Set up e-invoicing (Germany)

Only for companies based in Germany

This chapter covers e-invoicing for a company based in Germany. Is your company based in France? See Set up e-invoicing (France).

Switch e-invoicing on

1. Open Settings → Documents settings → Invoices & quotes.

2. Switch on Electronic invoicing (E-Rechnung) and click Save changes.

   

From now on, every invoice you issue gets the right format — ZUGFeRD, XRechnung or PDF, depending on the customer. Invoices already issued stay as they are.

What an e-invoice needs

An e-invoice is only issued once every required detail is there — otherwise UNENO tells you what’s missing when you issue. Best to complete them beforehand:

Detail	For	Where to maintain it
Company name, address (street, postcode, city, country)	both formats	Company details in your account
VAT number or tax number	both formats	Company details in your account
Phone and email	XRechnung	Settings → Business profile → Contact — without an email there, the Billing email from your company details counts
IBAN	XRechnung	Settings → Business profile → Bank details
The customer’s name and full billing address	both formats	on the customer
The customer’s email address	XRechnung	on the customer
Payment term	both formats	in the invoice — prefilled with your Default payment term

If No due date is selected as the Default payment term, new invoices have no payment term — then enter it in each e-invoice yourself, or pick a term there.

With an IBAN, the e-invoice names a bank transfer as the payment means — with the IBAN, your company name as the account holder and the BIC, if set.

A public authority’s Leitweg-ID

Public authorities and public-sector clients give you a Leitweg-ID — the address their invoice is routed to internally. Enter it on the customer and they get XRechnungs:

1. Under Customers, click ⋮ → Edit on the customer — or create them.

2. Choose Organization as the Type and Germany as the Country. Only then does the Leitweg-ID field appear.

3. Enter the Leitweg-ID, such as 04011000-1234512345-06, and the customer’s Email.

4. Click Save changes.

• The Leitweg-ID’s structure is checked: digits, an optional middle part, two check digits at the end — separated by hyphens. If the structure doesn’t fit, you see The Leitweg-ID field format is invalid.
• Only for organizations in Germany: if you change the type to Individual or change the country, the field is cleared.
• Without a Leitweg-ID, an authority set up as an organization with an address in Germany gets ZUGFeRD too.

Units and tax rates

Both are already set up to fit — good to know what the e-invoice makes of them:

• Units: each unit has a UNECE code behind it, which goes into the e-invoice — more under Units.
• Tax rates: if a line carries no VAT, the e-invoice needs the reason — pick a 0% rate with a Reason for 0% for it, see Taxes.

Good to know

• Who may switch e-invoicing on is set in the role under Documents settings → Update; the Leitweg-ID, whoever may create or edit customers.
• As a small business under § 19 UStG you issue e-invoices just the same — without VAT, with the note on the small-business rule. The e-invoice still needs your VAT number or tax number.