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Introduction

XRechnung is Germany’s official standard for electronic invoices in public procurement (called E-Rechnungen), though it is also used for B2B transactions. It’s part of the implementation of the EU directive 2014/55/EU, which requires all contracting authorities in the EU to accept electronic invoices in a structured XML file. It can be implemented using two different syntaxes, CII and UBL. They both contain the same information, but have different field names.
When referring to syntaxes, it is important to note that X-Rechnung and ZUGFeRD (and Factur-X) are all semantic data models. What this means is that they define the data that must be present in the invoice, but not the actual format of the data or the explicit name of the fields.To implement the semantic models, there are two syntaxes approved by the EU: UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice (CII) and OpenOASIS Universal Business Language (UBL).

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Prerequisites

To convert invoices to XRechnung format, ensure you have:
  • A valid API key and a basic understanding of the workflow engine and API.
  • An invoice with:
    • Supplier details (company name and required identities). Check the German regimes for specifics.
    • Line items with name, price, and applicable taxes.

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XRechnung Setup

To issue XRechnung invoices, follow these instructions in the Invopop Console:
1

Connect the OASIS UBL app

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Apps.
  2. Locate OASIS UBL in the app discovery list.
  3. Click Connect to activate.
No additional configuration is needed.
2

Configure invoice workflow

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Running

In your invoice data, make sure to include the XRechnung addon and state the regime as DE.
Invopop uses the GOBL library to process conversions. GOBL’s implementation of XRechnung validates national business rules in addition to the rules defined in EN 16931-1. Some example invoices are provided below, along with an example workflow to send the invoices to. We also recommend using the GOBL Builder to create your own invoices. Be sure to set the regime field to DE in your invoices and the XRechnung addon. This will add extra validations to ensure the document is compliant with the standard.

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Sample Invoices

XRechnung B2B Invoice
{
    "$schema": "https://gobl.org/draft-0/bill/invoice",
    "$regime": "DE",
    "$addons": [
        "eu-en16931-v2017",
        "de-xrechnung-v3"
    ],
    "uuid": "3aea7b56-59d8-4beb-90bd-f8f280d852a0",
    "type": "standard",
    "series": "SAMPLE",
    "code": "001",
    "issue_date": "2022-02-01",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "tax": {
        "ext": {
            "untdid-document-type": "380"
        }
    },
    "supplier": {
        "name": "Provide One GmbH",
        "tax_id": {
            "country": "DE",
            "code": "111111125"
        },
        "addresses": [
            {
                "num": "16",
                "street": "Dietmar-Hopp-Allee",
                "locality": "Walldorf",
                "code": "69190",
                "country": "DE"
            }
        ],
        "emails": [
            {
                "addr": "[email protected]"
            }
        ]
    },
    "customer": {
        "name": "Sample Consumer",
        "tax_id": {
            "country": "DE",
            "code": "282741168"
        },
        "addresses": [
            {
                "num": "25",
                "street": "Werner-Heisenberg-Allee",
                "locality": "München",
                "code": "80939"
            }
        ],
        "emails": [
            {
                "addr": "[email protected]"
            }
        ]
    },
    "lines": [
        {
            "i": 1,
            "quantity": "20",
            "item": {
                "name": "Development services",
                "price": "90.00",
                "unit": "h"
            },
            "sum": "1800.00",
            "discounts": [
                {
                    "reason": "Special discount",
                    "percent": "10%",
                    "amount": "180.00"
                }
            ],
            "taxes": [
                {
                    "cat": "VAT",
                    "rate": "standard",
                    "percent": "19%",
                    "ext": {
                        "untdid-tax-category": "S"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "total": "1620.00"
        }
    ],
    "payment": {
        "instructions": {
            "key": "credit-transfer+sepa",
            "credit_transfer": [
                {
                    "iban": "DE89370400440532013000",
                    "name": "Random Bank Co."
                }
            ],
            "ext": {
                "untdid-payment-means": "58"
            }
        }
    },
    "totals": {
        "sum": "1620.00",
        "total": "1620.00",
        "taxes": {
            "categories": [
                {
                    "code": "VAT",
                    "rates": [
                        {
                            "key": "standard",
                            "ext": {
                                "untdid-tax-category": "S"
                            },
                            "base": "1620.00",
                            "percent": "19%",
                            "amount": "307.80"
                        }
                    ],
                    "amount": "307.80"
                }
            ],
            "sum": "307.80"
        },
        "tax": "307.80",
        "total_with_tax": "1927.80",
        "payable": "1927.80"
    }
}
You can now generate invoices in the XRechnung format via the API or console. For more details, visit the GOBL docs or contact Invopop Support.

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