From practice
From when does e-invoicing become mandatory for small firms?
You have had to receive them since 2025. Issuing starts in 2027 or 2028, depending on turnover. What that means in practice.
In short, you have had to be able to receive structured e-invoices since 1 January 2025. You only have to issue them from 2027 or 2028, depending on your prior-year turnover. For most small firms there is still time, but one part already applies today.
The three deadlines
- Since 1 January 2025, every business in Germany must be able to receive structured e-invoices. An email address the sender can deliver the file to is enough.
- From 1 January 2027, firms with more than 800,000 euro turnover in the previous year must issue their domestic B2B invoices as e-invoices.
- From 1 January 2028, this obligation to issue applies to all domestic B2B businesses, regardless of turnover.
What an e-invoice actually is
An e-invoice is not just a PDF sent by email. It means a structured, machine-readable format under the European standard EN 16931, in Germany usually XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. The data is laid out so the recipient’s software can process it directly, without anyone retyping it.
What to do now
If you have prepared nothing so far, the first step is receiving. You need a way to accept and read incoming e-invoices. Issuing can follow at your own pace, with your own deadline in view. Whether a finished program is enough or a small custom workflow fits better depends on your invoice volume and the systems you already run. More on that in buy finished software or build your own.
Looking past 2028
The German deadlines are only the first part. At EU level, the Council adopted the VAT in the Digital Age package in March 2025. From 1 July 2030, e-invoicing and digital reporting become mandatory for cross-border B2B transactions within the EU. Set things up cleanly now and that later step is barely a step at all.
Common questions
As a small firm, do I have to issue e-invoices already in 2025?
No. You only have to issue them from 2027 or 2028. You must be able to receive structured e-invoices, however, since January 2025.
Does a PDF invoice count as an e-invoice?
No. It means a structured format under the EN 16931 standard, such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. A plain PDF does not count as an e-invoice.
What happens to paper and PDF invoices?
Smaller firms may still bill on paper or, with the recipient agreeing, as a PDF for turnover in 2027. From 2028 the structured e-invoice is mandatory for domestic B2B turnover.
Does this affect me if I only sell to private customers?
The obligation covers domestic invoices between businesses. Invoices to private individuals are not affected.
Sources
This is what I sort out every day.
Which applications, which provider, where the data lives. This is exactly what I work out for small and mid-sized businesses. If that is on your plate, let us talk.