E-Invoice Becomes Mandatory: What Companies Need to Do Now
From 2025, e-invoicing becomes mandatory in B2B transactions. We explain what this means and how to prepare.
The E-Invoice Requirement Is Coming
From January 1, 2025, electronic invoicing becomes mandatory for B2B business transactions in Germany. This affects practically every company that issues invoices to other businesses.
What Is an E-Invoice?
An e-invoice is not simply a PDF sent by email. It is a structured data format that can be read by machines. The two most important standards in Germany are:
- XRechnung: The official standard for public sector clients
- ZUGFeRD: A hybrid format combining structured data with a readable PDF
Who Is Affected?
Basically all companies in the B2B sector. The requirement will be introduced in stages:
| Period | Requirement |
|---|---|
| From 2025 | Ability to receive e-invoices |
| From 2027 | Send e-invoices (over €800,000 revenue) |
| From 2028 | Send e-invoices (all companies) |
What Do You Need to Do?
1. Check Your System
Can your accounting software process e-invoices in XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format? Many modern systems can already do this - often just an update is needed.
2. Adapt Processes
E-invoices require correct master data. Check:
- Is all customer data current?
- Is your Leitweg-ID stored for public sector clients?
- Can you export structured invoice data?
3. Test
Before it gets serious: Test the process. Create test invoices and check the validation.
The Technical Solution
For companies that want to keep their existing systems but need e-invoice capability, we developed invoice.xhub.io.
Our API enables:
- Creation of XRechnung 3.0.2 and ZUGFeRD 2.1
- AI-enhanced validation according to KoSIT standard
- Integration into existing systems in under 5 minutes
- 100% GDPR compliant on German servers
For Developers: The Complete Technical Guide
Are you a developer looking to integrate e-invoicing into your software? Our comprehensive developer guide (German) includes:
- Code examples for TypeScript, Python, and cURL
- Technical details on UBL vs. CII XML syntax
- Implementation checklist
- Common validation errors and solutions
Conclusion
The e-invoice requirement is not a hurdle but an opportunity for digitalization. Those who act now will be relaxed and prepared in 2025.
Need a quick solution for e-invoices? Try invoice.xhub.io for free.
Subscribe to Newsletter
Get monthly practical tips on digitalization
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.