DATEV is a registered cooperative society (i.e. "eG") that is primarily a technical information services provider for tax, accountant and attorneys. While it initially emerged as a data center service provider, it now provides software to directly to end users (e.g. businesses) and consulting services for these occupations. The co-operative's focus is on the tax market.

The organisation is a registered cooperative. Membership is only open to members of the tax, accountancy and legal professions.

DATEV was founded on 14 February 1966, by 65 tax agents in the Nuremberg area to provide accounting services to its clients with the help of a computer. Its original name was DATEV Data Processing Organization for Tax Agents and Related Tax Services Providers within the Federal Republic of Germany, a registered co-operative society with limited liability The initiators were Heinz Sebiger, the 1997 honorary citizen of Nuremberg, and Joachim Mattheus.

The organisation was established to apply new applications of IT to accounting practices, because of an existing workforce shortage and the imminent introduction in 1968 of VAT. The initial DATEV services were to be completely data center based. All data was to be entered into data collection devices held "on-site" at each accountant's office which would then be sent as a tape by mail to the data center or "Registry" where they were processed and duly returned by mail to each respective accountant's office as processed tax return reports.