XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD: the XRechnung format explained

XRechnung vs. ZUGFeRD: the difference in one sentence

An XRechnung is XML only, while a ZUGFeRD invoice is a PDF with XML embedded in it. Both meet the same standard (EN 16931), and both count as an e-invoice under the German e-invoicing mandate, ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 and except in the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles (section 14.1(13) and (14) UStAE, German). In practice, nobody can read an XRechnung without software, whereas a ZUGFeRD hybrid looks like a normal PDF invoice to the person who receives it.

Who actually needs an XRechnung?

Among online shops, almost nobody does. XRechnung becomes relevant when you invoice public-sector buyers (authorities, municipalities, public institutions), that is, in B2G business. For federal contracts, the E-Invoicing Ordinance (ERechV) has required electronic invoices since November 27, 2020 (§ 3(1) ERechV, § 11(3) ERechV, German). In principle you use the XRechnung standard; another standard is allowed if it complies with EN 16931 (§ 4(1) ERechV). Invoices for direct awards up to €1,000 are among the exceptions (§ 3(3) ERechV). You submit through a public portal such as ZRE or OZG-RE (§ 4(3) ERechV), with a Leitweg-ID (the public buyer's routing ID) as the recipient address. German states and municipalities have their own rules; what your buyer requires is usually stated in the order.

For B2B business between companies, ZUGFeRD meets the same legal requirement (section 14.1(14) UStAE, German), with the advantage that consumers and business customers can read the same invoice.

What an XRechnung must contain

Besides all mandatory invoice details under § 14(4) UStG (the German VAT Act), the E-Invoicing Ordinance requires, for invoices to the federal government, among other things the Leitweg-ID, bank details, payment terms and an email address of the supplier (§ 5(1) ERechV, German). In an XRechnung, the Leitweg-ID goes into the buyer reference field, alongside machine-readable line item and tax data. The portal checks every invoice automatically for formal errors and rejects faulty ones (§ 4(3) ERechV) before any person has looked at it.

How Rechnungskit handles it

Rechnungskit creates standard invoices as ZUGFeRD 2.5 under EN 16931. A permitted small-amount invoice (Kleinbetragsrechnung) without a recipient address deliberately stays a reduced PDF/A document and does not get a made-up XML recipient.

For public-sector buyers, XRechnung 3.0 is created automatically: you store the customer's Leitweg-ID on the customer record, and every further invoice to that customer is generated as XRechnung XML, checked against the KoSIT rules, archived and sent by email together with a PDF copy for reading. In the Rechnungskit checkout and through the API, the Leitweg-ID can also be passed in directly with the order. Rechnungskit does not handle delivery via PEPPOL; if needed, you upload the XML to portals such as ZRE or OZG-RE. The create e-invoices page shows how the automated flow works today, and the e-invoicing software page lists all features.