are 8 hours (class 1), 2 working days (class 2) and 5 working days (class 3).[1]
- Liability. Liability is unlimited for intent, gross negligence, product liability and injury to life, body or health; otherwise it is limited per calendar year to foreseeable damage up to 50% of the fees you paid in that year, including data loss.[1]
- AI functions. The customer may use the AI-supported functions only as intended, not for prohibited practices or high-risk areas under the EU AI Regulation (such as employment, personnel management or biometric identification), may not circumvent content filters, and is responsible for input, output and decisions based on them. The terms state that input and output are not used for training, and the customer indemnifies Lexware on first demand against third-party claims from its use of the AI functions.[1]
- Data. The customer can retrieve exportable data at any time, and archiving to statutory retention periods is currently included in the scope. On termination Lexware deletes data once the customer confirms the takeover, or at the customer’s choice restricts access to read-only for the retention period.[1]
- Law. German law applies and the place of jurisdiction for merchants is Freiburg.[1]
APIs
The Public API is available under a licence that is non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable, for building own applications that connect to a Lexware Office account. It is currently free, Lexware may introduce fees on 90 days’ notice, may limit the number of API calls (rate limiting), and may terminate on 90 days’ notice.[4] The separate Partner API terms, dated May 2019, use 180-day notice periods and guarantee parallel operation of the old API version for 180 calendar days after breaking changes.[5] Both bar sublicensing and use of the API to give anyone access to Lexware Office outside the applicable licence terms.[4]
Prepaid codes
Codes bought in stationary retail, such as the Lexware Office Box, can be used for existing PrePaid Code accounts or new accounts, but not to convert an existing account with monthly payment.[1]
Out of scope
This article does not cover the payment service information duties in detail (liability of account holders under the payment services law), consumer withdrawal rights, or the data protection notice. Locally installed Lexware software is in Lexware desktop licensing; the general Haufe terms are in Haufe general terms and SaaS conditions.