GoBD Archive Zipper

The GoBD - Germany's principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form - require the self-employed and companies to keep tax-relevant receipts complete, ordered, traceable and unalterable. In practice that means: not just a folder full of PDFs, but a traceable structure with descriptions and proof that nothing was bent afterwards. This bundling is exactly where the Zipper helps.

You simply drag your files into the window - invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements - and add the key details for each: category, date, receipt number, amount, supplier or customer and a description. This metadata is what turns a pile of files into a traceable archive. For typical cases there are presets that take the categorisation off your hands.

For every file the Zipper calculates a checksum with SHA-256 or SHA-512, right in your browser. A checksum is a digital fingerprint: if even a single byte changes, the checksum changes completely. Compared with a separately and reliably stored reference value, it can reveal a later change. The checksum alone proves neither when the file was created nor prevents tampering.

The finished package is cleanly built: receipts sit in folders by category and year, plus an index.csv with all metadata (Excel-friendly with a BOM header) and a metadata.json with checksums, retention periods and legal bases. A built-in GoBD checklist honestly shows you which principles the package covers - completeness, order, traceability - and which it cannot satisfy on its own.

The Zipper is deliberately honest: a ZIP you hold yourself can be regenerated at any time and is not, by itself, an audit-proof archive in the GoBD sense. Immutability can arise only from a suitable complete system with access controls, logging, retention, and process documentation, for example an appropriately secured archive store. The Zipper provides checksums for change detection and a traceable structure; you must ensure the remaining technical and organisational controls.

Everything runs entirely locally. None of your files is uploaded, no amount, no receipt, no account balance leaves your device - exactly right for business records. You download the finished archive as a ZIP and file it where it belongs. Use the Zipper as an ordering and bundling aid. A suitable archive store, access controls, logging, process documentation, and your actual workflow must satisfy the remaining requirements.