# Candis — Expense Management

Candis by Candis GmbH holds a panel rating of 3/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-10-29. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Candis GmbH (https://www.candis.io)
- Category: [Expense Management](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-04 · evaluated 2026-10-29 · oldest source captured 2026-10-28

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Candis GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Default not stated; pages mention Germany [S7]
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Candis, an expense platform from Candis GmbH of Berlin, scores strongest on accounting export, 8 to 9: a licensed DATEV interface delivering finished booking batches to DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen with receipt images linked in DATEV Unternehmen online, native connections to SAP Business One, Microsoft Business Central, Sage 100 and NetSuite, an open API, and a GoBD-certified archive guaranteed for ten years. Approval and policy and reimbursement and VAT follow at 7 to 8, the latter resting on per diems from German Federal Ministry of Finance flat rates, statutory mileage and payout by SEPA XML; receipt capture and cards and spend control sit at 6 to 7. The weakest columns are pricing transparency, from 2 to 4, and sovereignty, from 4 to 5: no tier price is published — the price overview comes as a PDF on request and the booking-data service requires at least the Plus plan — while the published subprocessor list covers the website chain, and the judges found no public information on where product data are hosted, the card issuer or a security certification. The widest spread is pricing transparency, where judges weigh the published billing model against the missing prices.

**Speaks for it:**
- Licensed DATEV interface partner whose booking-data service delivers finished booking batches while receipt images are linked in DATEV Unternehmen online.
- Native connections to SAP Business One, Microsoft Business Central, Sage 100 and NetSuite, an open API, and CSV and XML file exports that always remain available.
- Per diems calculated from German Federal Ministry of Finance flat rates and mileage at the statutory per-kilometre rate, with reimbursement via SEPA XML.
- GoBD-certified archive guaranteed for ten years, with a tamper-proof process log that travels with the export.
- Unlimited users and entities without surcharge, with documents beyond the package volume billed at 1,50 EUR per document.

**Held against it:**
- No tier or base price is published — an individual price overview comes as a PDF on request, so annual cost is not computable from public pages.
- The booking-data service and the tax-code field require at least the Plus plan, whose price the captured pages do not show.
- No public information on where receipt, card and employee data are hosted, on the card issuer and processor, or on the providers of text recognition and bank synchronisation.
- No ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification is stated, and the published subprocessor list covers the website chain, hosted by Vercel Inc. of the USA with delivery from Frankfurt.
- The captured pages give different statements on card costs, listing credit cards as an add-on feature while describing unlimited cards without extra cost.

**Best for:**
- You run DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen and want finished booking batches with linked receipt images delivered automatically.
- Your German-based team needs statutory per diems and mileage handled in the same process as invoices and receipts.
- You manage several legal entities and want unlimited users and entities in one account without a per-seat charge.
- You want multi-level approval with amount conditions, mandatory cost-centre fields and an immutable process log.

**Avoid if:**
- You must compute the full annual cost from public pages before committing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- You need the booking-data service on a plan below Plus.
- Your compliance review must verify product-data hosting and the card issuer from public documentation before signature.
- You need the card price settled before rollout — cards are an add-on feature and the captured pages give different statements on card costs.

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Travelling Employee | The Office Manager | The Controller | The Finance Lead | The Tax Adviser | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Receipt capture & expense claims | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Company cards & spend control | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Approval workflows & expense policy | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Reimbursement, travel allowances & VAT | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Accounting handoff & DATEV | 4/5 | 4.5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| European sovereignty | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 1/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3.5/5** | **3.5/5** | **3.5/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** |

