Expert knowledge for digital decisions
What is an electronic invoice?
Short answer
The key difference
The decisive factor is not the transmission path, but the format. A PDF is readable for humans, but for software it is just a picture of letters. An e-invoice contains the invoice data in a structured format – invoice number, amount, tax rate and items are in clearly named fields.
This is the reason for the entire transition: software can check and record an e-invoice without anyone having to type numbers in.
The three categories
| Type | Example | Counts as e-invoice? |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | Printed invoice | No |
| Other electronic invoice | PDF, JPG, Word | No |
| E-invoice | XRechnung, ZUGFeRD from EN 16931 profile | Yes |
What this means in practice
Whoever receives an e-invoice needs software that can read the format – or at least a display option. Simply storing the file is not sufficient, because the legal storage requirements refer to the structured part.
A hybrid format like ZUGFeRD solves this elegantly: The file is at the same time a readable PDF and contains the structured data embedded.
Key facts
- Governing Standard
- EN 16931
- Not an e-invoice
- Paper, PDF, Scan, Image File
- E-invoice
- XRechnung, ZUGFeRD from EN 16931 profile
Sources
All external claims are backed by traceable sources.-
01
Fragen und Antworten zur obligatorischen E-Rechnung ab 1. Januar 2025 Bundesministerium der Finanzen
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02
§ 14 UStG – Ausstellung von Rechnungen Bundesministerium der Justiz