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Rechnungskit
Rechnungskit vs. Billbee

Billbee alternative for multichannel sellers

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Rechnungskit is the compliance layer next to your inventory and order management: GoBD locking from creation, validated e-invoices, a qualified VAT ID check and finished DATEV bookings. Billbee stays strong in order processing and shipping, and that is exactly where Rechnungskit deliberately stops.

Sources checked: July 28, 2026 · Updated: October 3, 2026 · No guarantee of accuracy · Sources below the table

The short version

Rechnungskit fits if …

legally sound documents matter to you: locking, XRechnung for public-sector buyers, the date of supply from shipping, checked VAT IDs and voucher tax logic.

Billbee fits if …

you're mainly looking for multichannel order processing: stock levels, shipping labels, marketplaces. That's Billbee's core and not what Rechnungskit covers.

This comparison looks at invoicing and compliance: Billbee is order management with an invoicing module, Rechnungskit is an invoicing and compliance layer. The two can even work together, with Billbee for shipping and stock and Rechnungskit for documents and bookings.

Rechnungskit and Billbee in detail

Every row is backed by a source. Where something couldn't be confirmed from public sources, the table says so.

Feature comparison of Rechnungskit and Billbee, as of July 28, 2026
Feature RechnungskitBillbee
E-invoicing
ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X outgoing Yes ZUGFeRD 2.5 under EN 16931, every invoice Status: included Yes, with gaps1 ZUGFeRD according to the help center (2.2.0); profile not documented Status: limited, see footnote 1
XRechnung for public-sector buyers Yes XRechnung 3.0 automatically as soon as the customer has a Leitweg-ID (public-sector routing ID) on file Status: included No1 Status: not available, see footnote 1
Validation before sending Mandatory fields under §14 UStG, tax rates, format rules Yes every invoice before sending (Mustang/EN 16931) Status: included Not documented no documented validation before sending Status: no reliable source found
Receive and process e-invoices No deliberately out of scope. Rechnungskit creates outgoing invoices Status: not available No1 Status: not available, see footnote 1
Shop automation
Native shop and payment integrations no third-party tools Yes Shopify, WooCommerce and Shopware natively, Stripe/Mollie/PayPal/Unzer, own checkout link for one-time purchases and subscriptions without a shop, own push API Status: included Yes1 very broad coverage: shops, marketplaces, TikTok Shop and many more Status: included, see footnote 1
Invoicing on the correct date of supply shipping date instead of payment date, automatically Yes from the shop's shipping event; for subscriptions, the service period comes from the billing period Status: included Partly1 no date-of-supply field; only a {ShipDate} placeholder in the layout, no automatic date-of-supply logic Status: limited, see footnote 1
Automatic cancellation invoices on refunds including partial refunds Yes to the cent, with its own correction document Status: included Manual1 credit note/partial cancellation manual and linked to the original order; no rule action for cancellations Status: limited, see footnote 1
Payout reconciliation with fees Stripe, Mollie, PayPal and others as finished bookings Yes fees and payouts as bookings Status: included Payment matching1 payment import (PayPal, Stripe, Klarna …); fee/payout bookings not documented Status: limited, see footnote 1
Tax compliance
OSS / EU distance selling Yes destination-country rates, monitoring of the €10,000 threshold, export Status: included Yes1 OSS revenue accounts in the DATEV export Status: included, see footnote 1
EU tax rates updated automatically Yes monthly from the EU database TEDB, with change alerts Status: included Not documented Status: no reliable source found
Qualified VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) check with evidence archive Yes qualified check with the BZSt (Federal Central Tax Office), response archived for 8 years Status: included Not documented no documented VIES/eVatR check Status: no reliable source found
Single- and multi-purpose vouchers (§3 (13) to (15) UStG) Yes own voucher and store-credit register Status: included Not documented no documented single-/multi-purpose logic Status: no reliable source found
Deferred revenue (pRAP) / revenue recognition for subscriptions Yes pRAP for subscriptions and annual licenses Status: included Not documented no pRAP feature publicly documented Status: no reliable source found
DATEV & archive
Finished DATEV booking records not just document images Yes EXTF for SKR03/SKR04, revenue + payments + fees; document images via Beleglink in the "Belegtransfer" package for Unternehmen online Status: included Yes1 DATEV revenue and payment export + DATEV booking data service Status: included, see footnote 1
GoBD archive with locking (Festschreibung) Yes WORM archive, SHA-256, locked from creation Status: included No1 no native locking; archiving via an external storage connection Status: not available, see footnote 1
Free access for your tax advisor Yes own tax advisor portal, documents read-only Status: included Yes1 unlimited users including your tax advisor at no extra cost; no predefined tax advisor role Status: included, see footnote 1
Accounting & operations
VAT return (UStVA) / cash-basis accounts (EÜR) / direct ELSTER filing EC Sales List (ZM) import files are covered separately ZM data ZM import file yes; UStVA, EÜR and direct ELSTER filing stay with your tax advisor Status: limited No1 Billbee is not accounting software and offers no direct ELSTER filing Status: not available, see footnote 1
Entry price from €9 base fee + tiered price per document; free to test in sandbox mode Status: included from €91 usage-based by order volume, all features included Status: note, see footnote 1
API for your own systems Yes push API in every plan Status: included Yes1 Status: included, see footnote 1

