# MacBusinessSuite and Lexware Office compared

> Lexware Office (formerly lexoffice) and MacBusinessSuite compared: invoicing, bookkeeping, time tracking, projects, languages and data storage.

Lexware Office, formerly lexoffice, is a cloud service for German businesses that runs in the browser and covers invoicing, receipts, banking and bookkeeping up to the VAT return through ELSTER. MacBusinessSuite is a native Mac app with local data that combines projects, CRM, time tracking and invoicing and is built for companies working across borders. If you need complete German bookkeeping, Lexware Office goes further. If you need projects, a pipeline, a timer and several languages and currencies, MacBusinessSuite does.

As of October 2026. https://macbusinesssuite.app/compare/lexware-office/

## The short answer

- **Choose Lexware Office** if your company is in Germany and you want invoicing and bookkeeping, including EÜR, the VAT return through ELSTER and payroll as an add-on, in one cloud service.
- **Choose MacBusinessSuite** if you want a native Mac app with local data, projects with boards, a CRM with pipeline and mailbox, a built-in timer, and documents in many languages and currencies.
- Lexware Office runs in the browser; Lexware states that no installation is needed and that it is used through the browser on the Mac.

## MacBusinessSuite and Lexware Office side by side

As of October 2026. Lexware Office from its vendor's official pages (see sources), MacBusinessSuite from its documentation. Not documented means the vendor's pages do not say, not that the feature is missing.

|  | MacBusinessSuite | Lexware Office |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type of product | Native macOS app, one app for projects, CRM, time tracking and invoicing | Cloud service for invoicing and bookkeeping, used in the browser, plus apps for iOS and Android |
| Where the data lives | On your Mac, in the app's container. No account, no sync between devices | Data centers in the Frankfurt area, Germany; account required |
| Projects and tasks | Projects with status, budget, profitability and a project log; Kanban boards with tickets, subtasks and recurring tickets | Not documented as a module |
| CRM | Customers and contact persons, sales pipeline, customer and project log, IMAP mailbox, mail to ticket | Contacts and customer manager with notes, files and documents |
| Time tracking | Built-in menu bar timer, manual entries, suggestions from the calendar, open hours to invoice | Through partner extensions |
| Quotes and invoices | Quotes with optional items, order confirmations, delivery notes, partial, final and recurring invoices, credit notes, dunning | Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, dunning |
| E-invoices | ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, XRechnung and EN 16931 as UBL or CII, Peppol BIS as a file. No sending through the Peppol network | XRechnung and ZUGFeRD, receiving digital invoices |
| Payments and bank | CAMT, OFX, QFX and CSV import with matching you confirm; read only sync with Wise Business (Wise accounts in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia) and Mercury (checking and savings accounts in US dollars); SEPA direct debit files | Multibanking with automatic matching, receipts with automatic reading |
| Taxes and bookkeeping | OSS, reverse charge, US sales tax per state (one combined rate you maintain, only where you confirmed nexus), data for the German UStVA and ZM, DATEV batches, GoBD export. No direct filing | GoBD bookkeeping, EÜR, profit and loss, UStVA through ELSTER, ZM, DATEV export; payroll as an add-on |
| Languages and currencies | Interface and documents in 15 languages, document language per customer, several currencies with ECB rates | Documents in German and English (English in the XL plan); bookkeeping in euro only |
| Pricing model | Annual subscription in the Mac App Store, handled by Apple. Data stays readable and exportable after it ends | Subscription in four plans, billed monthly and cancellable monthly; trial with full functionality |

## Where Lexware Office is ahead

- **Complete German bookkeeping** with EÜR, profit and loss and preparation of the balance sheet with your tax adviser.
- **Filing the VAT return through ELSTER** directly from the service.
- **Multibanking** with automatic matching.
- **Payroll** as an add-on.
- **Access from any browser** and from iOS and Android apps.

## Where MacBusinessSuite is ahead

- **Projects with Kanban boards,** budgets and profitability.
- **A CRM with sales pipeline,** activity log and your own IMAP mailbox.
- **A built-in menu bar timer** instead of partner extensions.
- **Documents in 15 languages** and **several currencies** with ECB rates.
- **A native Mac app with local data,** no account.

## For companies working in several countries

Lexware Office is built for German businesses: development and hosting are in Germany, and its tax features follow German rules such as ELSTER, GoBD and DATEV. Documents can be written in German or English, and bookkeeping is kept in euro.

MacBusinessSuite is built for companies with customers or entities in several countries. Documents go out in the customer's language, one of 15, and currency, several companies with their own country and tax regime live in one app, and the tax logic covers OSS, reverse charge and US sales tax. German reports such as UStVA, ZM and DATEV are included as data exports. Read more on the [international features](https://macbusinesssuite.app/#international).

## Questions and answers

### Is MacBusinessSuite a lexoffice alternative?

It depends on what you use lexoffice for. For quotes, invoices, e-invoices, dunning and DATEV export, yes, and it adds projects, CRM and time tracking. For complete German bookkeeping with EÜR and filing through ELSTER, Lexware Office goes further, because MacBusinessSuite prepares data but does not file.

### Is there a Lexware Office app for Mac?

Lexware states that Lexware Office does not need to be installed and is used in the browser, also on the Mac. There are apps for iOS and Android.

### Can Lexware Office write invoices in other languages and currencies?

According to Lexware, documents are available in German and English, with English in the XL plan, and bookkeeping is kept in euro only. MacBusinessSuite writes documents in 15 languages and several currencies.

## Sources

- [Lexware Office, product page (lexware.de)](https://www.lexware.de/buchhaltungssoftware/)
- [Lexware Office on the Mac](https://www.lexware.de/buchhaltungssoftware/mac/)
- [Lexware Office, features](https://www.lexware.de/funktionen/)
- [Lexware Office, plans](https://www.lexware.de/preise/)
- [English documents in Lexware Office](https://www.lexware.de/funktionen/englische-belege/)
- [Help center, PayPal foreign currency amounts](https://help.lexware.de/de-form/articles/547962-lexware-office-paypal-fremdwahrungsbetrage)
- [Help center, invoices with special tax treatment](https://help.lexware.de/de-form/articles/547981-wie-erstelle-ich-steuerlich-besondere-rechnungen)

Lexware Office is a trademark of its owner and is offered by Lexware. The name is used here only to identify the product. MacBusinessSuite and DigitalFreedom Global LLC are not affiliated with Lexware, and Lexware has not reviewed or endorsed this page.