The questions people actually ask. Short answers, including the uncomfortable ones.
Is PilotOS a cloud application?
No. It runs as a desktop application on your own machine (Windows, macOS, Linux) and stores everything in a local SQLite database. An internet connection is needed only for things you trigger deliberately: filing the VAT return via ELSTER, or fetching bank transactions via FinTS.
Where exactly is my data?
On your own disk, in a single SQLite file. There is no vendor server holding your accounting or wealth data. Backups are your responsibility — that is the price of not handing the data to a third party.
Does it run on macOS and Linux?
Yes, natively. The official ELSTER library runs on all three systems without Wine, which is unusual — the free Linux clients for ELSTER were discontinued in 2012 and 2019.
What does the free tier include?
Receipt capture, local-first operation, and community support — no time limit, no credit card. Paid plans add bookkeeping, e-invoicing, POS with TSE, payroll and the full private area.
Can I leave and take my data?
Yes, and the export does not depend on your payment status. The database is a file you can copy, and the full export keeps working after a subscription ends. Locking customers out of their own books is not something we do.
Is it GoBD-compliant?
It delivers the technical prerequisites: an immutable document chain, an audit log, reversal instead of deletion, period locking and an auditor export. Full compliance also requires your procedure documentation and your routines — a program cannot guarantee those. More on GoBD.
Do the screenshots show a real installation?
Yes, they are screenshots of a running installation with sample data. Where a feature is not yet productive, the page says so — for example the live ELSTER connection and the productive TSE.
Is there support in English?
Yes, by e-mail. The German site is far more detailed, because German tax law is what the product implements; many labels inside the program are bilingual or self-explanatory.
Why are there almost no reviews?
Because we would rather publish nothing than invent reviews. Two users have allowed us to publish their figures — the case studies. Star ratings will appear when real ones exist.
Where are the limits?
No group consolidation, no production planning, no multi-level approval workflows, no replacement for your tax adviser's software. For those, an ERP or a specialist tool is the better choice.
Can I keep my current chart of accounts?
Yes. SKR03 and SKR04 are both supported, and switching later works on the existing history instead of rebuilding it. The choice is structural, not final.
What happens if I stop paying?
The program keeps running with the modules you own, and the full export keeps working. There is no switch that turns your books off — a lifetime licence is exactly that.
Do you sell my data?
We could not even if we wanted to: the data sits on your disk, not on a server of ours. There is no analytics account, no CRM and no advertising network on this site either.
How does the case-study arithmetic work?
Both users reported their hours and their posting volumes. From “7 hours, 70 percent less” we derive a baseline of about 23 hours — that is arithmetic, and we label it as such. What we do not do is present the derived figure as a measurement.
Where can I see the logic behind the numbers?
Every legal value on this site sits in a register with a norm and a check date — 224 of them. The “Logik Triade” is the internal test each figure passes before it is shown: is it proven, is it possible, is it necessary. It does not make a number true; it makes visible whether the number is evidenced.
Do I need to learn that framework?
No. It is built into the product, not homework for the user. If you want to apply it to a decision of your own, there is a three-question tool; if not, the numbers you see are simply already checked.
What happens at the end of a financial year?
The period is locked, assets are depreciated from the register, the opening entry for the next year is generated. Corrections afterwards are reversals with a date — the history stays visible.