E-invoicing

ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X outgoing
Rechnungskit Yes ZUGFeRD 2.5 under EN 16931, every invoice Status: included
Billbee Yes, with gaps1 ZUGFeRD according to the help center (2.2.0); profile not documented Status: limited, see footnote 1
XRechnung for public-sector buyers
Rechnungskit Yes XRechnung 3.0 automatically as soon as the customer has a Leitweg-ID (public-sector routing ID) on file Status: included
Billbee No1 Status: not available, see footnote 1
Validation before sending
Mandatory fields under §14 UStG, tax rates, format rules
Rechnungskit Yes every invoice before sending (Mustang/EN 16931) Status: included
Billbee Not documented no documented validation before sending Status: no reliable source found
Receive and process e-invoices
Rechnungskit No deliberately out of scope. Rechnungskit creates outgoing invoices Status: not available
Billbee No1 Status: not available, see footnote 1

Shop automation

Native shop and payment integrations
no third-party tools
Rechnungskit Yes Shopify, WooCommerce and Shopware natively, Stripe/Mollie/PayPal/Unzer, own checkout link for one-time purchases and subscriptions without a shop, own push API Status: included
Billbee Yes1 very broad coverage: shops, marketplaces, TikTok Shop and many more Status: included, see footnote 1
Invoicing on the correct date of supply
shipping date instead of payment date, automatically
Rechnungskit Yes from the shop's shipping event; for subscriptions, the service period comes from the billing period Status: included
Billbee Partly1 no date-of-supply field; only a {ShipDate} placeholder in the layout, no automatic date-of-supply logic Status: limited, see footnote 1
Automatic cancellation invoices on refunds
including partial refunds
Rechnungskit Yes to the cent, with its own correction document Status: included
Billbee Manual1 credit note/partial cancellation manual and linked to the original order; no rule action for cancellations Status: limited, see footnote 1
Payout reconciliation with fees
Stripe, Mollie, PayPal and others as finished bookings
Rechnungskit Yes fees and payouts as bookings Status: included
Billbee Payment matching1 payment import (PayPal, Stripe, Klarna …); fee/payout bookings not documented Status: limited, see footnote 1

