How to create a ZUGFeRD e-invoice
Since January 2025 every German business has had to be able to receive e-invoices. Issuing is next. Here's what ZUGFeRD is, when it applies to you, and how to produce one from a phone.
What ZUGFeRD is
ZUGFeRD (Zentraler User Guide des Forums elektronische Rechnung Deutschland, which nobody says out loud) is Germany's hybrid electronic invoice format. Like Factur-X, it's a single PDF file with a structured XML invoice embedded inside it.
The design goal was to avoid a hard cutover. Your client's bookkeeper opens the file and sees a normal invoice. Their accounting system reads the embedded XML and posts it automatically. Nobody has to change how they work in order for the automation to happen.
From version 2.x, ZUGFeRD and the French Factur-X standard are the same specification, developed jointly and built on the European EN 16931 semantic model. That shared format does not make every profile or national workflow interchangeable. FeRD publishes the current ZUGFeRD/Factur-X format information.
Germany's deadlines
| Date | Who | Obligation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2025 | Domestic businesses | Must be able to receive e-invoices (already in force) |
| 1 January 2027 | Prior-year turnover above €800,000 | Must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B |
| 1 January 2028 | Domestic B2B, subject to exemptions | Broad issuing obligation |
The receiving obligation is the one people miss, because it arrived quietly and requires no action until a supplier actually sends you a structured invoice. If you're trading in Germany, you're already expected to be able to accept one.
Smaller businesses get transitional relief on issuing until 2027, and the full obligation lands for everyone on 1 January 2028.
Source: German Federal Ministry of Finance e-invoice FAQ, current as of March 2026.
ZUGFeRD vs XRechnung: which should you send?
Germany accepts two structured formats, and they suit different situations.
| XRechnung | ZUGFeRD 2.0.1+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Pure XML | Hybrid PDF + embedded XML |
| Human-readable? | Not without a viewer | Yes, it's a normal PDF |
| Typical use | Public-sector (B2G) invoicing | B2B, especially with smaller clients |
| Client needs software? | Yes | No, they can just read the PDF |
For most freelancers and small businesses invoicing other businesses, ZUGFeRD is the pragmatic choice: it satisfies clients whose systems want structured data, and it remains readable for the ones who still print invoices and put them in a folder. If you invoice German public authorities, check whether they specifically require XRechnung.
What's exempt
The official FAQ lists several exceptions or transactions outside the issuing requirement, including:
- Small-value invoices up to €250.
- Travel tickets.
- Services supplied by a Kleinunternehmer under the German small-business regime.
- Certain tax-exempt transactions.
- B2C transactions: invoicing private consumers is outside these B2B rules.
This is not an exhaustive legal test. Check the German Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ or ask your tax adviser about your circumstances.
Creating a ZUGFeRD invoice on iPhone
In Quick Invoice Generator PDF
- Fill in your company completely. Legal name, full address including country, and your Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer or tax number. Structured invoices won't validate without them.
- Fill in the customer completely. Full legal name and full billing address, country included.
- Add line items with explicit VAT rates. Every line needs a rate: 19%, 7%, or 0% where that's correct. A blank rate is fine in a PDF and fatal in XML.
- Set the invoice language to German if the client is German. It's a separate setting from your phone's language, so an English-speaking user can still send a properly labelled German invoice.
- Press and hold the invoice and choose Share e-invoice (Factur-X (ZUGFeRD)). The export is validated first; if a mandatory field is empty, the app tells you which one and jumps you to it.
The file you get is a Factur-X 1.0 (Basic) hybrid PDF,
urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:basic, which is also a
valid ZUGFeRD 2.x document.
Pre-flight checklist
Before your first ZUGFeRD export, confirm all of these. It saves a round of rejected exports:
- Company legal name matches your registration, not your trading nickname
- Company address includes a country
- VAT / tax identification number present
- Customer legal name and full address, with country
- Invoice number and invoice date set
- A VAT rate on every line item
- Currency set correctly
One honest caveat
The app produces a standards-based ZUGFeRD/Factur-X file. Whether your business has met every legal and tax obligation (the right format for the right client, correct VAT treatment, archiving requirements) depends on your circumstances, and no app can decide that for you. If you're unsure, ask your Steuerberater.
The app's current Basic-profile checks, tools, scenario versions and limitations are listed on the e-invoice validation page.
Official sources
Regulatory and technical claims in this guide were checked against the following primary sources on 28 July 2026:
- German Federal Ministry of Finance: mandatory e-invoice FAQ
- Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland (FeRD): ZUGFeRD/Factur-X format
- KoSIT: XRechnung technical FAQ
- KoSIT validator documentation: the engine requires a separate validation scenario containing the applicable rules
See InvoiceYou's dated FNFE-MPE, veraPDF and KoSIT validation evidence →
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Requirements can change; check the official sources or ask your tax adviser before relying on them for a filing decision.
Create a ZUGFeRD e-invoice on your iPhone
A Factur-X Basic / ZUGFeRD hybrid PDF and XML from an exporter that has passed dated structural checks.
Free plan: 10 invoices, 3 shares a month · No account · No ads
Frequently asked questions
What is ZUGFeRD?
ZUGFeRD is the German hybrid e-invoice standard: an ordinary PDF with a structured XML invoice embedded inside it. From version 2.x it is technically identical to the French Factur-X standard: the two were developed jointly and are built on EN 16931. See the official FeRD description of ZUGFeRD/Factur-X.
When do German businesses have to issue e-invoices?
According to the German Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ, domestic businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Transitional issuing rules run through 2026; businesses with prior-year turnover up to €800,000 may continue using other invoices through 2027. Subject to the stated exemptions, mandatory domestic B2B e-invoicing therefore applies broadly from 1 January 2028.
Is a PDF still a valid invoice in Germany?
Not as an e-invoice under the mandate. Once the obligation applies, the invoice needs structured data that permits electronic processing. Germany's official FAQ names XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, excluding the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles, as common qualifying formats. A plain PDF or Word file is not an e-invoice. The FAQ also lists exemptions and transactions outside the rules.
Can one file satisfy both German and French clients?
Not automatically. Factur-X and ZUGFeRD share the same technical format family, but the required profile and transmission route depend on the transaction. InvoiceYou's Basic export is a valid ZUGFeRD/Factur-X Basic document; it is not claimed to meet France's EN16931 or EXTENDED-CTC-FR reform profiles, and France requires covered invoices to pass through a state-approved platform.