What happens if we miss the deadline?

There is no specific fine on the books today. But once your sending obligation kicks in, your business customers may formally reject PDF invoices and are not obliged to pay them. For companies with more than 800,000 euros in prior-year revenue that date is 1 January 2027; for everyone else it is 1 January 2028. In practice that means a cash-flow hit. Your invoices sit unpaid while your own obligations carry on. With public-sector recipients this has been daily reality since 2020.

Do we have to switch to a new system?

Almost never. We build on top of whatever you have today, whether that is Sage Büro+, Dynamics NAV, a FileMaker database or Excel with macros. The adapter pulls invoice data out of your system and produces valid XRechnung XML or ZUGFeRD PDF. A full ERP migration is a separate project, and it is not required to meet the XRechnung obligation.

What about incoming e-invoices?

The obligation to receive and archive e-invoices has been in force since 1 January 2025. Our inbound parser accepts incoming XRechnung and ZUGFeRD invoices from your suppliers, validates them, extracts the data to JSON and files them automatically in the GoBD archive. Your accounting team sees a normal invoice in the inbox, ready to post.

Where are invoices archived? Is our data in Germany?

Yes. We use EU-hosted object storage located in Germany, encrypted at rest and immutable to meet GoBD criteria. Ten-year retention. You get read-only browser access, your tax advisor gets a separate login. Your invoice data does not leave Germany.

How well do you know our Sage / NAV / Access?

We have built ERP integrations and validation layers for years. For every project we start with an inventory of your specific system: table structure, existing customisations, data quality. If we hit something we cannot do, we say so openly and, if needed, bring in someone from your existing support partner. We do not promise what we have not seen.

Do we need to involve our tax advisor?

We recommend it. Your tax advisor gets a read-only login to the archive and the handover documentation. They can see which mandatory fields are set per recipient and demonstrate to the tax office that records are filed in line with GoBD. With most advisors the alignment fits into a 30-minute call.

We use industry software (construction, trades, logistics). Does that work?

Yes. For construction (Nevaris, BRZ, Sander&Doll), trades (pds, Streit V.1, Label Software), logistics (CarLo, Komalog, LIS) and similar systems we build the export adapter in the same way. Industry software often brings edge cases such as progress invoicing, construction withholding tax or supplementary claims, which we map explicitly into the mandatory fields.

ZUGFeRD or XRechnung, which one do we need?

ZUGFeRD is a PDF with an embedded XML file, a hybrid format that recipients can still read in the classic way. XRechnung is pure XML. Public-sector recipients accept both, provided the ZUGFeRD PDF conforms to the XRechnung profile. Which format goes to which recipient depends on what your specific customers accept, and we route this automatically.

XRechnung & E-Invoicing for German Mid-Market

Germany's e-invoicing obligation arrives in stages. Receiving has been mandatory for all German B2B companies since January 2025. Sending becomes mandatory in 2027 for companies above 800,000 euros annual revenue, and in 2028 for everyone else. We make your existing system compliant, whether Sage, NAV, Access, FileMaker, or industry-specific software. No ERP migration required.

Free first conversation See price

The problem

The obligation rolls out in stages, not all at once. Every German B2B business has been required to receive and archive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. From 1 January 2027 the sending obligation applies to companies with more than 800,000 euros in prior-year revenue, which captures most of the German Mittelstand. From 1 January 2028 it applies to every B2B issuer in Germany. Accepted formats are XRechnung 3.0 or ZUGFeRD 2.3 with the XRechnung profile. On paper it sounds like a software update. In practice it gets stuck on four issues that have been sitting in most German mid-market accounting setups for years:

Tangled master data

Duplicate creditors, stale VAT-ID entries, missing Leitweg-IDs for your business customers. Over the years dirt accumulates. With XRechnung it becomes visible on every single invoice.

Unclear ERP integration

Accounting, industry software, maybe an old system for orders: nobody is quite sure which system is the master for customer data and who is allowed to change which fields. Until that is resolved, no XRechnung can leave the building cleanly.

No proper archive

In most mid-market companies invoices live in Outlook folders or on a shared drive nobody can find anymore. A GoBD-compliant archive has been required for years but is rarely actually in place. With XRechnung a proper archive is no longer optional.

Hand-off gaps between purchasing, accounting and the tax advisor

Documents get lost or arrive without mandatory fields exactly in these hand-offs. We set up the process so that all three parties work from the same data.

Lexware Office, sevDesk and DATEV have built half of this in, provided you already live inside their ecosystem. If you sit on Sage Büro+, Dynamics NAV, a FileMaker database from 2009 or a vertical industry tool, you need a different path. That is where we come in.

