E-invoicing in Germany: ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured format following the European standard EN 16931: your customer’s accounting software reads it automatically instead of typing it in. UNENO Invoice creates e-invoices in the two German formats ZUGFeRD and XRechnung — for companies based in Germany.
The two formats
Section titled “The two formats”| Format | What the customer receives | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| ZUGFeRD | A PDF as you know it — with the invoice data embedded as XML. People read the PDF, software reads the data. | Businesses in Germany |
| XRechnung | Only the invoice data as XML (XRechnung 3.0), no PDF. | Public authorities and public-sector clients with a Leitweg-ID |
Who gets which format
Section titled “Who gets which format”Once e-invoicing is switched on, the customer decides:
| Customer | Format |
|---|---|
| With a Leitweg-ID | XRechnung |
| Organization with a billing address in Germany | ZUGFeRD |
| Individual | |
| Customer outside Germany |
Without e-invoicing, every customer gets a PDF. Quotes and reminders are always PDFs.
The format is fixed when you issue
Section titled “The format is fixed when you issue”When you issue an invoice, its format is set and stays: if you later switch e-invoicing off or change the customer, an issued invoice still downloads and re-sends exactly as before. Only when you correct an invoice is its format decided again when it’s issued again.
In the invoice list, the Format column shows how each invoice goes out — for a draft, the format it would get if issued now:
The example shows all three: Example GmbH in Berlin gets ZUGFeRD, Example City Council with its Leitweg-ID gets XRechnung, and Example Client Ltd in London gets a PDF.
What the customer receives
Section titled “What the customer receives”When you email an e-invoice, exactly one file is attached:
- ZUGFeRD: the invoice PDF with the embedded data. Below the email text: The attached invoice is an electronic invoice (ZUGFeRD) — a PDF with structured data (EN 16931) embedded, so your accounting software can read it automatically.
- XRechnung: the XML file. Below the email text: The attached invoice is an XRechnung — a structured electronic invoice in XML format (EN 16931) for automated processing. There is no PDF.
Downloading gives you what the customer gets, too: the PDF for ZUGFeRD, the XML file for an XRechnung — the button then reads Download XML.