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PDF to XRechnung Converter

Upload a PDF invoice, review the extracted data, and download a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID.

Drag and drop your invoices here, or click to browse.

Meets the standards EN 16931 ZUGFeRD / Factur-X XRechnung KoSIT GoBD Archive PDF/A-3

How It Works

From an ordinary PDF invoice to a valid XRechnung in three steps.

Step 1

Upload Your Invoice

Drag and drop the PDF invoice you already produce today; Word, Excel, CSV, and XML files work with premium.

Step 2

Review the Extracted Data

The AI reads parties, line items, VAT, and totals. Open the result for review, correct anything it misread, and add the Leitweg-ID.

Step 3

Download the XRechnung XML

Get a standalone XRechnung XML, validated against EN 16931 and the German CIUS before download.

From PDF to Accepted XRechnung

Public-sector buyers reject anything that is not a valid XRechnung. This converter turns the invoice you already have into exactly what they expect.

Review Every Field Before Export

The recommended mode opens the extracted invoice online first, so you can check and correct every value the AI read before the XRechnung is generated.

Leitweg-ID Included

Enter the buyer reference (BT-10) during conversion, so the one detail authorities insist on is part of the file from the start.

CIUS Rules Applied

The XML is checked against EN 16931 plus the German XRechnung rules before download, the same checks public portals run on receipt.

Nothing Stored

Files are processed in memory over TLS and purged immediately after conversion. Your invoices never sit on our servers.

How to Convert a PDF Invoice to XRechnung

German authorities do not accept PDF invoices: since 2020 federal recipients, and step by step the states, require an XRechnung, which is pure XML conforming to EN 16931 plus the German CIUS rules. Your accounting software, however, most likely produces a PDF. The converter above closes that gap: it reads the PDF you already have, extracts the invoice data, and rebuilds it as a valid XRechnung.

The Leitweg-ID comes first

Every XRechnung carries the recipient's Leitweg-ID in the buyer reference (BT-10). You receive it from the contracting authority, usually with the order, and enter it during conversion. Ask for it before invoicing: a missing or malformed Leitweg-ID is the single most common reason an XRechnung bounces.

Check the result before you send it

A note on automatic conversion

Never rely on the automatic conversion alone. The data is read from your document with AI assistance, and mistakes are possible. We strongly recommend converting with review, where you check every field before exporting, instead of Brave Mode, which converts immediately.

Brave Mode only fails on format errors: if the file breaks a rule of the standard, you get a message naming exactly what is missing. It does not fail on content errors. A misread amount, a swapped date or a wrong tax category produce a file that passes every format check and is still wrong. Check the values after every conversion, including the embedded XML data.

The quickest way is the invoice viewer, which also accepts PDF files and shows what is really in the data layer.

Rather enter the invoice yourself?

For a new invoice without an existing PDF, the guided form is the direct route: it asks for parties, line items, VAT, and the Leitweg-ID, and produces the same validated XRechnung XML. Create an XRechnung with the guided form →

Invoicing a company instead of an authority?

Then you want ZUGFeRD, not XRechnung: a hybrid PDF your customer opens normally while DATEV, Lexware, or SAP reads the embedded XML. The same converter produces it. Convert PDF to ZUGFeRD →

Convert, then validate

Every file the converter produces is checked against EN 16931 and the German CIUS before download. To re-check a file from another system, or one you edited afterwards, run it through the XRechnung validator. Validate an XRechnung →

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything about converting PDF invoices to XRechnung.

Public-sector buyers require an XRechnung: structured XML conforming to EN 16931 plus the German CIUS rules. A PDF, even a perfectly correct one, carries no machine-readable data, so the portals reject it. This converter produces the XML the portals validate on submission.
From the contracting authority you are invoicing: it identifies their inbox on the federal or state invoice platform. Ask for it before you convert; without it the XRechnung will be rejected.
Only partly, and this matters: validation catches format errors, not content errors. A misread amount or a swapped date produces a file that passes every rule and is still wrong. Use the review mode, and check the values after every conversion.
PDF is free; DOCX, XLSX, XLS, CSV, and XML need a premium account. The AI adapts to any layout, no template required.
No. For B2B invoices use ZUGFeRD, the hybrid PDF your customer can open normally while their software reads the embedded XML. The ZUGFeRD converter produces it from the same upload.
Converting PDF invoices to XRechnung is free within the daily allowance. Premium adds Word, Excel, CSV, and XML input plus unlimited use.
GoBD Archive

Issuing e-invoices? You must archive them properly.