### The judges

- **The Travelling Employee** (v1.0): A sales engineer on the road three days a week, with hotel bills in three currencies and a glovebox full of parking tickets. Wants to photograph a receipt and be done, mileage and per diems worked out without a spreadsheet, a company card so private money is never spent, and the money back on the account within days rather than at the end of the quarter.
- **The Office Manager** (v1.0): Runs the office of a thirty-person agency and is the one who chases missing receipts every month. Wants a card for each project lead with a limit she sets, software subscriptions on their own virtual cards, receipts that arrive without reminders, an export the tax adviser accepts, and a monthly price she can work out before the trial ends.
- **The Controller** (v1.0): Owns the travel and expense policy of a manufacturer with four legal entities and twelve hundred staff. Wants approval chains by cost centre and amount, limits checked before a claim is submitted rather than after it is paid, duplicates and private spending caught, budgets that cards draw from, and an audit trail that shows who approved and changed what.
- **The Finance Lead** (v1.0): Closes the month for a hundred-and-fifty-person Mittelstand company and books card spend from three banks. Wants card statements that reconcile by themselves, booking proposals with account, tax key and cost centre, receipts that reach DATEV with the booking, reimbursements paid in one SEPA run, and nothing that has to be retyped.
- **The Tax Adviser** (v1.0): A Steuerberaterin whose clients send their expenses from five different tools. Wants per diems and mileage at the statutory rates, the input VAT read from a receipt that actually qualifies for the deduction, substitute receipts only where the law allows them, scanned originals archived GoBD-compliant, and bookings that arrive in DATEV with the receipt image attached.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "no more expense reports" turn into a card programme with a currency fee on every hotel abroad and a per-user price that counts everyone who ever logged in. Reads "DATEV integration" that means a CSV, "AI receipt scanning" with no word on where the receipts are read, card terms that leave the issuer unnamed, and subprocessor lists that stop at the hosting provider — and asks what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Cookie banner: Statistik · Marketing [S7]
- Cookie consent revocable: yes [S7]
- Data anonymization: yes · yes [S8]
- DPA: yes [S8]
- DPA calendly: yes [S7]
- DPA grain: yes [S7]
- DPA law basis: DSGVO · TDDDG · EU [S7]
- DPA salesforce zapier: Zapier · Salesforce [S7]
- DPA tally: yes [S7]
- DPA with processors: yes [S7]
- Dpf cloudflare sentry: yes [S7]
- Dpf google: yes [S7]
- Dpf meta microsoft: yes [S7]
- Dpf segment intercom: yes [S7]
- Employee obligation: yes [S7]
- Gobd archiving: yes [S2]
- Godbd certified: yes [S1]
- Invoice archive years: 10 [S3]
- Necessary cookies not deactivatable: yes [S7]
- Third country transfers scc: yes [S7]

**Data**
- Algolia no cookies: no [S7]
- Archive retention: 10 [S4]
- Clarity form masking: yes [S7]
- Deletion after termination: yes [S8]
- Export period: 6 [S8]
- Ga ip logging: no [S7]
- Intercom EU hosting: yes [S7]
- Logfile retention days: 90 [S7]
- Retention: 10 [S2]
- Retention extension: vereinbarte Monatsgebühr je Verlängerung · 1 [S8]
- Vwo ip not stored: no · no [S7]

**Hosting**
- Provider: USA · Vercel Inc. [S7]
- Region: Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland [S7]
- Vercel dpf: yes [S7]

**Integrations**
- Accounting systems: DATEV · SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage 100 [S1]
- Additional systems: Sesamsoft · Addison OneClick · Agenda [S1]
- API: OAuth 2.0 · JSON · yes [S1]
- API: yes [S6]
- Approval beta: Beta · automatic approval via Cal [S13]
- Bds leading zero cleanup: Belegfeld 1 · Belegfeld 2 · yes [S17]
- Card booking data export: Export aller Buchungsdaten und Belegbilder ins Buchhaltungssystem [S3]
- Datev: only for DATEV Selbstbucher · yes [S5]
- Datev bds: Buchungsdatenservice · DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen · yes [S17]
- Datev belegbilderservice: Belegbilderservice · DATEV Unternehmen online · yes · yes · no [S17]
- Datev details: Direct interface to DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen including accruals and master data sync [S1]
- Datev export methods: Belegbilderservice · Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 · DATEV Unternehmen online must be connected to Candis [S18]
- Datev file export always available: yes [S17]
- Datev file export CSV: CSV · yes [S17]
- Datev file export xml: XML · yes · yes [S17]
- Datev rds: Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 · DATEV Unternehmen online · Buchungsvorschläge · yes [S17]
- Direct connection auto transfer: no [S17]
- Erp: SAP Business One · Sage 100 · Oracle NetSuite · Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central [S5]
- Erp list: DATEV · SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage100 · Sesamsoft · Addison OneClick · Agenda · Candis API [S4]
- Erp list: DATEV · SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage100 · Sesamsoft · Addison OneClick · Agenda [S6]
- Erp native: SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage 100 · goods invoices · 3-way match · open API [S1]
- Listed: DATEV · SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage100 · Sesamsoft · Addison OneClick · Agenda · API [S8]
- Open API: yes [S5]
- Personio: Personio · name · email · IBAN · absences [S2]
- Personio: yes [S5]
- Surface: DATEV · SAP Business One · Microsoft Business Central · Sage100 · Sesamsoft · Addison OneClick · Agenda · API [S2]

**Legal**
- Address: Berlin · Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 5 · 10178 [S6]
- Copyright: © 2015-2026 Candis GmbH [S8]
- Customer type: yes [S8]
- Data loss liability: Datenverlust-Haftung begrenzt auf Wiederherstellungskosten bei regelmäßiger Sicherung [S8]
- Entity: Candis GmbH [S1]
- Entity: Candis GmbH [S8]
- Entity: Candis GmbH [S7]
- Entity name: Candis GmbH [S6]
- Governing law: deutsches Recht · Berlin (Sitz von Candis) [S8]
- Liability cap: Haftung bei leichter Fahrlässigkeit auf vertragstypischen vorhersehbaren Schaden begrenzt [S8]
- Register: Berlin Charlottenburg · HRB 168078 [S6]
- Termination for nonpayment: 4 [S8]
- Terms change mechanism: 4 [S8]
- Terms version: November 2021 [S8]
- VAT id: DE300859729 [S6]
- Warranty cure period: 4 [S8]