Tax compliance

OSS / EU distance selling
Rechnungskit Yes destination-country rates, monitoring of the €10,000 threshold, export Status: included
Billbee Yes1 OSS revenue accounts in the DATEV export Status: included, see footnote 1
EU tax rates updated automatically
Rechnungskit Yes monthly from the EU database TEDB, with change alerts Status: included
Billbee Not documented Status: no reliable source found
Qualified VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) check with evidence archive
Rechnungskit Yes qualified check with the BZSt (Federal Central Tax Office), response archived for 8 years Status: included
Billbee Not documented no documented VIES/eVatR check Status: no reliable source found
Single- and multi-purpose vouchers (§3 (13) to (15) UStG)
Rechnungskit Yes own voucher and store-credit register Status: included
Billbee Not documented no documented single-/multi-purpose logic Status: no reliable source found
Deferred revenue (pRAP) / revenue recognition for subscriptions
Rechnungskit Yes pRAP for subscriptions and annual licenses Status: included
Billbee Not documented no pRAP feature publicly documented Status: no reliable source found

DATEV & archive

Finished DATEV booking records
not just document images
Rechnungskit Yes EXTF for SKR03/SKR04, revenue + payments + fees; document images via Beleglink in the "Belegtransfer" package for Unternehmen online Status: included
Billbee Yes1 DATEV revenue and payment export + DATEV booking data service Status: included, see footnote 1
GoBD archive with locking (Festschreibung)
Rechnungskit Yes WORM archive, SHA-256, locked from creation Status: included
Billbee No1 no native locking; archiving via an external storage connection Status: not available, see footnote 1
Free access for your tax advisor
Rechnungskit Yes own tax advisor portal, documents read-only Status: included
Billbee Yes1 unlimited users including your tax advisor at no extra cost; no predefined tax advisor role Status: included, see footnote 1

Accounting & operations

VAT return (UStVA) / cash-basis accounts (EÜR) / direct ELSTER filing
EC Sales List (ZM) import files are covered separately
Rechnungskit ZM data ZM import file yes; UStVA, EÜR and direct ELSTER filing stay with your tax advisor Status: limited
Billbee No1 Billbee is not accounting software and offers no direct ELSTER filing Status: not available, see footnote 1
Entry price
Rechnungskit from €9 base fee + tiered price per document; free to test in sandbox mode Status: included
Billbee from €91 usage-based by order volume, all features included Status: note, see footnote 1
API for your own systems
Rechnungskit Yes push API in every plan Status: included
Billbee Yes1 Status: included, see footnote 1
Sources & footnotes
  1. 1. billbee.io (pricing, interfaces, FAQ) and hilfe.billbee.io (ZUGFeRD, order documents, user management, payment matching, DATEV, OSS and article 1485 on external archiving), checked on July 28, 2026.
  2. Information from the provider's website (pricing, feature and help pages), last checked on July 28, 2026; prices net of VAT.
  3. Rows marked "Not documented" mean we found no reliable public source, not that the feature is missing.
  4. Rechnungskit information reflects the current product; items marked "Planned" are not available yet.
  5. Legal basis for the rows and sections (German law): mandatory invoice details § 14 (4) UStG, e-invoicing § 14 (1) and (2) UStG with the transition rules in § 27 (38) UStG, small-amount invoices § 33 UStDV, vouchers § 3 (13) to (15) UStG, OSS threshold § 3c (4) UStG and filing § 18j UStG, VAT ID confirmation § 18e UStG, intra-EU supply § 6a UStG, tax arising in the filing period of the supply § 13 (1) no. 1 (a) UStG, retention § 14b (1) UStG and § 147 (3) AO, deferred revenue § 250 (2) HGB, archive GoBD, BMF letter of 28.11.2019.

All information from publicly available sources, checked July 28, 2026. Providers' features and prices can change. Please report mistakes to support@rechnungskit.de. How we rate is explained in How we compare.

When is Billbee the better choice?

Rechnungskit doesn't do everything. In these cases, Billbee is the more honest recommendation.

You need order management

Stock levels, shipping labels, multichannel sync across 150+ integrations: that's Billbee's core and not what Rechnungskit covers.

You sell on many marketplaces

Today Billbee covers Etsy, Kaufland, OTTO, TikTok Shop and others more broadly than Rechnungskit.

You want usage-based pricing from €9

Billbee's entry plan with all features from €9/month is cheap at low volume.

Automation rules beyond documents

Billbee's rule engine automates far more than documents: tags, shipping methods, workflows.

