Timeline: receive from 2025, issue from 2027 and 2028
Since 1 January 2025, recipients of domestic German B2B invoices must be able to receive structured e-invoices.
The issuing obligation comes in two steps: businesses with more than EUR 800,000 total turnover in 2026 (Gesamtumsatz under § 19 Abs. 2 UStG) must generally issue e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions from 1 January 2027; all other businesses follow from 1 January 2028.
During the transition, paper or plain PDF invoices remain possible under the applicable conditions; small businesses under § 19 UStG are exempt from issuing, but still have to receive e-invoices.
What counts as a compliant e-invoice
A compliant e-invoice must be structured and machine-readable, following the European EN 16931 standard. Germany uses the CIUS XRechnung; the hybrid ZUGFeRD format 2.1.1 and above (PDF with embedded XML) is also accepted.
Scans, image PDFs and plain PDFs are not structured e-invoices and are generally only usable during the transition, for example with the recipient's consent.
What SendLabel invoices contain
Each invoice is produced as a ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 PDF/A-3 hybrid file with an embedded xrechnung.xml; the XML follows EN 16931 and the German CIUS XRechnung 3.0.2.
PDF and XML amounts match to the cent and include BuyerReference / Leitweg-ID (BT-10), seller contact (BR-DE-2), business process identifier (BT-23), tax breakdowns and the due date.
The invoice center offers the PDF/A-3 file and the standalone xrechnung.xml; credit notes (Gutschrift) are issued in XRechnung format as well.
How business customers configure and archive
In your profile under company details, add the company name, billing address, VAT ID and a Leitweg-ID or BuyerReference: public-sector customers usually use a Leitweg-ID, companies can use a purchase order number.
Import the XML into DATEV, Lexware, SAP or a similar accounting system; if the recipient only wants structured data, forward xrechnung.xml directly.
For archiving, keep the original XML and PDF according to GoBD principles: unalterable, machine-readable and within the statutory retention period.