What e-invoicing requirements will German businesses have starting January 1, 2025?

From 2025 on, businesses in Germany will be required to receive e-invoices from vendors they work with. However, they will not be required to issue e-invoices at this point. To learn more about Germany’s e-invoicing regulations, refer to the German Ministry of Finance’s official guidelines on this subject.

Will I still be able to receive PDFs for B2B transactions via email?

Your business will still be able to receive PDF invoices through ZoneCapture after January 1, 2025. ZoneCapture will also continue providing OCR features for PDFs beyond this point.

Does ZoneCapture support emailed XML files?

ZoneCapture is introducing a dedicated email plugin to help companies deal with situations where vendors email invoices as both PDFs and XML files in UBL syntax. This plugin will auto-populate vendor bills with XML data and attach the PDF as a reference.

Will B2G transactions in Germany undergo any changes in 2025?

No. Germany’s e-invoicing requirements for B2G transactions will not change in 2025. For transactions like these, ZoneCapture gives businesses the ability to send e-invoices via Peppol.

Does the mandate apply to cross-border invoices as well?

Invoices sent to countries besides Germany do not need to be e-invoices and can be sent in traditional formats. Similarly, invoices received from outside Germany are not required to comply with these mandates.

Do I as a buyer have to be able to receive any e-invoice format my vendor sends me?

As long as the format is compatible with European standard EN 16931 you should be able to receive and process it. However, as multiple formats are allowed, it’s worth proactively communicating with your vendor about formats you prefer to receive.

Do I as a buyer have to accept any delivery method of e-invoice that my vendor insists on?

The mandate does not regulate transfer methods. E-invoices can be transferred via the e-invoicing network (Peppol), as email attachments, through supplier portals, and more. It’s advisable to agree with your vendor on the transmission method in advance.

Is having an email inbox enough to receive e-invoices?

If your vendor will be sending invoices in PDF or PDF+XML formats, then yes. However, for vendors who prefer sending via the e-invoicing network (Peppol), the ZoneCapture E-invoicing module is required.

Preparing for regulatory changes to e-invoicing in Germany

Zone Unveils Zone Control Center: The Command Interface for ERP-Native Agentic Finance powered by Zoe

Zone & Co Team

December 5, 2024

March 4, 2026

If your business operates in or has a registered office in Germany, you’ll need to prepare for significant e-invoicing changes that started in 2025. Under the Wachstumschancengesetz (or “Growth Opportunities Act”), many businesses in Germany will have to accept and send e-invoices in the near future.

Fortunately, with the right solution, this isn’t something NetSuite users will need to spend too much time worrying about. In this article, we’ll get you up to speed with Germany’s impending regulatory changes on e-invoicing – and how ZoneCapture can help you adapt with ease.

Key highlights:

Germany’s e-invoicing regulations started in 2020 when it required electronic invoicing for public procurement, or business-to-government (B2G) transactions.
Business-to-business (B2B) e-invoicing expanded in Germany, starting in 2025 when the country mandated that businesses must be able to receive e-invoices from vendors.
By 2028, all German VAT-registered businesses will be required to send and receive e-invoices.
A common transfer method for e-invoices is through the Peppol network, which Zone & Co’s ZoneCapture supports for accounts payable and receivable teams.

What is e-invoicing?

As the digital business world expands, European countries like Germany are introducing regulations to reduce administrative overhead, optimize cross-border business transactions and improve financial transaction visibility to combat value-added tax (VAT) fraud.

E-invoicing mandates require businesses to send and receive invoices in specific structured data formats for automatic accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) operations.

Germany began its regulation changes in 2020 by requiring e-invoicing for all B2G transactions. It’s now expanding in multiple phases from 2025 to 2028 to require e-invoicing for B2B transactions.

German e-invoicing mandate timelines and changes

Initially, German e-invoicing mandates required companies to use e-invoicing for public contracts, but the German government started enforcing e-invoicing regulations for B2B transactions.

Germany’s e-invoicing mandates are applicable for:

Entrepreneurs with a place of management or seat (registered office) in Germany
Businesses with a fixed German establishment that is involved with a given transaction (or a domicile/habitual residence in Germany if they do not have a registered office)

Once Germany’s B2B e-invoicing regulations are fully implemented, German institutions that fall into these categories will have to issue e-invoices when doing business with other companies and entrepreneurs domestically. They must submit these invoices as ZUGFeRD files (a hybrid format combining PDF documents with embedded XML files) or XML files in Cross-Industry Invoice or Universal Business Language (UBL) syntax.

However, the transmission method of e-invoices is not regulated. Today, the most common strategy is delivery via email or the e-invoicing Peppol network. Only small-value invoices with gross amounts below €250 and travel tickets functioning as invoices will be exempt from the new e-invoicing requirements.

