Christopher Plantener returns with new TaxTech
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New game, new luck: Steuerberatung as a Service
After selling Kontist to Ageras in 2022, Christopher Plantener took some time to think about what to do next. After spending some time on the Neuplaner project (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), he is now launching another new company: b'steuern (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) – together with Stephen Ogden (formerly Managing Director of bonify and COO of Kontist) and tax consultant Florian Gößmann-Schmitt.
b'steuern describes itself as a Steuerberatung as a Service (= tax consultancy as a service) – a play on the abbreviation "SaaS" (= software as a service).
Subject to approval by the Steuerberaterkammer Berlin, this will lead to b'steuern providing a full tax consultancy service, complemented by Lexware Office on the software side.
The target customers are small and medium-sized businesses who can expect clear communication, simple document management, an invoicing tool, stress-free tax returns and ongoing profit and loss statements and other proofs when they need them. There's a waiting list for those eager businesses that can't wait.
Business Model
Of course, this doesn't come for free. b'steuern is available in three price levels: Selbststarter, Sorglos and Vollservice.
Selbststarter includes a plausibility check of the accounts at the end of the year, plus all the necessary tax returns and costs 129 € per month (1.548 € per year).
Sorglos helps businesses during the year. All that is required is that the bookkeeping be done on an ongoing basis, and b'steuern will take care of the rest: ongoing VAT declarations and all the necessary annual tax returns. This all adds up to 179 € per month (2.148 € per year).
Vollservice is the most expensive option and provides companies with everything mentioned above except the initial bookkeeping, which is presumably done by the business itself in Lexware Office. This costs 249 € per month (2.988 € per year).
Embedded Tax and Future Plans
In addition, b'steuern also seems to be toying with the idea of offering a white label solution, which is essentially what we would call: Embedded Tax. Offering companies such as banks, insurance companies and other platforms or services the opportunity to integrate tax advice services into their own products. This provides interested parties with flexible API integration, real-time tax compliance, customised solutions and regulatory advice.
Additional LinkedIn comments on the news support the idea of involving Johannes Pfeiffer's Klardaten (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on the technical side, and also a future where b'steuern could also work on it's own software solution instead of just focusing on the tax advisory part.
A Self-organised Tax Consultancy
And if that's not enough, b'steuern also wants to rethink the way it organises itself, with the idea of a self-organised tax consultancy based on the following values: Trust, personal responsibility and collaboration.
If this sounds interesting to you, b'steuern is also hiring:
One More Thing
Just as Kontist was a beautiful product, b'steuern already has its own design language that we can't leave unmentioned. With its retro-futuristic design and bold colours, which add a new inspiration to the overused green and purple shades, b'steuern not only gives companies and TaxTech enthusiasts a new ray of hope, but also makes people with an eye for aesthetics equally happy.
Thank you,
Dennis from TaxTech News
PS: sevdesk has been sold to French Cegid (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) for a reported triple-digit million euro figure, having raised over 60 million euro since its launch in 2013.
