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Choose a fileNext becomes available once an invoice is uploaded.
Since 1 January 2025, all businesses established in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. In German domestic B2B, an e-invoice is an invoice in a structured format under EN 16931; a PDF is an "other invoice" (sonstige Rechnung). Paper invoices and, with the recipient's consent, PDF invoices remain allowed until 31 December 2026, and until 31 December 2027 for businesses with no more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year (§ 27 Abs. 38 UStG). From 1 January 2027, businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year must issue e-invoices; from 1 January 2028, all others. Businesses under the German small-business scheme (Kleinunternehmer) must still be able to receive e-invoices, but they are exempt from the issuing duty. The obligation covers invoices between businesses established in Germany. Suppliers established elsewhere need an EN 16931 e-invoice only if their customer or public buyer asks for it.
ZUGFeRD solves this without changing your process. The invoice stays a PDF that anyone can read and carries the structured data as embedded XML. The XML is what counts as the e-invoice. The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) accepts ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 when the XML meets EN 16931.
| Item | Published specification | Generated by us |
|---|---|---|
| ZUGFeRD | 2.5.2 | 2.5 |
| Factur-X | 1.09.2 | 1.09 |
| Status | published 4 August 2026, effective 1 September 2026 | – |
| Profiles | MINIMUM, BASIC WL, BASIC, EN 16931, EXTENDED, XRECHNUNG | EN 16931 (default), EXTENDED (selectable) |
| PDF carrier | PDF/A-3 | PDF/A-3b, final file checked with veraPDF |
The generated version follows our generator and its bundled XSD and Schematron files. We list both values so that you can match your recipient's requirements. For recognition as an e-invoice, the generated version is sufficient.
Upload the PDF invoice (up to 20 MB; without an account, up to 6 PDF pages per upload). It becomes the visible layer of the hybrid invoice. If you need a delivery-note reference, select the EXTENDED profile first.
Check and correct the recognised fields: parties, tax IDs, lines, totals and payment terms.
Before we create the PDF/A-3, we check the data the profile requires, for example a delivery date (BT-72), an invoice period (BG-14) or a period on every line (BG-26) and, in some cases, the delivery country (BT-80).
Sign in, download the PDF/A-3 with embedded XML and send it as usual, for example by email.
Poor scans, handwritten additions and tax special cases such as reverse charge always need a careful human review.
Subscriptions from €10/month excl. taxes with annual billing. Or without a subscription: €5 per conversion (excl. taxes). The first subscription includes a free 3-day trial. If validation reports errors or the source PDF cannot be confirmed as the basis of a valid hybrid PDF, you get a free preview with the watermark "VORSCHAU / PREVIEW" after you sign in; you pay only for the valid file.
| Situation | Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice to a German public authority with a Leitweg-ID | XRechnung | Public buyers usually require XRechnung; the Leitweg-ID goes into BT-10. |
| B2B customer who also wants to read the invoice | ZUGFeRD | One PDF for people, one XML for accounting software. |
| Customer explicitly requires XRechnung | XRechnung | The recipient's requirement comes first. |
| Source document is Word or text, not PDF | XRechnung | ZUGFeRD needs a PDF as its visible layer. |
| Customer in France | Factur-X | The French name for the same format. |
Upload the PDF, review the data, download the hybrid invoice.
We generate ZUGFeRD 2.5 / Factur-X 1.09. The latest published specification is ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 / Factur-X 1.09.2 of 4 August 2026. For recognition as an e-invoice, the BMF accepts ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 with XML that meets EN 16931.
The default is EN 16931. Select EXTENDED before upload if the invoice must carry a delivery-note reference. MINIMUM and BASIC WL do not count as e-invoices because they lack mandatory invoice data; we do not generate them.
Yes. Any PDF reader shows the invoice. Accounting software also reads the embedded XML and imports the data without retyping.
No. We create and validate the file; sending it is up to you, for example by email. ZUGFeRD does not replace a sending channel.
Technically none: ZUGFeRD 2.5 / Factur-X 1.09 describe the same format with the same profiles from MINIMUM to EXTENDED. ZUGFeRD is the German name and adds the XRECHNUNG profile; Factur-X is the French name.
No, a subscription is optional: you can pay for each conversion on its own. The first subscription includes a free 3-day trial. You pay only when you download. If a paid single conversion fails because of a technical error that our support cannot fix, we refund it on request (money-back guarantee).
You check and correct every recognised field before you pay. Validation errors and missing data that the profile requires block the valid hybrid PDF. We refund only on request and only when the conversion fails because of a technical error that our support cannot fix; you make content corrections in the review step.
No. Small businesses under § 19 UStG (Kleinunternehmer) are exempt from the German issuing duty, but they must be able to receive e-invoices. If a customer still asks for an e-invoice, you can create it here.
UBL 2.1 under Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Nordic countries.
XRechnung for recipients that prefer the CII syntax
Hybrid PDF with embedded CII XML for customers in France. Same technical basis as ZUGFeRD.