From 1 January 2025, B2B e-invoicing will be mandatory for companies based in Germany. A transitional arrangement is planned until 2027. This means that companies will no longer be allowed to send invoices to other companies in paper form or as simple PDFs from 2028 at the latest, but only in a machine-readable, structured XML data set.
Only the digital record is relevant for processing an e-invoice and therefore also for manual checking and approval. If there is a discrepancy between the view document and the XML data record, the view document supplied is not legally binding and the XML data record applies. One advantage of the standardised view document is that it is easy for the user to read.
Read more about the legal requirements on the official website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior https://www.e-rechnung-bund.de/.
Read more on the website of Verband-E-Rechnung.org
Invoice formats:
ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are the most common formats in Germany.
- The XRechnung consists of a machine-readable file (i.e. XML) with structured data. The XRechnung is intended for public authorities and contractors.
- ZUGFeRD consists of a machine-readable XML file that is integrated into a human-readable PDF/A file. ZUGFeRD is divided into three profiles that differ in their level of detail.
a. Basic
b. EN16931 (Comfort)
c. Extended
Some information is mandatory, other optional. Before invoicing, you need to communicate with your customer which invoice data and therefore which e-invoice format will be used.
The invoice format and other details for the e-invoice are saved in the customer account.
Note: If mandatory information is missing (depending on the selected format/profile), you will be notified at the time of invoicing.
