Tax advisors & firms
German e-invoices for tax advisors: clients, validation and a clean booking workflow
Short answer: since 1 Jan 2025, client documents increasingly arrive as structured e-invoices (XRechnung XML or ZUGFeRD/Factur-X) instead of PDFs. That is good — structured data can be posted directly. Poorly built files, however, create queries, rework and input-VAT risk. A technical check before posting defuses both.
Why e-invoices concern the firm
The B2B e-invoicing mandate mainly changes the document intake. Three points matter for tax firms:
- Receipt obligation since 2025. Domestic B2B recipients must be able to accept structured e-invoices. Clients forward these documents to the firm — usually as XML or hybrid PDF.
- Input VAT depends on data quality. Only a correct, EN 16931-compliant invoice with all VAT mandatory data in the structured part is a clean basis for the client's input VAT deduction.
- GoBD-compliant archiving. The structured original data set must be retained unchanged — not just a print-out or PDF view.
The firm workflow: intake, validation, posting
- Intake — client delivers XRechnung/ZUGFeRD instead of PDF. Does the file contain a structured EN 16931 data set?
- Validation — verify format, mandatory fields and sums against a KoSIT-aligned accept gate before posting.
- Posting — take the structured data into the books with a correct VAT breakdown and totals.
- Archive — keep the unchanged XML/hybrid original GoBD-compliant.
What clients should deliver — and how
- Structured instead of PDF. Outgoing invoices as EN 16931-compliant ZUGFeRD/Factur-X (COMFORT/EN 16931 or higher) or XRechnung — not a plain image PDF. See why a PDF is not an e-invoice.
- Validate before sending. Check the file technically against EN 16931 before it goes out, so fewer faulty documents reach the firm.
fakturai as a technical validation layer before posting
fakturai is deliberately narrow: a tool to generate and technically validate structured e-invoices — not a firm or accounting system. Firm and client use the same KoSIT-aligned bar: clients generate valid outgoing invoices (via API or MCP), the firm validates incoming files before posting. Individual files can be checked against EN 16931 in the free validator without an account.
Validate an e-invoice for free
What fakturai does not replace
fakturai checks and generates the technical format and structural compliance per EN 16931 with a KoSIT-aligned accept gate. It is not tax advice, not an accounting system and not a document archive. Booking, tax treatment, GoBD-compliant archiving and client advice remain the firm's responsibility. fakturai makes no legal, tax or delivery guarantees.
Next step
Free German e-invoice validator · Create an API key
Related: E-invoices and DATEV · Receiving German e-invoices · E-invoice & VAT · Validation checklist