Since 2025, invoices must be kept for eight years in Germany, working-time records in construction for two, and defect claims can run for up to five. Which period applies to which document, when it starts, and why notepads and loose photos rarely survive them.
The folder with the measurements from 2021, the box of timesheets, the photos on the old company phone: at some point every business asks what can go. The answer depends on the function of the document. The same sheet of paper can be an accounting record, a working-time record and evidence at once, and each of those roles carries a different period.
Tax law: eight years for records
§ 147 (1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) lists what must be retained, including under no. 4 "accounting records" and under no. 5 "other documents insofar as they are relevant for taxation". The periods are in § 147 (3) sentence 1 AO: the documents under no. 1 and 4a for ten years, those under no. 4 for eight years, and the other documents listed for six years (unofficial translation). The eight years for accounting records are new; until the end of 2024 it was ten. For merchants, § 257 (4) of the German Commercial Code (HGB) says the same: accounting records eight years, books of account ten.
When the period starts is governed by § 147 (4) AO: at the end of the calendar year in which the accounting record was created (unofficial translation). An invoice from March 2026 must therefore be kept until the end of 2034.
The measurement itself is not an accounting record. But it is the quantity calculation from which the invoice arises, and thus a document that can be "relevant for taxation". To be safe, keep measurements and job reports as long as the invoice they belong to.
Digital retention is expressly permitted
§ 147 (2) AO allows retention as a reproduction on an image carrier or other data carriers, provided this complies with the principles of proper accounting and it is ensured that the data are available at all times during the retention period, can be made legible without undue delay and can be evaluated by machine (unofficial translation). A PDF in the project folder meets that. A photo in the gallery of a smartphone that will be replaced in two years does not.
The period is not the problem. The problem is still finding the document after six years and being able to assign it to the project.
Employment law: two years for working-time records
The job report is also a working-time record. For construction, § 17 (1) sentence 1 of the German Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG) requires the records of daily working time to be kept for at least two years from the relevant recording date (unofficial translation). What exactly has to be recorded and by when is covered in the article on working-time recording in construction.
Civil law: as long as defect claims are possible
The third period is not in any retention statute but follows from warranty law. Under § 634a (1) no. 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB), defect claims for a building become time-barred after five years, beginning under § 634a (2) BGB with acceptance; in VOB/B contracts the period is four years for buildings under § 13 (4) no. 1 VOB/B (2016 edition). For that long the business can still be held liable, and for that long it should be able to prove what it found, agreed and delivered. Site reports, notices of concern, acceptance records and photos therefore belong in the project at least until the end of that period.
The overview
Invoices and accounting records: eight years under § 147 (3) AO, from the end of the year they were created. Measurements and job reports as the basis of the invoice: sensibly just as long. Working-time records in construction: at least two years under § 17 (1) MiLoG. Site reports, photos, acceptance records: until defect claims are time-barred, i.e. five years under § 634a BGB or four years under § 13 VOB/B, each from acceptance.
All these periods presuppose that the document is assigned to the project and remains legible. That is exactly where notepads and loose photos fail. Whoever speaks the measurement, job report and site report on site and files them as a structured entry in the project within their software has the document where it will be looked for in eight years. Scrypa Trades transfers it exactly there; data can be exported and deleted once retention has expired.
This article gives a general account of the legal position under the German Fiscal Code, Commercial Code, Minimum Wage Act, Civil Code and VOB/B (2016 edition) and is not tax or legal advice for individual cases.
The figures in this article are illustrative and based on industry studies of voice-based documentation. They do not replace an assessment for your own organisation.