E-Rechnungspflicht 2025-2028 No installation

The complete compliance toolkit for Germany's e-invoicing mandate

If your business is established in Germany, structured e-invoices are becoming mandatory: receiving since 2025, issuing from 2027 or 2028. The law requires a compliant file (ZUGFeRD or XRechnung), not expensive software. Create it in your browser, validate it against the official rules, and send it by email, which German law explicitly allows.

Meets the standards EN 16931 ZUGFeRD / Factur-X XRechnung Peppol BIS PDF/A-3
An Assistant That Handles German E-Invoicing for You

Stay compliant, skip the hassle

Forget filling out forms. Just say what you need in plain words and the assistant takes care of ZUGFeRD compliance, XRechnung and EN 16931 included.

Just Describe What You Need

Skip the menus and the data entry. Give the assistant an instruction ("turn this PDF into ZUGFeRD" or "check this XML") and it runs.

XML

Works With PDF & XML

Attach any PDF or XML invoice. The assistant reads it, understands the data, and returns a compliant file you can download in the chat.

EN

EN 16931 Compliant

Whatever the assistant generates matches the European EN 16931 standard and the ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 specification, ready for XRechnung, Peppol BIS and the German B2B e-invoicing mandate.

Private by Design

Your files are processed in-memory and never stored on our servers. They are purged the moment your request is complete - fully GDPR compliant.

PDF ZUGFeRD

Let your PDFs become compliant e-invoices on their own.

Stop retyping supplier invoices. The assistant scans your PDF, works out its layout and hands back a validated ZUGFeRD file that satisfies XRechnung and the German e-invoicing mandate.

  • OCR and AI read it for you
  • Fields mapped to UN/CEFACT CII for you
  • EN 16931 checks come built in
Convert a PDF invoice
INVOICE.PDF
<rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice>
<ram:ID>INV-0042</ram:ID>
<ram:IssueDateTime>2026-05-08
<ram:SellerTradeParty>
<ram:GrandTotalAmount>1240.00
</rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice>
Passed EN 16931 No errors · no warnings
How It Works

Reach a ZUGFeRD file in just 3 steps

Everything happens in one chat, no technical know-how needed.

Step 1

Upload Your Invoice

Attach a PDF or XML invoice to the chat, or simply paste your invoice details.

Step 2

Ask the Assistant

Tell the assistant what you want - convert, create, validate, or extract. It calls the right tool automatically.

Step 3 PDF/A

Download the Result

Receive your compliant ZUGFeRD file straight in the chat, set to send or store.

Your deadlines

The deadlines, without the legalese

Since 1 January 2025

Every business in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. Yes, that includes you already.

From 1 January 2027

Businesses with over EUR 800,000 previous-year turnover must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B sales.

From 1 January 2028

Everyone must issue them, regardless of size.

Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG)

Exception: small businesses under the § 19 UStG threshold never have to issue e-invoices, but must still be able to receive them.

From your deadline on, a normal PDF no longer counts as an invoice under German VAT law and can cost your customer their input VAT deduction. That is why customers will insist.

What the law actually requires

The mandate regulates the file, not your software stack

Germany deliberately chose a decentralised model: no government portal, no mandatory network, no certified provider. Sending a compliant ZUGFeRD file as an email attachment fully satisfies the law. What your accountant (Steuerberater) and your customers care about is that the file follows the EN 16931 standard, because their software, most commonly DATEV, books the embedded XML automatically. In short: you do not need an ERP system, an accounting subscription or a provider contract to comply. You need a correct file.

What you get

Everything the mandate asks of a small business

Glossary

The German terms you will keep running into

E-Rechnungspflicht

The e-invoicing obligation introduced by the Wachstumschancengesetz (Growth Opportunities Act).

ZUGFeRD

Germany's hybrid format: a readable PDF with machine-readable XML inside. Identical to the French Factur-X.

XRechnung

The pure-XML format required for invoices to German public authorities.

Leitweg-ID

The routing identifier of a public sector buyer; required on every XRechnung.

Kleinunternehmer

Small business under the § 19 UStG VAT exemption; exempt from issuing e-invoices, not from receiving them.

GoBD

The bookkeeping principles requiring you to archive e-invoices in their original structured format, currently for eight years.

Steuerberater

Your German tax advisor. If they use DATEV, the files from this site import directly.

Archiving

One more duty: keep the files

E-invoices must be archived in their original structured format, currently for eight years under GoBD principles. A printout alone does not satisfy this. A dedicated, backed-up folder does, for a business of your size. Keep every file you issue and receive, unchanged.

All the Tools You Need

The full toolkit, all in one place

Rather use classic tools instead of chat? Each action is just one click away too.

AI Assistant

Tell the chat what you need: it converts, checks, builds, and reads out German e-invoices.

Open tool

PDF to ZUGFeRD

Any PDF, Word, or Excel invoice goes in; a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file comes out.

Open tool

Create ZUGFeRD PDF

The guided wizard turns your details into a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice.

Open tool

Create XRechnung

Generate a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID, ready for public-sector buyers.

Open tool

ZUGFeRD Credit Note

Cancel or correct an e-invoice you already sent with a ZUGFeRD credit note.

Open tool

XRechnung Credit Note

Create an XRechnung credit note with Leitweg-ID for public-sector buyers.

Open tool

Create Order-X

Create an Order-X order file: the ZUGFeRD hybrid principle applied to purchase orders.

Open tool

Edit ZUGFeRD Invoice

Repair a refused or broken invoice: upload it, correct the fields, and get a valid file back.

Open tool

Edit XRechnung

Open an XRechnung as a form, fix the Leitweg-ID or any rejected field, and download a valid file.

Open tool

Validate ZUGFeRD

Run EN 16931 checks on your ZUGFeRD invoices before DATEV or your customer does.

Open tool
X

Validate XRechnung

Check XRechnung XML against EN 16931 and the German CIUS rules.

Open tool

Validate Order-X

Run incoming and outgoing Order-X orders through the official Order-X 1.0 checks.

Open tool

Extract XML

Pull structured XML straight out of any PDF invoice with AI-driven OCR.

Open tool

Extract Attachments

Pull every embedded file out of a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice as a ZIP.

Open tool

Embed XML to PDF

Marry a PDF and its CII XML into one ZUGFeRD-compliant hybrid invoice.

Open tool
X

CII to ZUGFeRD

Package existing CII XML as a ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 hybrid invoice.

Open tool

CII to UBL

Transform a CII invoice into UBL XML, the syntax most Peppol networks expect.

Open tool

UBL to CII

Map a UBL invoice to UN/CEFACT CII XML, ready to embed in ZUGFeRD or Factur-X.

Open tool

XRechnung to PDF

See any CII, UBL, or XRechnung XML as a tidy, printable PDF.

Open tool

XRechnung Viewer

Open e-invoice XML in your browser and read it like a paper invoice.

Open tool

e-Invoice Automation

Automate invoice generation, validation and Peppol delivery end to end.

Open tool
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Yes, if you are established in Germany, regardless of the language you work in. The invoice content can be bilingual; what matters is the structured XML following EN 16931.
Yes. Germany prescribes no transmission channel for domestic B2B invoices. A compliant file attached to an email fully satisfies the mandate.
You never have to issue e-invoices, but you must be able to receive them, and that has applied since January 2025. An email inbox plus the free validator covers it.
The files follow ZUGFeRD in the EN 16931 profile, the profile German accounting systems and tax advisors expect, and can be imported into DATEV and comparable systems.
No. GetZUGFeRD creates and checks invoice files. For questions about your individual situation, talk to your Steuerberater.
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