**Pricing**
- Bds requires plus plan: Plus [S17]
- License model: yes · yes · yes [S1]
- Overage per document: am Ende der jeweiligen Periode · 1.5 [S8]
- Termination notice: 4 Wochen zum Ende des Kalendermonats · 2 [S8]
- Trial days: 30 [S3]
- Unlimited users: yes [S2]

**Product**
- Account assignments optional: yes [S9]
- Account number digits only: yes [S17]
- Account number validation: DATEV-Integrationstyp · yes [S17]
- AI invoice processing: AI-assisted accounts payable: automatic capture, reading, checking, pre-booking and approval workflows [S1]
- AI receipt transaction linking: yes [S3]
- Amount threshold conditions: Amount threshold conditions on total, treated as absolute values and currency-independent [S14]
- Approval AI upcoming: AI approval requests · Q4 [S5]
- Approval blockers: text · ,,document type" · "payee" · "invoice date" · "amount" · "currency" · "at least one release step"]} [S13]
- Approval roles: requester · accountant · administrator [S13]
- Approval workflows: custom multi-level approval workflows [S5]
- Approved export: export/data transfer ready [S13]
- Approver types: yes · yes · yes · yes [S14]
- Archive retention: 10 [S1]
- Archive retention: 10 [S8]
- Automated provisions: yes · yes [S4]
- Bank sync: yes · yes [S8]
- Billing plans: monatlich · jährlich · individuell [S8]
- Card addon: Credit cards are an add-on feature [S12]
- Card admin approval for requests: yes [S3]
- Card auto prebooking: Abonnement-Transaktionen automatisch vorkontiert · 52 [S3]
- Card auto receipt matching: automatisch zugeordnete Belege · 90 [S3]
- Card blocking: yes · yes · yes [S11]
- Card booking rules: Booking rules (e.g. cost center, account) editable; changes apply to future transactions only [S12]
- Card cashback: 0.5 [S3]
- Card cashback details: 0.5 · hohes Umsatzvolumen, begrenzt auf Candis-Lizenzsumme [S3]
- Card limit adjustment: Monthly limit and/or transaction limit adjustable at any time [S12]
- Card limit requests: Open card and limit requests shown at top of list [S12]
- Card limits and lock: Kartenlimits binnen Minuten anpassen, Karten mit wenigen Klicks sperren [S3]
- Card lock unlock: Cards can be locked and unlocked; locked cards cannot be transacted on [S12]
- Card manager role: Dedicated card manager role exists [S12]
- Card monthly export: yes [S3]
- Card overview fields: card_type · card_status · cardholder · card_limit · transaction_limit · last_transaction_date [S11]
- Card realtime transactions: Alle Transaktionen in Echtzeit – kein Warten auf die Kreditkartenabrechnung [S3]
- Card receipt attachment app: Belege per Handy-App fotografieren und direkt an Transaktion anhängen [S3]
- Card receipts within week: Belege innerhalb einer Woche hochgeladen · 80 [S3]
- Card replacement included: yes [S3]
- Card request approval: Card and limit requests can be approved, rejected, and adjusted before approval [S12]
- Card transaction reporting: yes [S3]
- Card unlimited virtual cards no extra cost: yes · yes [S3]
- Card virtual and physical: yes · yes [S3]
- Card wallet payments: yes · yes [S3]
- Condition absolute values: yes · yes [S14]
- Contract management: contract management · yes [S1]
- Corporate credit cards: corporate credit cards · real-time capture · receipt linking · card limits · cashback [S1]
- CSV reexport warning: CSV-Datei vor Import nicht öffnen/speichern [S17]
- Custom travel rates: Related article indicates travel allowances can be adjusted with custom rates [S9]
- Customer count: 2015 · 10000 [S1]
- Customer count: 2015 · 10000 [S4]
- Customer review required: Kunde muss Richtigkeit der digitalisierten Inhalte vor Zahlung prüfen [S8]
- Dark booking upcoming: automated (dark) posting of goods invoices · Q4 [S5]
- Data capture: AI · OCR · yes [S13]
- Datev belegbilderservice content: yes · yes [S18]
- Datev belegbilderservice destination: DATEV Unternehmen online, Belege erfassen menu [S18]
- Datev belegbilderservice document data: no [S18]
- Datev belegbilderservice scope: document types neither Rechnungseingang nor Rechnungsausgang · document types not imported directly into the cash ledger · all documents if Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 is not activated [S18]
- Datev buchungsdatenservice: booking batches · DATEV Buchungsdatenservice · no [S4]
- Datev maintenance: yes [S4]
- Datev official partner: yes [S4]
- Datev rechnungswesen interface: booking entries · master data [S4]
- Datev setup requirements: DATEV access · 2-factor authentication (DATEV-Stick or DATEV Smart-Login) · yes [S4]
- Datev unternehmen online export: document data · document images · yes [S4]
- Debitor number range: Debitorenkonten · 1-6 [S17]
- Deputy approval: yes [S1]
- Deputy principle: first to act approves [S13]
- Developed in germany: yes [S1]
- Direct approval: yes · yes [S13]
- Document management: document management · yes · yes [S1]

