Receiving e-invoices in Germany: what the duty means
Since 1 January 2025, every business established in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. The duty comes from the Growth Opportunities Act (Wachstumschancengesetz) and applies without a transition period or turnover threshold, to freelancers and Kleinunternehmer just as to large companies. Since then, an issuer no longer needs your consent to send an e-invoice, and you cannot insist on paper or a plain PDF instead.
An e-invoice is a structured dataset that follows the European standard EN 16931. In Germany it arrives in one of two forms: as an XRechnung, a pure XML file in the CII or UBL syntax, or as a ZUGFeRD invoice, a PDF with the XML embedded inside. For tax purposes the structured data is what counts: if the page of a ZUGFeRD invoice shows a different amount than the embedded XML, the XML is the invoice.
What receiving takes in practice
The law prescribes no software for receiving. An email inbox is enough to get the file. What follows is your part: the invoice has to be readable for whoever approves and books it, it should be checked before you pay it and claim the input VAT, and the original has to be kept unchanged and machine-readable for eight years, under § 14b UStG, § 147 AO and the GoBD.
This is where most businesses get stuck. A double click on an XRechnung shows angle brackets, a PDF reader shows only the page of a ZUGFeRD invoice, and an inbox or a shared folder is no archive. GetZUGFeRD closes these gaps in the browser: the validator checks every file against the official rule sets, the XRechnung viewer and the ZUGFeRD viewer show the data as a readable invoice, XRechnung to PDF makes a copy to print or forward, and the GoBD archive keeps the original locked against changes.
A routine for incoming invoices
A workable process for a small business has four stations: one fixed address where invoices arrive, a quick check of the file, approval based on the data rather than the picture, and archiving of the original. The first invoice of every new supplier deserves a full check. After that, spot checks are usually enough. Clear rules keep the process running, not an ERP system.