What Rechnungskit does differently

Invoicing

Invoicing on the correct date of supply

Shipped goods are invoiced on the shipping date, not the payment date. It sounds like a detail, but it decides which period the revenue lands in.

Date of supply (Leistungsdatum) from the shop's shipping event
Small-amount invoices automatically under §33 UStDV
Handover to DATEV in the right period
Tax compliance

VAT ID check with evidence archive

Qualified check with the BZSt (Federal Central Tax Office) including company name, city, postcode and street. The response is archived unchanged for eight years and linked to the individual invoice.

Qualified BZSt check instead of a simple format check
Response linked to the invoice and delivery date
No tax-exempt invoice without a usable check
Accounting

DATEV bookings with linked documents

Your tax advisor gets finished EXTF booking records, not just a folder of PDFs. Revenue, payments, fees and payouts are already matched, and every invoice booking carries a Beleglink to its document image in the "Belegtransfer" package for Unternehmen online.

EXTF bookings for SKR03 and SKR04
Document image attached to the booking via Beleglink
Fees and payouts already matched
Your tax advisor downloads them directly

Price comparison

List prices net per month, as of July 28, 2026. Discounts and promotions are not included.

Rechnungskit List price
from €9 / month net + tiered price per document
Free to test in sandbox mode; billing starts at go-live
After that, a €9 base fee plus €0.15 to €0.03 per document
OSS, ZM, DATEV, GoBD archive and every feature always included
Self-service signup with no waiting list, up and running in minutes
Cancel monthly, no setup fee
Billbee List price
from €9 / month net, usage-based
Price by order volume, all features included
No XRechnung, no native locking
Invoicing module inside an order management tool
Source: billbee.io/preise, as of July 2026
Worked example
Seller with 500 orders a month who cares about GoBD locking and XRechnung: Billbee currently needs extra infrastructure for that.
Rechnungskit
€68.00
Billbee
depends on volume (Growth plan) + archive solution

Switching in three steps

1
Bring your data over

Orders and payments from your connected sources are pulled in, and your invoice number sequence continues. Old documents stay available in your previous system; Rechnungskit doesn't import invoices created elsewhere.

2
Test in parallel

Both systems run side by side for one billing period. You compare documents and bookings before anything goes live.

3
Switch over

Sending is switched over and your tax advisor gets the new export access. The old system stays in place as an archive.

FAQ

Only for invoicing and compliance. Billbee's core (order processing, stock, shipping) is deliberately outside Rechnungskit's scope; the two can run side by side.

Yes, and that's the usual way to switch. You run both systems in parallel for one billing period and compare documents and bookings before you switch over.

They stay where they are. Rechnungskit doesn't import or archive invoices created elsewhere; you keep meeting your retention duty for old documents (eight years under § 14b (1) UStG and § 147 (3) AO) in your previous system. What Rechnungskit can pull in are past orders and payments from your connected shops and payment providers, which then become new, validated invoices. For the number sequence, you set the number Rechnungskit continues from, so nothing overlaps with your old documents.

Documents are stored tamper-proof and unchangeable for eight years for as long as your account exists (WORM archive with checksums). Eight years is the retention period for invoices and accounting records (§ 14b (1) UStG, § 147 (3) AO); the requirements for the archive are set out in the GoBD. You can export them at any time, and for 90 days free of charge after you cancel. The final assessment of your process documentation (Verfahrensdokumentation) is up to your tax advisor.

From the providers' publicly available sources, checked on July 28, 2026, with footnotes for each row. Where we found no reliable source, the table says "Not documented". If you spot a mistake, write to support@rechnungskit.de and we'll correct it and re-date the page.

Related reading

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Rechnungskit is not a tax advisory or law firm. This article explains general principles and does not replace advice from a tax advisor (Steuerberater, § 5 StBerG) or a lawyer (§ 3 RDG). Rechnungskit is built for businesses based in Germany and prepares documents, tax rates and bookings automatically. How your specific case is treated remains your decision, ideally together with your tax advisor or a lawyer.

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