E-invoicing in Germany 2027: what B2B companies need to do now

Germany’s Growth Opportunities Act has made electronic invoices mandatory between domestic businesses. The switch is happening in stages – and the most important one is just around the corner.

The deadlines at a glance

• Since 1 January 2025: mandatory receipt. Every domestic business must be able to receive and process e-invoices. An email inbox is generally sufficient.
• From 1 January 2027: mandatory sending above €800,000 prior-year turnover. Businesses above this threshold may no longer issue paper or PDF invoices in B2B transactions.
• From 1 January 2028: mandatory sending for everyone. The obligation then applies regardless of turnover.

Small businesses under section 19 of the German VAT Act are exempt from issuing e-invoices but must still be able to receive them.

What counts as an e-invoice

A PDF file is not an e-invoice. What is meant is a structured data set according to the European standard EN 16931. In Germany, in practice, this means:

• XRechnung – a pure XML data set, the standard for public-sector clients.
• ZUGFeRD (version 2.0.1 or later, profiles from EN 16931) – a PDF with embedded XML, readable by people and machines.

What companies should do now

1. Check incoming invoices: Do e-invoices arrive, are they displayed readably, checked and archived in an audit-proof way?
2. Prepare outgoing invoices: Can your ERP or billing system produce XRechnung or ZUGFeRD? If your turnover is above €800,000, this has to work by the turn of the year.
3. Automate the process: Structured invoice data can flow straight into accounting and ERP without retyping – for example into SAP or DATEV, with an approval workflow if needed.

How we help

We connect e-invoices to your ERP and accounting, automate incoming invoices – for example with n8n and AI-assisted document processing – and make sure sending works in time for the deadline.

This article is not tax advice. Please clarify detailed tax questions with your tax adviser.