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Till & invoicing

Electronic invoice

An invoice as a structured data set under the EN 16931 standard — not a PDF.

A PDF invoice is a picture of an invoice: a person reads it, software has to guess. In an electronic invoice the invoice number, the lines, the tax rates and the amounts stand there as fields.

Every domestic business in Germany has had to be able to receive one since 1 January 2025 — with no transition period and no turnover threshold. The duty to send applies from 2027 above €800,000 of prior-year turnover, and from 2028 to everyone.

In detail on this site Electronic invoice →

Related terms

ZUGFeRD / Factur-X A hybrid electronic invoice format: a PDF with the structured data embedded in it. XRechnung The plain XML format for electronic invoices to public-sector customers in Germany. EN 16931 The European standard setting out what an electronic invoice has to contain.
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