XRechnung & ZUGFeRD E-Invoice Generator (Germany, EN 16931)

About the XRechnung & ZUGFeRD E-Invoice Generator (Germany, EN 16931)

Fill in one invoice and download it as a structured German e-invoice: XRechnung as a pure XML file (UBL or CII syntax) or a ZUGFeRD / Factur-X PDF — a readable PDF with the invoice XML embedded (profile EN 16931, or XRECHNUNG). The amounts are worked out the way EN 16931 checks them, per VAT category and rate, and every change runs the same basic checks as our XRechnung validator: missing VAT number or Leitweg-ID, wrong VAT category, totals that do not add up, the contact and address details XRechnung asks for.

The interface is in German and English. Nothing is uploaded and no e-mail address is needed: the draft and your business details stay in this browser, and the file is yours to send by e-mail or upload to your customer’s portal.

Common uses

• Freelancers and small firms that need an occasional XRechnung for a public body, with the Leitweg-ID checked.
• Businesses preparing for the German e-invoicing obligation that want to see what a correct XRechnung or ZUGFeRD file contains.
• Sending a ZUGFeRD PDF to a business customer who reads the PDF while their software reads the XML.
• Correcting an invoice: type 384 with the number of the corrected invoice.

Who has to send e-invoices in Germany

Every business in Germany must already be able to receive e-invoices; an e-mail inbox is enough. Issuing them becomes compulsory between domestic businesses in two steps: from 1 January 2027 for businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year, and from 1 January 2028 for all others. Until then paper invoices remain allowed, other electronic invoices such as a PDF by e-mail need the recipient’s agreement, and an EDI procedure that is not itself an e-invoice may be used until the end of 2027. The obligation applies only where VAT law requires an invoice at all — not to invoices to consumers or for many tax-exempt supplies (§ 4 Nr. 8 to 29 UStG) — and a paper or PDF invoice stays allowed for small amounts up to €250 gross (§ 33 UStDV), tickets that count as invoices (§ 34 UStDV), supplies by small businesses (Kleinunternehmer, § 34a UStDV, which lets their invoices always be sent as a “sonstige Rechnung”) and supplies to legal entities that are not businesses.

An e-invoice is a structured file that meets EN 16931: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 qualify, except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles. A plain PDF is a “sonstige Rechnung”, not an e-invoice. The law prescribes no channel, so sending the file by e-mail is fine. Source: the BMF’s questions and answers on e-invoicing (questions 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12a).

XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?

• XRechnung is the German CIUS of EN 16931, maintained by KoSIT (xeinkauf.de). It is a pure XML file. German public authorities ask for it, usually with the Leitweg-ID that tells their portal where the invoice goes. XRechnung adds rules of its own: a buyer reference (BT-10), the seller’s contact with phone and e-mail, payment instructions and electronic addresses of both parties. For a business customer who gives no reference, a placeholder such as “-” is enough for VAT purposes (BMF, question 6).
• ZUGFeRD / Factur-X is a PDF/A-3 with the XML embedded as factur-x.xml. People read the PDF; software reads the XML. Where they differ, the XML counts. Profile EN 16931 suits most business customers; profile XRECHNUNG puts an XRechnung into the PDF.
• Both use the same data, so you can switch the format at any time and the checks adapt.

How the amounts are worked out

• Line net amount = quantity × net price, rounded to the cent, minus the line discount (a percentage of the line or an amount).
• A discount on the whole invoice is booked per VAT category and rate: a percentage on each group’s net amount, a fixed amount shared in proportion to the groups (to the cent, nothing lost).
• Shipping either shares the items’ VAT rates in proportion to their net amounts — a common way to apportion an ancillary cost when the items carry different rates — or uses the rate you choose.
• VAT per category and rate = taxable amount × rate, rounded half up to the cent; the totals are exact sums of the rounded figures, as EN 16931 checks them (BR-CO-10 to BR-CO-17).
• Early-payment discount (Skonto) goes into the payment terms (BT-20) in XRechnung’s own structured form — #SKONTO# then TAGE=, the days, #PROZENT=, the percentage with two decimals and a closing #, on its own line (rule BR-DE-18; see the example below) — and as a sentence in the ZUGFeRD PDF.

VAT cases the form handles

• 19% and 7% (VAT category S) and 0% zero rated (Z).
• Reverse charge (AE): the invoice must say “Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers” (§ 14a UStG); for services to a business in another EU country both VAT numbers are required.
• Intra-EU supply of goods (K): both VAT numbers, the delivery date and the deliver-to country — the customer’s address, unless you enter a different delivery address.
• Export outside the EU (G), exempt supplies (E, for example under § 4 UStG or as a Kleinunternehmer under § 19 UStG) and not subject to VAT (O): each needs an exemption note, which the form pre-fills with the usual German wording for you to check.
• Not subject to VAT (O) has two rules of its own in EN 16931: such an invoice carries no VAT number of seller or buyer (BR-O-02), so the form leaves them out of that invoice and keeps your tax number, and it cannot contain other VAT categories (BR-O-11) — invoice the other items separately.

The mandatory particulars of an invoice are listed in § 14 Abs. 4 UStG: names and addresses, tax number or VAT number, invoice date and a unique sequential number, quantity and description, date of supply, net amounts by rate, the rate and the VAT amount or the exemption note.

Kurz auf Deutsch

Mit diesem Werkzeug erstellen Sie eine einzelne E-Rechnung direkt im Browser: als XRechnung (XML in UBL- oder CII-Syntax) oder als ZUGFeRD-PDF mit eingebetteter XML. Ohne Anmeldung, ohne E-Mail-Adresse, ohne Upload. Die Beträge werden nach den Rechenregeln von EN 16931 je Steuersatz berechnet; die Basisprüfung meldet fehlende Pflichtangaben (z. B. USt-IdNr., Leitweg-ID, Kontaktdaten) und falsche Summen und springt per Knopfdruck zum Feld. Sie ist keine rechtliche Prüfung.

Belgium, France and Peppol

Belgium requires structured e-invoices between VAT-registered businesses (einvoice.belgium.be), and France routes them through platforms approved by its tax administration (impots.gouv.fr). Both build on EN 16931 but use their own specifications (Peppol BIS Billing in Belgium) and delivery networks; this page writes German XRechnung and ZUGFeRD files and cannot send anything through Peppol or those platforms.

Limitations

• The checks are basic checks, not a legal validation: they implement the XRechnung rules (BR-DE) and the Peppol rules XRechnung uses, plus MySmartCoPilot’s own checks of the EN 16931 core rules — not the official CEN rule set. The BMF recommends validating e-invoices but endorses no validator; your customer’s system has the final word.
• One invoice at a time, in euros: no credit notes, no invoices from a spreadsheet, and no saved customers or items.
• No attachments (BG-24), no payee or tax representative, no item identifiers such as GTIN in this form. The XML follows XRechnung 3.0; when KoSIT publishes a new version, receivers say which versions they accept.
• The ZUGFeRD PDF is written as PDF/A-3 (embedded fonts, sRGB output intent, XMP metadata with the Factur-X schema) but is not certified here by a PDF/A validator.
• The page does not send invoices: no e-mail, no Peppol, no upload to public portals. The first PDF download fetches the PDF engine and fonts from this site; the XML works offline.
• The PDF draws Latin script (German, most European languages); other characters are replaced by “?” and listed.

Privacy

Everything happens in your browser. Your invoice, your customers and your bank details are not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot; the draft is kept in this browser’s local storage until you clear it (Alles leeren).