**Subprocessors**
- Api2pdf: Api2Pdf · Preisübersicht als PDF [S7]
- Calendly: Calendly LLC · Terminvereinbarung [S7]
- Cloudflare turnstile: Cloudflare Turnstile · Bot-Schutz [S7]
- Contentful: Contentful GmbH · Content-Management/CDN [S7]
- Demodesk: Demodesk GmbH · Terminbuchung [S7]
- Google analytics: Google Analytics 4 · Webanalyse [S7]
- Google tag manager: Google Tag Manager · Tag-Verwaltung, Server-Side Tagging [S7]
- Grain: Grain · Aufzeichnung, Transkription und Auswertung von Interviews [S7]
- Intercom: Intercom · Chat-Messenger [S7]
- Linkedin research: LinkedIn · Research-Teilnehmerakquise [S7]
- Microsoft clarity: Microsoft Clarity · Heatmaps, Sitzungsaufzeichnungen [S7]
- Segment: Segment (Twilio) · Customer-Data-Plattform [S7]
- Sentry: Sentry · Fehlerüberwachung [S7]
- Surveymonkey: SurveyMonkey (Momentive Inc.) · Umfragen [S7]
- Tally: Tally BV · Umfragen und Formulare [S7]
- Vwo: VWO (Wingify) · A/B-Tests [S7]

**Support**
- Datev free support: free · yes [S4]
- Help center article: 2026-02-27 · Franziska Kaiser · de [S12]
- Initial consult: yes · yes · 15 [S1]

97 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis

## Questions

### Is Candis European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Candis as EU-Made.

### Where does Candis store data?

The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Germany as hosting location, per [the vendor’s page captured 28 Oct 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/11229).

### Does Candis have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Candis?

As of 3 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Moss (4/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/moss), [N2F (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/n2f) and [Spendesk (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/spendesk) highest among the other 18 Expense Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Moss](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/moss) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Candis alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis/alternatives).

## Head-to-head

- [Candis vs Moss](https://whats-best.ai/compare/candis-vs-moss.md)

## What this page leaves out

- 20 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 14 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 8 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.candis.io/ (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S2] Features page (travel expenses): https://www.candis.io/produkt/reisekosten (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S3] Features page (credit cards): https://www.candis.io/produkt/kreditkarten (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S4] Features page (DATEV interface): https://www.candis.io/funktionen/datev-schnittstelle (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S5] Pricing page: https://www.candis.io/preise (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S6] Legal notice: https://www.candis.io/impressum (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S7] Privacy policy: https://www.candis.io/datenschutz (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S8] Terms of service: https://www.candis.io/agb (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S9] Receipt capture & expense claims — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/280479-how-can-i-submit-expenses-in-the-mobile-app (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S10] Receipt capture & expense claims — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/de/articles/280479-wie-reiche-ich-auslagen-in-der-mobilen-app-ein (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S11] Company cards & spend control — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/587785-how-do-i-manage-card-limits (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S12] Company cards & spend control — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/de/articles/587785-wie-verwalte-ich-kreditkarten-und-limite (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S13] Approval workflows & expense policy — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/276492-how-does-the-invoice-approval-process-work (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S14] Approval workflows & expense policy — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/257632-creating-and-using-workflows (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S15] Reimbursement, travel allowances & VAT — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/330287-how-are-per-diems-calculated-and-submitted (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S16] Reimbursement, travel allowances & VAT — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/258603-export-payment-lists-with-candis-sepa-xml-export-and-monitor-due-dates (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S17] Accounting handoff & DATEV — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/de/articles/551376-datev-export-formate-direktverbindungen-und-validierung (checked 2026-10-28)
- [S18] Accounting handoff & DATEV — found from sitemap: http://hilfe.candis.io/en/articles/276856-datev-belegbilderservice-export-of-document-images (checked 2026-10-28)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Candis — Expense Management", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-04. https://whats-best.ai/software/expense-management/candis

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1075?target=page