Our solution

We do not force you to switch ERP. Very often your existing system is fine, it just lacks an XRechnung XML export. We add the missing pieces on top: an export adapter out of your system, a validation layer using the official KoSIT validator, an inbound parser for incoming e-invoices, a GoBD-compliant 10-year archive with EU hosting, and per-recipient format routing. On top of that comes the most time-consuming part, the master-data cleanup: Leitweg-IDs, GLN, VAT-ID validation against the BZSt, deduplication of creditors.

The result: every outgoing invoice is checked against the official KoSIT validator and contains all required fields. Incoming e-invoices are automatically archived. Your tax advisor has read-only access and can review the status at any time. You pay a fixed price that is in the quote.

What it costs

Small business

from €2,500

Mid-sized (30–80 staff)

€8,000–25,000

Complex legacy systems

€15,000–60,000

Included:

· Master-data cleanup (Leitweg-IDs, GLN, VAT-ID validation, creditor deduplication)
· Export adapter from your current system to XRechnung 3.0 or ZUGFeRD 2.3
· Validation layer using the official KoSIT validator before every send
· Inbound parser for incoming e-invoices from your suppliers
· GoBD-compliant 10-year archive, EU-hosted, immutable
· Per-recipient format routing (XRechnung for public sector, ZUGFeRD for B2B)
· Handover documentation with mandatory fields and test runs documented
· Training for your team (accounting, purchasing), 2–4 hours

Not included:

· Full ERP replacement (not needed, we build on top of what you have)
· Tax advice or bookkeeping consulting (that stays with your tax advisor)
· New licenses for DATEV, SAP or Sage extension modules

How it works

Step 01

Week 1
Diagnosis and fixed-price quote
- · Inventory of your current system and invoicing workflow
- · Analysis of your recipient mix (public sector, B2B, format requirements)
- · Sample audit of your master data (VAT-IDs, creditors, Leitweg-IDs)
- · One-page fixed-price quote with delivery date
Step 02

Week 2–3
Master data and adapter
- · Cleaned creditor and debtor master records
- · Export adapter from your system to XRechnung 3.0 / ZUGFeRD 2.3
- · First test invoices against the KoSIT validator
- · Recipient-format routing configured
Step 03

Week 3–4
Inbound, archive and pilot
- · Inbound parser for incoming e-invoices
- · GoBD archive set up, EU-hosted, browser access for you and your tax advisor
- · Pilot send with your largest business customer
- · Validation layer in front of every outgoing document
Step 04

Week 4
Handover and training
- · Training for accounting and purchasing (2–4 hours)
- · Handover protocol with mandatory fields documented per recipient
- · Documentation for your tax advisor
- · Optional maintenance contract for KoSIT spec updates

Who it fits, and who it does not

A good fit for:

· Sage Büro+, Sage 50 or Sage 100 with customisations accumulated over years
· Microsoft Dynamics NAV / Navision (pre Business Central)
· Custom databases in MS Access or FileMaker that have been running for years
· Older Lexware Premium or Plus installations without e-invoicing modules
· Proprietary industry software in construction, trades, wholesale, logistics, manufacturing
· Mid-market with 30–200 staff and mixed B2B / public-sector customers

Not a good fit for:

· Pure DATEV or SAP S/4 setups where the vendor's e-invoicing module is already licensed and in use
· Sole traders with fewer than ten invoices per month (a standard solution like Lexware Office is usually enough)
· Companies already migrating to a new ERP within the next six months

Systems we know inside out

Sage Büro+
Sage 50
Sage 100
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Navision
MS Access
FileMaker
Lexware Premium
Lexware Plus
Industry software for construction
Industry software for trades
Industry software for wholesale
Industry software for logistics
Industry software for manufacturing

Common questions

Let us talk for 15 minutes.

Not a sales pitch. We look at your situation and tell you honestly whether we can help. If not, we tell you who the better fit would be.

Book a call

The problem

Tangled master data

Unclear ERP integration

No proper archive

Hand-off gaps between purchasing, accounting and the tax advisor

Our solution

What it costs

How it works

Who it fits, and who it does not

Systems we know inside out

Common questions

What happens if we miss the deadline?+

Do we have to switch to a new system?+

What about incoming e-invoices?+

Where are invoices archived? Is our data in Germany?+

How well do you know our Sage / NAV / Access?+

Do we need to involve our tax advisor?+

We use industry software (construction, trades, logistics). Does that work?+

ZUGFeRD or XRechnung, which one do we need?+

Let us talk for 15 minutes.