# BT-41 Seller contact point

Name of the contact person or department on the seller side.

> BT-41 (Seller contact point) names the contact department or person within the seller organisation, inside BG-6 Seller contact. Optional under EN 16931. XRechnung makes the seller contact group mandatory, so BT-41 must be present alongside the contact telephone and email. Example: Accounts Receivable, Invoicing Team.
>
> BT-41 · EN 16931 / XRechnung 3.x

## BT Reference Card

Key EN 16931 and XRechnung facts for this business term.

- **BT code**: BT-41
- **Name**: Seller contact point
- **Cardinality**: Mandatory (M) — XRechnung; Optional (O) — EN 16931
- **Business group**: BG-6 SELLER CONTACT
- **Data type**: Text
- **Example value**: Accounts Receivable, Invoicing Team
- **Common error**: BR-DE-5: The Seller contact point (BT-41) must be present. XRechnung requires the seller contact group, so an invoice omitting the contact name is rejected even though EN 16931 treats it as optional.
- **XRechnung note**: XRechnung promotes the Seller contact (BG-6) to mandatory, requiring BT-41 (name), BT-42 (telephone) and BT-43 (email); BT-41 specifically is enforced by BR-DE-5.

## Quick answer

Name of the contact person or department on the seller side.

> **Seller details**: Who issued the invoice and how the recipient can identify that business reliably.

- [Validate XML](/en/xrechnung-validator?source=resource&bt=BT-41)
- [Convert invoice](/en/pdf-to-xrechnung?source=resource&bt=BT-41)

## In plain language

Name of the contact person or department on the seller side.

Name of the contact person or department on the seller side.

This gives the buyer a clear human contact for questions about the invoice or the underlying delivery.

## What you usually enter here

Person or department name

Typical valid values include: Accounts Receivable

Optional in base EN 16931. XRechnung requires seller contact group BG-6 through BR-DE-2 and requires BT-41 through BR-DE-5.

## What goes wrong often

Avoid values like:

Relevant rule codes: BR-DE-2, BR-DE-5

## Examples in context

This gives the buyer a clear human contact for questions about the invoice or the underlying delivery.

Optional in base EN 16931. XRechnung requires seller contact group BG-6 through BR-DE-2 and requires BT-41 through BR-DE-5.

## Valid Examples

- Accounts Receivable

## Related Fields

This gives the buyer a clear human contact for questions about the invoice or the underlying delivery.

- [BT-42 Seller contact telephone number](/resources/xrechnung/bt-42-seller-contact-telephone-number)
- [BT-43 Seller contact email address](/resources/xrechnung/bt-43-seller-contact-email-address)

## XML mapping and field facts

Open the technical reference if you need XML paths, validator rule codes, legal wording, or schema-specific mapping details.

### Field ID:
BT-41

### Data Type:
text

### Cardinality:
1..1

### Requirement:
Mandatory

### Max Length:
100 characters

### Since Version:
XRechnung 1.0+

## XML Implementation

### UBL 2.1 Syntax
```
/Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:Contact/cbc:Name
```

### CII (UN/CEFACT) Syntax
```
/CrossIndustryInvoice/SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:DefinedTradeContact/ram:PersonName
```

## Validation Rules

### BR-DE-2
BR-DE-2

### BR-DE-5
BR-DE-5

## Check whether your XRechnung sets BT-41 correctly

Upload the XML file to the free validator. It applies the KoSIT rules for XRechnung 3.0 and names each finding with its rule ID, for this field for example BR-DE-2, BR-DE-5. Creating a new invoice instead? The converter checks the invoice against the same rules and shows the findings before download.

- [Validate XML](/en/xrechnung-validator)
- [Convert invoice](/en/pdf-to-xrechnung)

Free, no account needed. XML file up to 2 MB.

## Why the standard cares about this field

### Business Context
This gives the buyer a clear human contact for questions about the invoice or the underlying delivery.

### Legal Requirement
Optional in base EN 16931. XRechnung requires seller contact group BG-6 through BR-DE-2 and requires BT-41 through BR-DE-5.

## Official sources and tools

- [KoSIT Validator](https://erechnungsvalidator.service-bw.de/)
- [XRechnung Standard](https://xeinkauf.de/xrechnung/)
- [Test Suite](https://github.com/itplr-kosit/xrechnung-testsuite)