XRechnung and ZUGFeRD

ZEIT.IO is a platform for the automatic billing of project times. Approved project times can be billed and credited automatically. The automatically created outgoing invoices and credit notes are valid e-invoices according to the ZUGFeRD standard by default.

From January 1, 2025, companies in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices that are EN 16931 compliant! From January 1, 2025, companies, including self-employed people, will no longer be allowed to reject such e-invoices. They must be able to receive e-invoices and thus validate and save them in an audit-proof manner. But when exactly is an e-invoice EN 16931 compliant?

There are various invoice formats that comply with the EU standard EN 16931. These include very specific profiles of ZUGFeRD and also XRechnung. XRechnung is a German standard for electronic invoicing for public clients. This is a pure XML format. An XRechnung can be created either in CII syntax or in UBL syntax. The XRechnung meets all legal requirements in Germany and is EN 16931 compliant!

ZEIT.IO now supports various invoice formats. In addition to various ZUGFeRD profiles, the XRechnung is now also supported. The invoice format can be selected when creating the invoice. However, since certain customers always prefer certain formats, there is also the option of saving the invoice format directly in the customer object. When you edit a customer, there is now a section for "Sending invoices". Here you can set the preferred invoice format for the customer.

In addition to the invoice format, you can also enter the routing ID here. The customer reference, or routing ID, is a mandatory field in the XRechnung and must always be present!

The following invoice formats are currently available:

The ZUGFeRD EN 16931 profile is always set by default. This is a so-called hybrid invoice, consisting of a PDF/A-3 and an XML file, with the XML embedded in the PDF. There is also an "XRechnung" profile within ZUGFeRD. This means that XRechnung can also be sent as a hybrid invoice. Basically, from January 2025, the XML itself will be a valid invoice, even without a PDF. That is why there is also the option of pure XML invoices.

If you select a customer in the invoice module, the invoice format is automatically adjusted. However, the invoice format can also be set explicitly in the invoice module. As can be seen in the picture below right.

This also makes it very easy to create and send, both XRechnungen and ZUGFeRD invoices, at ZEIT.IO.

Receiving and validating e-invoices is also possible. Read more about this in this article.