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. One export, two markets.
Germany's deadlines
| Date | Who | Obligation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2025 | Every company | 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 | All domestic B2B | Full 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.
ZUGFeRD vs XRechnung — which should you send?
Germany accepts two structured formats, and they suit different situations.
| XRechnung | ZUGFeRD 2.1+ | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- Small-value invoices up to €250.
- Travel tickets.
- B2C transactions — invoicing private consumers is outside the mandate.
Which means that if you invoice consumers rather than businesses, none of this applies to you and a well-made PDF remains perfectly fine.
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: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.
Create a ZUGFeRD e-invoice on your iPhone
Hybrid PDF and XML, validated before export, and valid as Factur-X for French clients too.
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.
When do German businesses have to issue e-invoices?
Receiving has been mandatory since 1 January 2025 for every company. Issuing phases in: from 1 January 2027 for companies with prior-year turnover above €800,000, and from 1 January 2028 for all domestic B2B invoices.
Is a PDF still a valid invoice in Germany?
Not as an e-invoice under the mandate. Once the obligation applies, only structured formats — XRechnung (pure XML) or ZUGFeRD 2.1+ (hybrid PDF/XML) — count. A plain PDF or a Word file does not. Small-value invoices up to €250, travel tickets and B2C transactions are exempt.
Can one file satisfy both German and French clients?
Yes, that is the point of the joint standard. A Factur-X 1.0 file is also a valid ZUGFeRD 2.x file, so the same export works for clients on both sides of the border. What differs is the transmission rules — France requires routing through a certified platform, Germany does not impose the same platform requirement.