Data Handling
This page describes how faktoora handles data location, retention, backups and deletion.
Data Location
All of faktoora's production infrastructure is operated in Germany in ISO 27001 certified data centres. Customer data – including invoices, contacts and account information – is stored on our infrastructure in Germany. Data leaves the EU only if your organisation enables an integration with a provider outside the EU, or where a listed service provider processes data outside the EU, or accesses it from there, under EU safeguards (for example payment processing or support from the email delivery provider). Details can be found on our Service providers and recipients page.
Retention
Your Content in the Platform
We process invoices, contacts, business documents, bank transactions and transmission records on your behalf. They are available to you throughout the entire contract term. After the end of the contract, you can export them for at least 30 days; we then delete them. Retaining your records under commercial and tax law (e.g. under § 147 AO, German Fiscal Code) is your responsibility – our export function supports you in this.
Our Own Records
| Data type | Retention | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Our invoices and payment receipts for your subscription | 8 years from the end of the calendar year | AO § 147(3) |
| Our books and annual financial statements | 10 years from the end of the calendar year | AO § 147, HGB § 257 |
Operational Data
| Data type | Retention | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| User accounts | As long as the account exists; deleted accounts are deactivated | Service provision |
| Session data | 24 hours (automatic expiry) | Authentication |
| Activity and audit logs | As long as required for security, abuse prevention and proof of proper processing; reviewed regularly | Security, compliance |
| API request logs | As long as required for security, support and usage transparency; reviewed regularly | Security, support |
| Error reports | 90 days | Error analysis |
| Export archives | 30 days | Temporary downloads |
| ICT incident records | At least 5 years | Traceability, following DORA |
Backups
Backups are encrypted, stored at a physically separate location and retained for up to 12 months for disaster recovery. Backup data is subject to the same access restrictions as production data.
Deletion
Account Deletion
Users can delete their account in the application at any time. This deactivates the account – it is no longer possible to log in. You can additionally request the erasure of the associated personal data at privacy@faktoora.com.
End of Contract
After the end of the contract, your data is available for export for at least 30 days and is then deleted. On request, we support you in switching to another provider; we do not charge any fees for this.
Erasure Requests under the GDPR
We handle erasure requests in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR. Our own billing records are subject to statutory retention obligations (AO § 147), which take precedence during the retention period; for these records, we restrict processing to the legally required purpose and inform you of the legal basis.
Retention in Backups
Data deleted in production may remain in encrypted backups until the end of the backup retention period (up to 12 months). Backups are subject to the same access controls as production data. If a backup is restored, we re-apply deletions carried out before the restore.
Data Portability
faktoora offers data exports in several formats, most of them as self-service in the application:
| Format | Use |
|---|---|
| CSV | Spreadsheet-compatible data |
| XLSX | Microsoft Excel format |
| Documents in their original layout | |
| JSON | Machine-readable structured data (on request) |
| XML | Standards-compliant e-invoice formats (ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Peppol UBL) |
Data Integrity
The integrity of invoice data is ensured by:
- A tamper-evident audit trail whose integrity can be verified cryptographically
- Parameterised database queries to protect against injection attacks
- Protected calculation logic – the core invoice calculation is thoroughly tested and protected against unintended changes
- Integrity verification on every backup run
Questions?
For questions about data handling, please contact privacy@faktoora.com.