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Invoice Inn

E-invoicing

An e-invoice carries the invoice data in a structured format that the customer’s accounting software can read on its own, without anyone typing it in. Invoice Inn creates e-invoices in the ZUGFeRD format: the same PDF you already send, with the invoice data embedded in it as XML. A person opens it like any PDF, and the customer’s software reads the data inside. E-invoicing is available on the Pro plan and above, for businesses established in Germany.

When you need e-invoices in Germany

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The German rules cover sales to other businesses in Germany. Sales to consumers keep the normal PDF invoice.

  • Since 1 January 2025 every German business must be able to receive e-invoices.
  • From 1 January 2027 businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year must send e-invoices to their German business customers.
  • From 1 January 2028 every German business must.

Until your date, you only need an e-invoice when a customer asks for one. That is how Invoice Inn works today: you choose which invoices and credit notes become e-invoices, one by one or several at once, and nothing is converted automatically.

What is covered

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  • Sellers established in Germany with a VAT ID (USt-IdNr) or a tax number (Steuernummer).
  • Customers in the EU, businesses or consumers. You decide which documents to convert.
  • Documents: invoices, supplementary invoices and credit notes.

Not covered yet: sellers in other countries, the small business scheme (Kleinunternehmerregelung), items that are VAT-exempt or under the margin scheme, customers outside the EU, and public-sector customers who require XRechnung with a Leitweg-ID. If your business is established in another country, the E-invoicing card on Automations says so and has a Contact us button; we are adding countries one by one.

Articles in this section

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See also

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