Manage e-invoices easily
By using e-invoices, companies can automate their invoice processing procedures.
Have you thought about e-billing today?
The Growth Opportunities Act aims to strengthen the economy in Germany and encourage companies to invest more in the future viability of their businesses and the country.
In addition to measures to simplify the tax system and combat VAT fraud, the law contains a significant innovation for companies in the B2B sector: in future, they will be obliged to receive and also issue e-invoices.
It’s easy with nscale. With the publication of the law on 27.03.2024, it is legally binding and e-invoicing will be mandatory from 01.01.2025.
Link to the law as a source: https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2024/108/VO.html
Article 23
What is an e-bill?
An e-invoice is a digital invoice that is created, sent and received electronically. It replaces conventional paper invoices as well as the previously common invoice in PDF format (now considered “other invoices”) and offers numerous advantages for companies and organizations.
The advantages of e-invoices
E-invoices offer companies a more efficient and cost-effective way to create, send and receive invoices by automating manual processes.
They enable faster processing, reduce errors and allow for better tracking, while reducing the environmental impact by eliminating paper invoices.
The advantages for the biller
Time savings: Automated processes significantly reduce the manual effort involved in creating, sending and processing invoices.
Cost efficiency: Elimination of costs for paper, printing, postage and storage leads to considerable savings.
Improved tracking: Real-time monitoring of invoice status enables better control and planning of cash flows.
Liquidity advantage: The immediate delivery of the invoice shortens the payment period
Environmental friendliness: Reduction of paper consumption andCO2 footprint contributes to environmental protection and supports a positive corporate image.
Compliance: Adherence to legal regulations and requirements, particularly in public procurement, in order to avoid penalties and strengthen customer confidence.
Which companies must be able to issue and receive electronic invoices?
In accordance with the statutory provisions, invoices must already be issued in electronic form in business transactions with public clients and institutions.
In addition, there is now an obligation for electronic invoicing in business transactions between domestic companies as of 01.01.2025. The obligation to implement this will be introduced gradually.
- From January 1, 2025, German companies must be able to receive e-invoices in accordance with EN16931.
- From January 1, 2025 until December 31, 2026, paper invoices and e-invoices that do not meet the new requirements for electronic invoices (e.g. PDF documents) are still permitted. However, the invoice recipient must explicitly agree to the deviation from the e-invoice obligation for these “other invoices”.
- After December 31, 2026 until December 31, 2027, this transitional regulation will only apply to companies with an annual turnover of less than 800,000 euros. From 2028, all B2B transactions will then be affected.
The advantages for the invoice recipient
Automation: e-invoices can be seamlessly integrated into accounting systems, resulting in more efficient and faster processing.
Error minimization: Automatic data capture reduces human error in manual data entry, which improves accounting accuracy.
Time savings: Faster processing and approval of invoices lead to shorter payment cycles with cash discounts and improve the company’s liquidity.
Transparency: Electronic processing makes it easier for invoice recipients to track payment status and gives them a better overview of invoices received.
Security: e-invoices offer greater data security through the possible use of encryption and electronic signatures, which guarantees the confidentiality and integrity of invoice data.
Which invoices must be created electronically?
All invoices pursuant to Section 14 UStG must be issued in an electronic format. This can be deviated from, taking into account the gradual exceptions (see above). Further exceptions apply to invoices that total less than 250 euros ($33 UstDV) and if they are tickets (§ 34 UStDV).
E-invoicing: the form
E-invoices to public clients can be made available on the Central Invoice Receipt Platform (ZRE) and the Online Access Act-compliant Invoice Receipt Platform (OZG-RE) via four transmission channels. Companies can choose between transmission via web entry, upload, e-mail or De-Mail or via Peppol. In practice, the decision on the appropriate method depends on the software used and its range of functions.
Companies can continue to exchange B2B invoices by email, EDI or Peppol. There are currently no legal requirements in this area.
The mandatory details of an e-invoice
An e-invoice must contain certain mandatory information in order to comply with the legal requirements of the federal e-invoicing ordinance. This includes information on the identification of the invoice issuer and recipient, bank details, terms of payment and more.
In principle, the provisions of Section 14 UStG and the European standard EN16931 apply, from which the current specifications for electronic invoice formats are derived.
