Guide to the digital provision of payslips via DATEV Arbeitnehmer Online. Features, activation, employee registration (email, Authenticator app, DATEV account).

Introduction

Via DATEV Arbeitnehmer Online, your employees can access their personal payslips themselves – their monthly payslip, social security statement and income tax certificate. Instead of printing out and distributing the documents, we make them available digitally, and each employee accesses them via their own account.

A few points of clarification first, as there are often misunderstandings regarding DATEV Employee Online:

The portal does not replace the payslip itself, but is the digital channel through which the payslip is delivered to the employee.

Your employees do not need the SmartLogin app or a DATEV login credential from your company to use it. They register themselves using their email address. And there is no separate app to install – access is via a web browser.

This article explains which documents are available, how the activation process works, how your employees register, and who is responsible for answering which questions.

What DATEV Employee Online is

DATEV Arbeitnehmer Online is a portal for your employees. Each employee can only view their own documents there.

The portal provides monthly payslips, social security statements and income tax certificates. The documents are permanently stored on the portal, so your employees can retrieve even older payslips at any time.

For your company, this means less work: the documents do not need to be printed, put into envelopes and distributed. As soon as we have prepared the payslips, the documents are ready.

Requirements and activation

In order to use the portal, employees must be activated. We carry out the activation via our payroll software – you do not need to configure anything technically.

Your role is to opt for digital delivery and to inform your employees accordingly. Once we have activated their access, employees can register.

How your employees register

Each employee registers themselves. The process is straightforward and takes just a few minutes.

1. Access the registration page

   The employee opens the website arbeitnehmeronline.de in their browser.

2. Register with an email address and password

   The employee registers using their email address and a personal password.

3. Set up two-factor authentication

   For security purposes, the employee sets up an authenticator app as a second factor.

4. Accessing payslips

   Once logged in, the employee can view the documents made available to them and access them.

Access requires a DATEV account, which the employee creates as part of the registration process. Since 2 March 2026, the DATEV account has been the basis for logging in to DATEV Employee Online.

Notes on logging in

There are two points regarding login that often cause confusion and which you can pass on to your employees.

Firstly, access is via a web browser. There is no dedicated app that your employees need to install; they log in via the website.

Secondly, access is personal. Each employee registers with their own email address and can only view their own documents.

Who answers which questions

When using the system, two types of queries may arise, each with a different point of contact.

Questions regarding the content of payslips – such as an amount, a deduction or a certificate – should be directed by the employee to you as the employer. You should forward such questions to us if necessary, as we have prepared the payslips.

Questions regarding registration and logging in relate to technical access. The instructions on the registration page will help with this; we are here to support you with any fundamental issues.

Common sources of error

• SmartLogin for logging in: Your employees cannot log in using SmartLogin. Access is via email, password and the Authenticator app.
• Searching for an app: There is no dedicated app. If you search in the App Store, you won’t find it – it runs in your browser.
• Confusing portals: Employees sometimes look for their payslips in an employer portal. Personal documents are located in DATEV Employee Online.
• Asking the wrong department: Questions about payslips should be directed to the employer, not the technical support team. This way, you’ll get a quicker response.
• Employees not informed: If the switch to digital provision isn’t announced, employees will search in vain for their paper payslips.

Your and our responsibilities

Your responsibilities:

• Opt for digital delivery
• Inform your staff about the portal and the launch
• Answer any questions about the content of payslips and pass them on to us if necessary

Our responsibilities:

• Activate employees in our payroll software
• Provide the payslips after each payroll run
• Provide support with general queries regarding access

We will agree together from when and for which employees the documents will be made available digitally.

Frequently asked questions

Legal notice

This article provides an overview and is not a substitute for individual advice. The scope of functions, registration and login procedures for DATEV are subject to change; the current status at any given time is decisive.

If you have any questions regarding the provision of payroll documents or the activation of your employees’ accounts, please contact us directly.

As at: June 2026