canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/datev-business.de/datev-business

# Datev Business De Karo Device File Interaction API

The Karo Device File Interaction API lets DATEV partners import cash-register transaction files and read technical security equipment (TSE) logs for a given tenant. You list the tenants your application can reach, upload a register file for one of them, and pull back the TSE logs recorded against a specific cash register by its serial number. It targets the German fiscal-compliance workflow around electronic cash registers, where register data has to be captured and preserved for the tax authority.

## For AI agents

Import cash-register transaction files into DATEV and retrieve technical security equipment (TSE) logs for a tenant. Lists accessible tenants and reads logs by cash-register serial number.

## Scope

Does not handle DATEV accounting postings, payroll, or tax filing. Use for importing cash-register files and retrieving TSE logs per tenant only.

## Capabilities

- List the DATEV tenants your authenticated application can access
- Import a cash-register transaction file under a chosen tenant
- Retrieve the technical security equipment (TSE) logs recorded for a tenant
- Select TSE logs by a cash register's serial number

## Use cases

### Agent-Driven Cash-Register Imports

An AI agent moves point-of-sale data into DATEV for a bookkeeping client by first listing the tenants the application can reach, then uploading the day's cash-register file to the right one. The agent confirms the tenant before importing, so register data lands under the correct client without manual file handling.

Example prompt: List the available tenants, then import the day's cash-register file for the selected tenant id

### TSE Log Retrieval for Audits

Pull the technical security equipment logs for a cash register when preparing for a German fiscal audit. Given a tenant and a register serial number, the API returns the TSE logs so a compliance tool can archive them and show that register transactions were recorded as the tax authority requires.

Example prompt: Retrieve the TSE logs for a given tenant and cash-register serial number for the latest fiscal period

### Multi-Tenant Register Onboarding

Route imports across many bookkeeping clients by listing every tenant the application is authorised for and tracking which ones have register data in place. This gives an onboarding tool a per-tenant view before it starts importing files.

Example prompt: List all tenants the application can access and report which ones still have no cash-register file imported

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/tenants` | List accessible tenants |
| POST | `/tenants/{tenant-id}/files/import` | Import a cash-register file for a tenant |
| GET | `/tenants/{tenant-id}/tselogs/{serial-number}` | Read TSE logs for a register by serial number |

## Key resources

- **Tenants** — The DATEV tenants the authenticated application can access
- **Cash-Register Files** — Transaction files imported under a tenant
- **TSE Logs** — Technical security equipment logs read by tenant and cash-register serial number

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 66 / 100
- **Maturity:** AI-Aware
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 100 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 69 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 54 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 90 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 33 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/datev-business.de/datev-business/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** By hand you register an application with DATEV, implement the OAuth 2.0 device or hybrid flow, request the cash-register import scope, and manage token refresh before a single file moves. Through Jentic you connect once from the API Directory and your agent calls the three operations.
- **Permission scoping:** There are only three operations, so you decide exactly which your agent may call, such as listing tenants and importing files but not reading logs. The tenant id and the cash-register serial number travel in the URL path, so a rule can bind the agent to a single tenant's operations.
- **Credential handling:** Your OAuth 2.0 token is stored encrypted on your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, never placed in the agent's prompt, logs, or context. You rotate or revoke it in one place without touching agent code.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'import a cash-register file' or 'get TSE logs', and Jentic returns the matching DATEV Karo operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Xero Accounting API** — Push imported register totals into Xero's ledgers after DATEV captures the raw files.
- **Sage** — A broader accounting platform for bookkeeping outside the German cash-register fiscal flow.
- **Square Connect API** — Source point-of-sale transactions from Square before importing them into DATEV.
- **Stripe** — Reconcile card payment data against the register files imported into DATEV.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the DATEV Karo API use?

It uses OAuth 2.0: the spec declares two oauth2 schemes, a device flow and a hybrid flow, both carrying the business:karo:cashregisterimport scope. Your application obtains a token through one of those flows and sends it on every request. Through Jentic, your own Jentic One instance holds that token encrypted and attaches it at call time.

### Can I import cash-register files for more than one tenant?

Yes. You first list the tenants your application can access, then call the import endpoint under a specific tenant id, so one integration can serve many bookkeeping clients. The TSE log endpoint is likewise scoped to a tenant and a cash-register serial number.

### What are the rate limits for the DATEV Karo API?

The OpenAPI spec does not state rate limits. Check the official DATEV developer documentation at https://developer.datev.de/ for current limits and quotas before running bulk imports.

### How do I connect the DATEV Karo API through Jentic?

Add the DATEV Karo Cash-Register API from the Jentic API Directory and complete the OAuth 2.0 connection once. Your agent then searches by intent such as 'import a cash-register file' and calls the matching operation. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.

### Can I control which DATEV operations my agent is allowed to call?

Yes. There are only three operations, so you grant your agent exactly the ones it needs, for example listing tenants and importing files while withholding log retrieval. The tenant id and serial number sit in the URL path, so a rule can bind the agent to a specific tenant's operations, and every call is logged.

### Is there a DATEV Karo API MCP server?

You don't need an MCP server to use the DATEV Karo API with your agent. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import it, complete the OAuth step once, and your agent can list tenants and import files without another server loading tool definitions into its context.