What not knowing costs in transport
You can get payroll anywhere. Hardly anyone who does not work with them every day knows the traps of the transport sector. Four points where businesses lose money in an audit or leave money on the table every month.
Per diems and meal allowances are only free of tax and contributions if the absence times are documented. Without records, the business pays the per diems a second time after the audit, this time with wage tax and social security contributions for the entire audit period.
Before the first payroll month you learn which records need to be kept in your business. If something obvious stands out during payroll, we tell you.
Night, Sunday and public holiday supplements under § 3b EStG are only tax-free if they are separated from the basic wage and tied to hours actually worked. Supplements paid as a flat rate fail the audit. This is the most common audit finding in transport.
Hours are recorded separately for night, Sunday and public holiday work and settled exactly that way. You know in advance how supplement hours need to be reported so the tax exemption holds.
If a new driver sets off before the immediate registration (Sofortmeldung, § 28a para. 4 SGB IV) has been filed, every check by customs (FKS) means a fine. Filing late is possible, but it does not protect you from a check in between. Without an A1 certificate, the same applies to every roadside check abroad.
A phone call with name, date of birth and start date is enough, and the immediate registration goes out the same day. We apply for the A1 certificate before the driver sees the border.
Many businesses do not pay meal allowances up to the statutory flat rate, do not know the overnight allowance for professional drivers, or settle night work as ordinary wages. The driver takes home less, and the business still pays the full taxes and contributions.
We point these options out to you when we see them in your data. The tax assessment stays with your tax adviser. Whether and how you use them is something you clarify with them.
Payroll bureau or transport payroll specialist?
Both run your payroll. The difference shows when something does not add up.
| Situation | Ordinary payroll bureau | K.G. Transport Consulting |
|---|---|---|
| You report per diems | Taken over as they come in. | You know in advance which records need to sit behind them. If something obvious stands out, we tell you. |
| You report supplement hours | Settled as a flat rate or lost in the basic wage. | Night, Sunday and public holiday hours are recorded separately and settled under § 3b EStG so the tax exemption holds. |
| A new driver starts tomorrow morning | Registration in the next payroll run. | Immediate registration today, a phone call is enough. |
| A driver goes to Austria | Not a payroll matter. | The A1 certificate is applied for on request, before he sets off. |
| The pension insurance announces an audit | Searching for records. | A compiled set from the online archive. Your tax adviser receives everything they need for the representation. |
| You have a question | Ticket, hold music, changing staff. | Dedicated contact, reply within 24 hours on working days. |
| Industry knowledge | All industries, none in detail. | Transport and logistics only, for over 40 years. |
We run the payroll, point things out and deliver the records. The tax assessment stays with your tax adviser, as does representation before the authorities.
What the monthly price includes
No items that show up later as extras on the invoice. Statutory filings are complete, certificates are included, and so is the year-end work.
- Wage and salary processing, including hourly wages and variable components
- Maintenance of payroll accounts
- Night, Sunday and public holiday supplements under § 3b EStG
- Processing of the per diems and meal allowances you report
- Payslip for every employee in the employee portal
- Wage tax return to the tax office
- Contribution statements to all health insurance funds
- All DEÜV notifications (social security data transfer)
- Immediate registration under § 28a para. 4 SGB IV
- Annual notifications and annual accident insurance report to the employers' liability insurance association
- Earnings and employment certificates
- Sick pay, maternity pay, parental allowance, housing benefit, child benefit, secondary income
- Employer certificate for the German pension insurance
- U1 and U2 reimbursement applications (sick pay and maternity cost reimbursement)
- Electronic wage tax certificates and annual payroll accounts
- Dedicated contact, 24-hour response time on working days
- Employee portal: every driver downloads their own payslip
- Online archive for the entire contract term
- Correspondence with health insurance funds and the employers' liability insurance association
- Accounting file for your tax adviser, SEPA file for your bank transfers
How a payroll month runs
Almost all payroll problems arise not in the calculation but in the delivery of data. That is why it is set out here in black and white who delivers what by when. Payroll runs with a one-month offset: the hours of the previous month are settled in the current month.
When the audit comes
The pension insurance, customs or the tax office announce an audit, and the first question is always: where are the records? With us they are in the online archive, complete and for the entire contract term. We provide payroll accounts, payroll journals, contribution statements, notifications and certificates as a compiled set.
Our payrolls have been through many such audits in over 40 years. We know what auditors look at in transport: separated supplements, documented per diems, timely immediate registrations, an A1 certificate for every cross-border trip. That is exactly why we run payroll from day one so that these points hold up.
Representation before the authority during the audit is handled by your tax adviser. The tax assessment stays with your tax adviser, and they receive everything they need for it from us.
- Supplements shown separately from the basic wage
- Per diems with documented absence times
- Immediate registration before the first trip
- A1 certificate for every cross-border trip
- Payroll accounts and notifications complete and retrievable
Prices
A price that moves with your business. All amounts net plus statutory VAT, valid from 1 October 2026.
