Your German company's first financial statements: opening balance sheet to first filing

The opening balance sheet (Eröffnungsbilanz)

A merchant must draw up an opening balance sheet at the start of business (§ 242 Abs. 1 HGB). For a GmbH or UG this Eröffnungsbilanz is prepared as of the company's formation and typically mirrors the founding balance sheet: the share capital (Stammkapital — at least EUR 25,000 for a GmbH, from EUR 1 for a UG) on the equity side, and the corresponding cash or contributed assets on the other.

The opening balance sheet is the starting point of the company's accounting. Every subsequent balance sheet carries forward from it, so getting the founding figures right — cash contributions, contributions in kind, formation costs — sets up the whole first year.

The short stub year (Rumpfgeschäftsjahr)

A fiscal year may not exceed twelve months. If a company is founded mid-year and chooses a calendar fiscal year, its first year runs only from formation to 31 December — a short year, or Rumpfgeschäftsjahr. This is entirely normal and permitted; the first set of statements simply covers fewer than twelve months.

The alternative is to align the first year differently in the articles, but most new companies take the stub year to land on the calendar year going forward. Either way, the balance sheet date at the end of that first period is what all the deadlines run from.

Size class in the first year

The first filing

• The preparation and filing deadlines run from the first balance sheet date, exactly as in later years.
• File within twelve months of that date (§ 325 HGB) — a stub year does not extend the clock.
• For a GmbH the shareholders adopt the first statements just as they will every year (§ 42a GmbHG).
• A first-year micro company can deposit a shortened balance sheet rather than publish.
• The company also files its first E-Bilanz with the tax office for the (stub or full) first year.

How the software handles a first year

jahresabschluss.io recognises a first fiscal year, so it does not ask for prior-year figures that do not exist and does not treat the missing comparatives as an error. You enter or upload the opening position, and the AI builds the first Bilanz and GuV on the correct HGB structure for a new company. You can walk the entire first-year flow on the live demo before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Does a new GmbH need an opening balance sheet?

Yes. § 242 Abs. 1 HGB requires an opening balance sheet (Eröffnungsbilanz) at the start of business. For a GmbH it is prepared at formation and usually mirrors the founding balance sheet, with the share capital on the equity side.

What is a Rumpfgeschäftsjahr?

It is a short stub fiscal year. A fiscal year cannot exceed twelve months, so a company founded mid-year that uses the calendar year has a first year running only from formation to 31 December. It is normal and permitted.

How is size class determined in the first year?

Normally the test uses two consecutive balance sheet dates, but a new company has only one. So the first-year classification is based on whether the § 267 / § 267a thresholds are met on that single first balance sheet date.

When must a new company file its first accounts?

Within twelve months of the first balance sheet date (§ 325 HGB), the same rule as every year after. A short stub first year does not extend the deadline.

Do first statements have prior-year figures?

No. There is no prior year, so the first statements have no comparative column. Our software flags a first fiscal year so it does not expect comparatives that cannot exist.