Is Frienton an alternative to Mika?

Frienton is the Mika alternative for growing companies — whether a corporation or a partnership: a financial operating system that steers the entire finances and works with a qualified tax firm (the existing one or a suitable one from the Frienton partner network), instead of replacing the tax firm with a bookkeeping service.

What is the most important difference between Mika and Frienton?

The growth stage — and who carries the tax responsibility. Mika takes bookkeeping and closing off the desk of small GmbHs and UGs without their own finance function and replaces the tax firm. Frienton steers the entire finances of growing companies and keeps a qualified tax firm responsible.

Does a company have to change its tax firm with Frienton?

No. Frienton works additively with the existing firm (DATEV or ADDISON) — no system change. Frienton provides no tax advice itself. Companies without a tax firm are matched with a suitable one from the partner network through the Professional Tax Plan.

Does Frienton file the VAT return like Mika?

No — deliberately not. The VAT advance return runs through the tax firm, which carries the mandate responsibility. Frienton delivers the pre-booked data to DATEV or ADDISON.

For whom is Mika a better fit?

For small GmbHs and UGs without their own finance function and with modest document volume, who want to hand over bookkeeping and closing without their own tax advisor. Mika describes exactly this group as its audience.

For whom is Frienton a better fit?

For growing companies with rising financial complexity: several banks and payment providers, higher document volume, an emerging finance function.

Frienton vs. Tabula: booking automation plus live reporting for company and tax firm

Tabula automates bookkeeping in DATEV tax firms. Frienton automates bookkeeping as well and also gives the company live reporting and finance workflows: approvals, payments, invoices and salaries. Frienton makes sense for companies with several banks, cards, payment providers or shops that expect current numbers. The tax firm receives the journal pre-booked in DATEV or ADDISON, with no software cost of its own.

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At a glance

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Frienton is a financial operating system for growing companies and their tax firm. It connects live reporting, automated bookkeeping, finance workflows in the company and a pre-booked journal for DATEV or ADDISON. The company works with plain-language categories instead of a chart of accounts, Frienton maps them to SKR. Tabula is AI bookkeeping software for DATEV tax firms. It books on the tax firm side, the company supplies receipts. Both automate bookkeeping. Only Frienton offers live reporting and approval workflows for the company. The tax firm pays nothing for Frienton, the company books it directly.

Frienton

Live reporting, bookkeeping, finance workflows and tax firm in one system.

Tabula

AI bookkeeping for DATEV tax firms.

What company and tax firm get

Features

Frienton

Tabula

Live reporting

Live BWA, cashflow, plan vs. actual

Analyses via AI chat, no live BWA

Automated bookkeeping

Finance workflows in the company

Approvals, payments, invoices, salaries, roles for team, shareholders and tax firm

Prepare transfers, write e-invoices

Direct line to the tax firm

DATEV or ADDISON, shared live numbers

DATEV only

Software cost for the firm

None, the client books Frienton

The firm uses Tabula

New mandates

Through the Frienton partner network

THE OVERLAP IS ONLY IN THE MIDDLE

Both book with AI. Before and after that, they differ. With Frienton the company works in the system itself: it approves payments, writes invoices and sees live where it stands. The tax firm sees the same numbers and advises on current data.

Two models

Tabula’s model:

A tool for the tax firm. The client supplies receipts but does not see the books.

Frienton’s model:

One system for company and tax firm. The company runs payments, approvals and invoices itself, in plain-language categories. The tax firm stays in its system (DATEV or ADDISON).

The details

Features

Frienton

All-in-one platform

Tabula

LIVE REPORTING

Live BWA, cashflow forecast, plan vs. actual

All accounts, cards (incl. American Express), PayPal and Stripe live

Banks

cards via PDF, PayPal and Stripe being integrated

Reporting by cost centre, project or product

AUTOMATED BOOKKEEPING

AI receipt recognition, bank matching, booking

Request missing receipts from the client

Shopify, Amazon, Shopware: sales booked natively, at order level

(marketplaces deliberately not connected)

Detect tax special cases such as reverse charge, set tax code

Cash discounts and accruals automatic

Split an invoice by line item across several accounts

FINANCE WORKFLOWS

Invoice and payment approvals (four-eyes principle, logged)

One-click payments: batch, scheduled and instant transfers

Prepare transfers, batch transfers

Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, e-invoicing, dunning

E-invoices, dunning

Salary payments from the payroll journal, booked automatically

Roles for team, bookkeeping, shareholders and tax firm, rights per account and payment

Responsibilities between firm and client

Plain-language categories mapped to SKR, plus cost centres

Cost centres on the tax firm side, client does not categorise

DIRECT LINE TO THE TAX FIRM

Tax firm system

DATEV or ADDISON

DATEV only

Month-end close with completeness check, export of changes only

One-click export from the tax firm

Firm and client see the same live numbers

Tax firm partner network

If the tax firm already uses Tabula

Tabula stays for the firm’s other mandates. Companies that want live numbers and finance workflows work with Frienton. For them, data entry disappears, the journal arrives pre-booked. One system per client: no double bank connection, no double receipt store.

Smooth migration to Frienton

Frienton for tax advisors

Professional woman using a laptop for digital bookkeeping

When does Tabula fit?

Tabula fits when a DATEV tax firm only wants to speed up its own bookkeeping.

Frienton fits when both matter: the company runs its own finances (live numbers, payments, approvals), and the tax firm has less data entry. There is no software cost for the tax firm.