Understanding the E-Invoice (ZUGFeRD/XRechnung)¶
Since 2025, the e-invoice has been established by law in business between companies. dikas Faktura generates it automatically — you do not need to switch anything on. This page explains what an e-invoice is, which obligation applies from when, what exactly dikas Faktura produces and what arrives at the recipient.
Not tax advice
The notes on deadlines, obligations and taxes on this page are meant as guidance and do not replace tax advice. Clarify legal details with your tax advisor or the tax authority.
What an e-invoice is — and what it is not¶
An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured, machine-readable data format according to the European standard EN 16931. The recipient's accounting software reads amount, tax rates, items and bank details directly from it — without retyping, without text recognition.
A PDF is not an e-invoice
A PDF invoice by email is, in the legal sense, an other invoice, not a structured format. A scanned paper document is not an e-invoice either.
In Germany two forms are permitted:
| Format | What it is |
|---|---|
| XRechnung | purely structured data set (XML), German variant ("CIUS") of EN 16931 |
| ZUGFeRD from profile EN 16931 | Hybrid format: PDF for humans, XML for machines |
What applies from when?¶
The rules concern domestic invoices between businesses (B2B). Invoices to private customers are not affected.
| From | What applies |
|---|---|
| 01.01.2025 | Receiving obligation for all domestic businesses — without a transition period and without exception. Even small businesses must be able to receive and process e-invoices. |
| until 31.12.2026 | When sending, paper and PDF remain allowed — with the recipient's consent. |
| 01.01.2027 | Sending obligation for businesses with more than €800,000 prior-year revenue. Smaller ones may still send paper/PDF. |
| 01.01.2028 | Sending obligation for all other businesses — regardless of revenue. Exception: Small businesses under § 19 UStG do not have to issue e-invoices themselves (§ 14 para. 2 UStG as amended by JStG 2024) — for them only the receiving obligation from 2025 remains. |
Receiving is mandatory already today
This is the point most often overlooked: you must be able to receive e-invoices since 2025 — even if you yourself may still issue on paper until 2027 or 2028. An ordinary email address is sufficient for this.
What dikas Faktura generates¶
As soon as you complete an invoice with Finalize & Send, dikas Faktura generates, in addition to the PDF, a structured data set:
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard | EN 16931 |
| Syntax | CII (Cross Industry Invoice) |
| Variant | XRechnung 3.0 (German CIUS) |
| Generated from | ZUGFeRD/Factur-X 2.3 |
| File | a separate XML file named after the invoice number, e.g. RE-2026-0042.xml |
There is no switch
You do not need to activate the e-invoice anywhere. It is created automatically for every invoice that is finalized in German invoice language. The customer's language is decisive, alternatively the default language of your instance.
Quotes, proforma documents and delivery notes are not generated as e-invoices — they are not invoices.
The standard requires these details¶
If a mandatory detail is missing, the generated file is formally not standard-compliant. Therefore check before the first invoice:
All details are in one place: Finance → E-Invoice
| Detail | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Contact person with phone | Section Details for the e-invoice | Mandatory detail of the German variant |
| Tax number or VAT ID | Section Legal details of the company | Mandatory detail of the invoice issuer; the VAT ID also serves as the electronic seller address |
| Commercial register number | same section | Without it, validation services report "no regulatory mandatory details detected" |
| Management, registered office, register court | same section | The same details that § 35a GmbHG / § 125a HGB require on every business letter |
| IBAN (and BIC) | Section Bank details for invoices | Without an IBAN, an e-invoice with payment type bank transfer is not standard-compliant |
If a bank account is already stored under Finance → Bank accounts, it takes precedence; the IBAN here is then only the fallback value.
Formerly under Print & templates
Bank details, tax number and VAT ID were located until August 2026 in the Templates tab under Print & templates. They are no longer there — they belong to the e-invoice and are now exclusively under Finance → E-Invoice. Values already entered are retained.
Buyer reference
The German variant requires a buyer reference for every invoice. dikas Faktura uses the customer number for this. Maintain it in the customer master data — otherwise a substitute value is inserted.
dikas Faktura takes the company name and address of the invoice issuer from your license. They can be changed in the customer account at konto.dikas.de.
What the recipient receives¶
When you click Finalize & Send, an email goes to the customer's billing address with two attachments:
| Attachment | For whom |
|---|---|
<invoice number>.pdf |
humans — readable invoice in the layout of your template |
<invoice number>.xml |
machines — the structured data set according to EN 16931 |
The recipient imports the XML file into their accounting or forwards both to their tax advisor. Anyone who does not use e-invoice processing simply reads the PDF.
PDF and XML are separate files
dikas Faktura sends the structured data set as a separate XML file next to the PDF — the XML is not embedded in the PDF. For the recipient this is equivalent: both ways are permitted under EN 16931. What matters is only that they pass on both attachments.
Special cases¶
Different delivery address¶
If the invoice carries a different delivery address, it appears in the data set as a separate delivery location (recipient, address, country). Without a delivery address, the file contains no delivery location — then the billing address applies.
EU business customers (reverse charge)¶
If the customer has a VAT ID from another EU member state (i.e. not DE…), dikas Faktura
internally marks the invoice as a reverse-charge case. This flag controls the
Kontierung im DATEV-Export.
The tax is not removed automatically
The flag does not change the amounts on the invoice. Set the tax rate per item to 0 % and write the mandatory note "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers (Reverse Charge)" yourself into the description or the long text of the item — or permanently into your invoice template.
Small businesses under § 19 UStG¶
If your instance is set to § 19 UStG, the VAT is set to 0 %, the PDF carries the mandatory text "Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet.", and the XML file carries the same text as the exemption reason. The switch for this is currently not in the interface — contact us via Report a bug in the sidebar.
Credit notes and cancellations¶
A cancellation generates a credit note. It is kept as a separate document and is likewise issued as an e-invoice (document type credit note).
Retention¶
When finalizing, dikas Faktura stores PDF and XML immutably. Every later download delivers exactly this stored version — not a document regenerated from today's master data. A later changed template, address or bank detail therefore no longer changes an invoice that has already been sent.
If storage fails, the invoice remains a draft
If the immutable storage cannot be written, the invoice is not finalized. This is intentional: there should be no finalized invoice without an archived document.
Further reading¶
- Writing your first invoice — the path up to sending
- DATEV-Export — Buchhaltungsdaten an den Steuerberater übergeben