However, these regulations will be introduced in three stages:

January 2025: Receiving e-invoices

Starting January 1, 2025, German businesses must be able to receive and process structured e-invoices from vendors. There will be no transitional period for this new requirement, but companies will not have to issue e-invoices immediately. Instead, they can continue sending paper invoices (without the recipient’s consent) or electronic invoices in non-standardized formats (with the recipient’s consent) until the end of 2026.

Accounts receivable teams must receive and process e-invoices from vendors. It’s recommended to agree with your vendors on the delivery method of e-invoices in advance and proactively communicate about the formats you prefer to receive.

January 2027: Sending e-invoices

On January 1, 2027, entrepreneurs must begin issuing e-invoices if their total annual turnover exceeds €800,000. Small- and medium-sized enterprises will still be allowed to send paper invoices till the end of the year.

January 2028

Finally, all businesses in Germany affected by these changes will be required to start issuing B2B e-invoices on January 1, 2028. This effectively marks the complete rollout of e-invoicing for German businesses.

How ZoneCapture helps businesses meet Germany’s e-invoicing mandates

ZoneCapture is a native NetSuite application designed to simplify e-invoicing compliance and streamline your accounts payable processes. Here’s how it supports businesses with the upcoming regulatory changes:

Receiving e-invoices

ZoneCapture offers two primary options for receiving e-invoices:

1. Peppol network

ZoneCapture’s e-invoicing module supports receiving e-invoices via the Peppol network, a global platform for borderless electronic data exchange. Peppol registration is necessary to activate this feature, and a Zone & Co implementation consultant will assist to ensure a streamlined process.

2. Email plugin

ZoneCapture offers two email plugin options for handling e-invoices:

Standard email plugin: Scan PDFs, auto-populate vendor bills based on captured data and attach XML files to created vendor bills for the client’s reference.
Dedicated email plugin for XMLs: Prioritize XML files in UBL format and auto-populate vendor bills based on data in XML files while attaching PDFs as references. This plugin is available in ZoneCapture version 2.14.0, which was released on November 29, 2024.

Sending e-invoices

Although businesses are not required to send structured e-invoices until 2027 at the earliest, ZoneCapture offers features to help you stay ahead of future mandates. These include B2G transactions that comply with existing requirements by sending e-invoices through the Peppol network with ZoneCapture’s e-invoicing module.

Make e-invoicing easy with ZoneCapture

Whether your business in Germany has been sending digital invoices for years or you need to start issuing these invoices to comply with upcoming regulations, you deserve to use the best software on the market for this vital task. No matter how familiar you are with e-invoicing, ZoneCapture from Zone & Co can simplify this process for NetSuite users with capabilities like:

AP automation in NetSuite
Automatic invoice capture
3-way matching

If you need powerful NetSuite e-invoicing features in Germany – or anywhere in the world you’re looking to optimize your AP strategy – ZoneCapture delivers these capabilities and many others. Set up a demo to get started or take a self-guided tour to learn more.

FAQs

What e-invoicing requirements will German businesses have starting January 1, 2027?
- Starting January 1, 2027,, German businesses with annual turnover exceeding €800,000 least will be required to send e-invoices from vendors they work with. However, they will not be required to issue e-invoices.
Will I still be able to receive PDFs for B2B transactions via email?
- Your business will still be able to receive PDF invoices through ZoneCapture after January 1, 2025. ZoneCapture will also continue providing OCR features for PDFs beyond this point.
Does ZoneCapture support emailed XML files?
- ZoneCapture is introducing a dedicated email plugin to help companies deal with situations where vendors email invoices as both PDFs and XML files in UBL syntax. This plugin will auto-populate vendor bills with XML data and attach the PDF as a reference.
Did B2G transactions in Germany undergo any changes in 2025?
- No. Germany’s e-invoicing requirements for B2G transactions began in 2020 and did not change in 2025. For transactions like these, ZoneCapture gives businesses the ability to send e-invoices via Peppol.
Does the mandate apply to cross-border invoices?
- Invoices sent to countries besides Germany do not need to be e-invoices but must still comply with EN 16931 standards. Similarly, invoices received from outside Germany are not required to comply with these mandates.
Do I as a buyer have to be able to receive any e-invoice format my vendor sends me?
- As long as the format is compatible with European standard EN 16931 you should be able to receive and process it. However as multiple formats are allowed, it’s worth proactively communicating with your vendor about formats you prefer to receive.
Do I as a buyer have to accept any delivery method of e-invoice that my vendor insists on?
- The mandate does not regulate transfer methods. E-invoices can be transferred via the e-invoicing network (Peppol), as email attachments, through supplier portals and more. It’s advisable to agree with your vendor on the transmission method in advance.
Is having an email inbox enough to receive e-invoices?
- If your vendor sends invoices in PDF or PDF+XML formats, then yes. However, for vendors who prefer sending via the e-invoicing network Peppol, the ZoneCapture e-invoicing module is required.