Ceyoniq is a member
Ceyoniq is a member of the German Electronic Invoicing Association (VeR), which pools the specialist knowledge of various experts in the field of e-invoicing. The VeR aims to make electronic invoice exchange between companies, authorities and institutions the standard in Germany and beyond.
What is XRechnung?
XRechnung is a standardized format for electronic invoices – a so-called XML-based semantic data model – which has been established as the standard for electronic invoices. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) already declared on October 2, 2023 that XRechnung basically represents an invoice in a structured electronic format that meets the requirements of EN16931.
What is ZUGFeRD?
ZUGFeRD (Zentraler User Guide des Forums elektronische Rechnung Deutschland) is a format for electronic invoices that enables the integration of structured data in PDF invoices.
It therefore still contains the usual pictorial representation and is therefore also referred to as a hybrid format. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) already declared on 02.10.2023 that ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 onwards basically represents an invoice in a structured electronic format that meets the requirements of EN 6931.
What is PEPPOL?
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine) is an open, cross-border network. Peppol allows documents to be exchanged in a standardized way between different registered business partners within a common network via a single connection.
So far, this has mainly facilitated electronic business transactions between companies and public clients in Germany. However, PEPPOL is already being used internationally and is also enabling more and more B2B companies to exchange business documents, including e-invoices, in a secure and standardized way.
What is ViDA?
ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) is an initiative of the EU Commission to modernize the European VAT system. The idea: reportable data should be transmitted and checked more quickly and with transaction accuracy in order to prevent VAT fraud.
Digital reporting is intended to replace the previous recapitulative statements and contribute to the modernization of the European VAT system. The e-invoicing obligation in Germany serves as an early measure to make it easier to report and record the relevant data centrally at a later date. A reporting system is expected to be implemented at EU level in 2028 or 2030.
How do I ensure the authenticity and integrity of an e-bill?
According to the law, it is up to each entrepreneur to determine how the authenticity of the origin, the integrity of the content and the legibility of the invoice are guaranteed. This can be achieved through any internal control procedures that can create a reliable audit trail between the invoice and the service.
Notwithstanding other permissible procedures, the authenticity of the origin and the integrity of the content of an electronic invoice shall be deemed to be guaranteed by a qualified electronic signature or an electronic data exchange procedure.
What is not an e-bill?
Not all digital invoices meet the requirements for e-invoices. For example, unstructured PDF documents without machine-readable data are not e-invoices, as they make automated processing more difficult. As technologies are constantly evolving, e-invoice standards are also subject to constant change.
In order to reliably meet the legal requirements, companies must always observe the latest version of the permitted e-invoice formats, such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD.
Electronic invoicing with nscale IM
Electronic invoice receipt automation with nscale IM offers companies an efficient way to meet the requirements of the Growth Opportunities Act and to receive and process electronic invoices. The e-invoice, including the associated processes, integrates seamlessly into the existing IT infrastructure and guarantees the integrity of the invoice data in compliance with data protection regulations.
nscale IM makes it possible to automatically read and classify incoming invoices and forward them directly to the employees responsible for checking and further processing based on defined rules and approval levels. This automation saves time and resources by minimizing manual processes and increasing efficiency. In addition, further data can be used for order and goods receipt checks and invoice processing can be automated through to dark processing. Furthermore, nscale is characterized by its simple and intuitive usability, which makes the application accessible even to employees without extensive IT knowledge. The scalability of the solution enables companies to adapt flexibly to future developments and remain at the cutting edge of technology in the future.
Electronic invoices must be archived in the original format in an audit-proof manner. Here you can rely on the proven standards of the nscale ECM system. In addition, the information platform also supports the creation and sending of invoices in the respective invoice formats (also at European or international level) and we also enable a connection to PEPPOL with strong partners with many years of experience. We support you from consulting to implementation for efficient e-invoicing of the future.
Thanks to Ceyoniq’s holistic solution, companies are perfectly prepared for the upcoming obligation for transaction-based reporting of B2B sales (keyword: ViDA), which is expected to be introduced from January 1, 2030. This measure aims to curb VAT fraud and establish a standardized EU-wide data format for e-invoices. With nscale IM, companies are not only equipped for the current legal situation, but also optimally prepared for future regulatory requirements.
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Ceyoniq Technology GmbH is a group company of Kyocera Document Solutions.
Ceyoniq Technology GmbH
Boulevard 9 | 33613 Bielefeld
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