More than 50 employees? You receive an individual quote.
All filings, certificates and year-end work included. One-off costs and additional services are listed in the tables next to it.
Request a quoteAll amounts net plus VAT, valid from 1 October 2026. Monthly price EUR 249 for up to 10 employees, each additional employee EUR 24.90. The headcount on the payroll cut-off date is decisive.
| One-off at contract start | Price |
|---|---|
| Company onboarding: client setup, company numbers, health insurance funds, takeover from the previous payroll provider | EUR 99.00 |
| Onboarding per employee: initial setup of the payroll account, entry of master data | EUR 19.00 |
Example for a company with 12 employees: one-off EUR 99 + 12 × EUR 19 = EUR 327, then EUR 298.80 per month.
| Additional services as required | Price |
|---|---|
| Registration of an employee | EUR 45.00 |
| Deregistration of an employee including all certificates | EUR 45.00 |
| Recalculation or correction due to late or incorrect data | EUR 45.00 |
| A1 certificate for cross-border assignments | EUR 39.00 |
| Special evaluations and special cases, charged by time | EUR 129.00 / hour |
| Archive access after the end of the contract | EUR 29.00 / month |
Ten questions that get expensive in an audit
Go through the list honestly. If there are three or more questions you cannot answer with a confident yes, a conversation is worth it. We run the Payroll Check with you free of charge in the initial call, as a diagnosis, not a sales pitch.
What we deliberately do not do
We tell you in advance where our service ends. That protects you from misunderstandings and us from promises we are not allowed to make.
Frequently asked questions about payroll
The questions transport entrepreneurs ask us most often in the initial call.
Can I switch in the middle of the year?
Yes. We take over the payroll accounts and year-to-date figures from your previous payroll provider, whether that is a tax adviser, a payroll bureau or your own software. Switching on the first of a month is the cleanest way; you do not need to wait for the turn of the year. Keep an eye on the notice period with your current provider.
Do I still need a tax adviser?
Yes, for bookkeeping, the annual accounts, tax advice and representation before the tax office. We provide ongoing payroll processing under § 6 Nr. 4 StBerG (German Tax Advisory Act). Your tax adviser receives a ready-to-post accounting file from us every month, which means less work on both sides.
How do I submit the monthly data?
Via the client portal, encrypted. You enter hours, supplement hours, absences and per diems per employee in the reporting sheet. WhatsApp and other messengers are ruled out as a reporting channel because payroll data is particularly sensitive. If it is urgent, you can report new employees by phone.
What happens if my data arrives late?
If the variable data arrives after the 3rd working day, we run the payroll with the last known values so that the statutory filing deadlines are met. Late submissions are processed as a recalculation in the following month for EUR 45 net per case. The amount covers the actual additional work; it is not a contractual penalty.
Do you check my per diems and supplement hours for accuracy?
Checking every single value is not included in the monthly price, and we say so openly. You determine absence times, meal allowances and supplement hours in your business; we transfer the reported values into the payroll. You do know before the first month which records need to be kept on your side, and if something obvious stands out during payroll, we tell you.
If you wish, we build you a tool for this: your drivers record absence times and supplement hours on their phone, the tool calculates allowances and supplements according to the applicable rules and delivers the finished reporting sheet for payroll. This is an additional service at extra cost; we quote the price after the initial call.
What about mini-jobbers, apprentices and employees from third countries?
All of them are processed as normal and count as employees. For employees from third countries, you as the employer check the work permit; we record the residence permit and its validity in the personnel master data sheet. If you hire drivers through our driver placement, both services dovetail seamlessly.
How quickly can we start?
After signing the contract you receive two forms: one for the company data and one per employee. As soon as these are in, we set up the client account and run a test against the last payroll from your previous provider. Only when the figures match do we go live.
Who is liable if something goes wrong?
For errors in our payroll we are liable within the scope of our professional indemnity insurance. For the consequences of late, incomplete or incorrect data, you as the employer are liable. That is exactly why we set out the cooperation duties and deadlines in a separate annex to the contract, so both sides know where they stand.
How long am I tied in?
The term is 12 months and renews for a further 12 months at a time unless notice is given three months before the end of the term. After the contract ends, you receive your payroll accounts and payroll records in a common electronic format. On request we hand the data directly to the successor provider.
Which businesses is the service intended for?
Exclusively transport and logistics companies: freight forwarding, regional transport, general cargo, parcel delivery, courier services. We deliberately do not run payroll for other industries. A specialist who does everything is not a specialist.
Do you also process benefits in kind such as the givve Card?
Yes. The €50 benefit in kind, the meal allowance and gifts for personal occasions are kept in the payroll account and shown on the payslip, the way auditors want to see it. If you introduce the givve Card via our partner link, the payroll side of the benefit runs with us as well.
