Documenting BGM Measures: Step by Step with a Template

What statutory health insurers and the tax office require for documentation

Anyone seeking funding for BGM measures under § 20b SGB V from a statutory health insurer faces a often-underestimated hurdle: proof documentation. Health insurers don't just check whether a measure took place — they check whether it complies with the prevention principles of the GKV guideline. Concretely, that means: a need must be demonstrated before the measure (e.g., through an employee survey or sick-leave analysis), the target group must be defined, and after the measure there needs to be a success evaluation.

Requirements are even stricter if you want to use the tax exemption under § 3 No. 34 EStG. Here, the tax office expects the measure to be granted in addition to wages, to be assignable to a recognized prevention area, and for each employee's participation to be individually documented — not just the total participant count. The tax-free allowance of €600 per employee per year is real, but only secure with gapless documentation.

Three typical documentation mistakes — and how to avoid them

**Mistake 1: Documenting retroactively.** Many teams only create the documentation after the measure — or shortly before the funding application. GKV reviewers recognize this: if the needs analysis and measure planning are dated after implementation, the application gets rejected. The solution is sequential documentation: planning before, proof of implementation during, evaluation after the measure.

**Mistake 2: Participant lists as Excel exports.** Spreadsheets without signatures or digital confirmation often don't count as sufficient proof in GKV audits. What counts is a traceable, tamper-proof record — ideally with a timestamp and confirmation from the participants themselves.

**Mistake 3: Formulating goals too vaguely.** "Promote health" is not a measurable goal. Reviewers expect SMART-formulated goals with concrete metrics: e.g., "Reduce back complaints among office workstations by at least 20%, measured via survey before and after the measure." Without a measurable goal, there's no verifiable goal achievement — and therefore no proof.

A measures workflow with template

A field-tested documentation flow follows five steps: First, you select the measure from a library of already-classified prevention areas — saving you manual classification against the GKV guideline. Then you set the goal and target group in writing before the measure starts. During or right after implementation, you record date, location, provider, and content. Participation is confirmed individually — not as a sum, but per person. At the end, you export a structured GKV proof document that covers all mandatory fields of the guideline.

With EasyBGM, this workflow runs digitally and without media breaks: select measure, fill in fields, record participation, export proof. The export automatically includes all information GKV reviewers typically require — including needs assessment, prevention principle, and success measurement. Anyone who previously worked with Word templates and email attachments saves 1–2 hours of follow-up time per measure.