XRechnung — German B2G E-Invoice Standard

XRechnung is the German XML-based electronic invoice standard, mandatory for invoices to federal public-sector clients above 1,000 EUR since 2020 and to most state and municipal public clients since 2022-2024. Unlike ZUGFeRD (a hybrid PDF+XML format), XRechnung is pure XML with no human-readable PDF component — receivers must use software to render it. The standard follows the European EN16931 model, ensuring compatibility with other EU public-sector e-invoicing systems.

When XRechnung is mandatory

Any invoice to a German federal authority above 1,000 EUR must be sent as XRechnung. State (Land) authorities follow with varying rollout dates 2020-2024. Municipal clients vary further. Below 1,000 EUR, simple email-based PDFs are still allowed in many jurisdictions. The threshold and exact applicability depend on the receiving public client; check the customer's e-invoicing portal for specifics. Foreign suppliers to German public clients also fall under the rule.

Transport channels

XRechnung invoices are typically submitted via two government portals: ZRE (Zentrale Federal Invoice Receipt Platform) for federal authorities, and OZG-RE or state-specific platforms for state/municipal clients. Some larger clients accept Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) network submission. Email submission is allowed by some clients but increasingly being phased out.

XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD

XRechnung is mandatory for B2G (business-to-government). ZUGFeRD EN16931 is acceptable for B2G use too, since it conforms to the same EN16931 semantic model. For B2B (business-to-business) under the new 2025 e-invoicing rules, ZUGFeRD is more commonly used because the embedded PDF allows manual handling at the recipient. Many ERP systems generate both XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from the same invoice data — the choice depends on the customer type.

ERP support

Native XRechnung generation is standard in SAP S/4HANA, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (with localisation), abas ERP, proALPHA, Sage X3, Comarch ERP Enterprise, weclapp and DATEV-suite. Validation tools like the official KoSIT validator (free from xoev.de) check XRechnung files for schema and business-rule conformance before submission — mid-market companies should always validate before going productive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need XRechnung if I never sell to public clients?

No. XRechnung is specifically for B2G transactions with German public-sector clients. For pure B2B operations, the 2025 mandatory e-invoicing rules apply (ZUGFeRD or XRechnung as acceptable formats), but most companies choose ZUGFeRD for B2B because of the embedded PDF.

What software generates XRechnung files?

All major German-market ERP systems generate XRechnung natively. For occasional invoices without ERP, free tools exist (xrechnung-toolbox, the federal government's test tools) and entry-level bookkeeping software (Lexware, DATEV-suite, sevDesk, easybill) generates XRechnung for 10-30 EUR per month.

Can I open an XRechnung file as a PDF?

No, because XRechnung is pure XML with no embedded PDF. Public-sector clients use specialised viewers (often integrated in their accounting software). For ad-hoc viewing, free viewer tools like the official XRechnung visualisation toolkit render the XML into a human-readable PDF on demand. ZUGFeRD differs — the same file is both XML and PDF.