Since 2015, the GoBD, the tax office's rules for digital records, have applied to every business, freelancers included: digital invoices must be kept as the original file, unchanged, exportable and readable for the whole 8-year retention period. With the e-invoicing mandate a print no longer counts. Our archive takes care of it for you.

  • Every invoice stored exactly as it arrived: XML, PDF or photo
  • Locked against changes, so nothing can be altered afterwards
  • A second copy in another German data centre
  • Find any invoice by date and export it with an index for your tax advisor
  • Team access: several team members can work in the same archive
  • No ERP, no installation: right next to your e-invoicing tools
Discover the GoBD archive See plans
Built for the German mandate

One toolkit for ZUGFeRD and XRechnung

Every German business has had to accept e-invoices since January 2025. Both formats are covered here.

ZUGFeRD or XRechnung? Let the assistant pick the tool Tell the chat what you need: it converts, checks, builds, and reads out German e-invoices. Open assistant

Create

Fill one form, get a ZUGFeRD PDF or an XRechnung with Leitweg-ID
Create ZUGFeRD PDF ZUGFeRD PDF The guided form turns your details into a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice. Create XRechnung XRechnung Generate a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID, ready for public-sector buyers. Create Order-X Order-X PDF Create an Order-X order file: the ZUGFeRD hybrid principle applied to purchase orders. ZUGFeRD Credit Note ZUGFeRD PDF Cancel or correct an e-invoice you already sent with a ZUGFeRD credit note. XRechnung Credit Note XRechnung Create an XRechnung credit note with Leitweg-ID for public-sector buyers.

Check & repair

Test against EN 16931 and the XRechnung CIUS, then fix what a buyer rejected
Validate ZUGFeRD ZUGFeRD PDF Run EN 16931 checks on your ZUGFeRD invoices before DATEV or your customer does. Validate XRechnung XRechnung Check XRechnung XML against EN 16931 and the German CIUS rules. Validate Order-X Order-X Run incoming and outgoing Order-X orders through the official Order-X 1.0 checks. Edit ZUGFeRD Invoice ZUGFeRD PDF Repair a refused or broken invoice: upload it, correct the fields, and get a valid file back. Edit XRechnung XRechnung Open an XRechnung as a form, fix the Leitweg-ID or any rejected field, and download a valid file.

Convert

Move an invoice between PDF, CII, UBL and XRechnung
PDF to ZUGFeRD PDF ZUGFeRD Any PDF, Word, or Excel invoice goes in; a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file comes out. PDF to XRechnung PDF XRechnung Convert a PDF invoice to a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID for public-sector buyers. CII to ZUGFeRD CII ZUGFeRD Package existing CII XML as a ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 hybrid invoice. Embed XML to PDF CII PDF ZUGFeRD Marry a PDF and its CII XML into one ZUGFeRD-compliant hybrid invoice. CII to UBL CII UBL Transform a CII invoice into UBL XML, the syntax most Peppol networks expect. UBL to CII UBL CII Map a UBL invoice to UN/CEFACT CII XML, ready to embed in ZUGFeRD or Factur-X. XRechnung to PDF XRechnung PDF See any CII, UBL, or XRechnung XML as a tidy, printable PDF.

Open & extract

Open a file, see what is inside it, and take the data with you
Extract XML PDF CII Pull structured XML straight out of any PDF invoice with AI-driven OCR. Extract Attachments ZUGFeRD XRechnung Pull every embedded file out of a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice as a ZIP. XRechnung Viewer XRechnung CII UBL Open e-invoice XML in your browser and read it like a paper invoice. ZUGFeRD Viewer ZUGFeRD PDF Open a ZUGFeRD PDF and read the embedded invoice data your software books.

Look up & automate

Check who you are invoicing, or move the whole flow to an API
Check VAT Number Check any EU VAT number against VIES and get the customer's Peppol address. Developer API, MCP and automation Automate invoice generation and validation end to end.
Ready for mandatory e-invoicing?

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EN 16931 & PDF/A-3b compliant Results in seconds No installation GoBD-compliant archive
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