Billance FAQ: E-Invoicing, Quotes, Reminders & Bookkeeping

Billance is a locally running invoicing and bookkeeping application for freelancers, tradespeople and small businesses. You create e-invoices as XRechnung and ZUGFeRD, convert existing PDF invoices and validate documents against EN 16931. On top of that you write quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes, payment reminders, credit notes and cancellations, automate recurring invoices, manage expenses and receipts, reconcile bank transactions, review reports and export to DATEV. See the feature overview for all areas.

Billance is a native desktop app for Windows 10 and 11 (x64 and ARM64), macOS 13 or newer (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux as AppImage, Snap and Flatpak. Download the matching installer from the download page, run the file and follow the setup wizard. You can start working right away. Mobile apps for Android, iPhone and iPad are in preparation.

The download is free. The free plan includes 1 e-invoice every 30 days (ZUGFeRD or XRechnung), unlimited e-invoice validations and master data for 1 company profile, 3 recipients and 1 internal contact. Billance Premium costs € 2.99 per month or € 29.99 per year (equivalent to € 2.49 per month) and unlocks unlimited e-invoices, quotes, reminders, bank reconciliation, cloud sync and DATEV export, among other features. The pricing overview lists every difference.

A Billance account and an internet connection are required for the initial sign-in and the licence check; after that you work largely offline. Writing invoices and quotes, managing documents, capturing receipts and running formal validation all happen locally on your device. You only go online for sign-in, the licence check (roughly every 30 days), updates and optional features such as Billance AI and cloud sync.

Billance produces XRechnung as CII and UBL XML, EN16931 CII XML and hybrid ZUGFeRD PDFs in the EN16931/Comfort, XRechnung and Extended profiles. All of them are based on the European EN 16931 standard. Which one fits is defined by the recipient: public authorities usually require XRechnung, while the human-readable ZUGFeRD PDF is widespread in B2B. The comparison of XRechnung and ZUGFeRD helps you decide.

You fill in a guided form: recipients, products and services come from your master data, taxes and totals are calculated per line item, and special cases such as reverse charge, tax exemptions or the small business scheme are covered. Mandatory EN 16931 fields are checked while you type and the resulting PDF appears in a live preview. Finally you export the document as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. Learn more under create e-invoices.

Drag and drop the file into Billance. PDF, PNG, JPG, WEBP, AVIF, DOCX, ODT, XLSX and XLSM are supported. You then choose between fully local template recognition with your own OCR profiles and the optional Billance AI detection for unknown layouts. Review the recognised fields next to the original document and transfer them into a structured e-invoice.

Billance checks documents you created and received against the rules of the selected EN 16931, XRechnung or ZUGFeRD profile and separates errors, warnings and notices with concrete references. Validation reports can be saved as PDF, HTML and XML. Without installing anything you can also check single files in the free online validator. Formal validation does not replace a content or tax review.

In B2B you usually send the XRechnung XML or the ZUGFeRD PDF by email; download portals, web uploads and networks such as Peppol are valid routes as well. Public sector recipients normally expect an XRechnung with the Leitweg-ID in the buyer reference (BT-10), submitted through portals such as OZG-RE. Billance produces the matching files; the transmission route, profile requirements and any Peppol access point depend on the recipient's specifications.

Since 1 January 2025 domestic companies in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices; the obligation to issue them in B2B applies in stages from 2027 and 2028, with transition rules, revenue thresholds and statutory exceptions. Billance supports you with EN 16931 compliant XRechnung and ZUGFeRD profiles, guided mandatory fields and formal validation. Deadlines and exceptions are explained on the e-invoicing mandate page; the tax assessment remains your company's responsibility.

Yes. Besides invoices you write quotes with their own status and validity workflow, order confirmations, delivery notes as well as credit notes and cancellation invoices. Accepted quotes convert into an invoice in a few clicks, and corrections are derived directly from the original document so the records stay linked. Learn more under create quotes and credit notes & cancellations.

The dashboard sorts your documents by status automatically (draft, open, partially paid or overdue) and shows due dates and outstanding amounts. Partial payments and the payment history stay traceable per invoice. From overdue invoices you create payment reminders with reminder levels and optional reminder fees that remain linked to the original invoice and its recorded payments. Learn more under payment reminders.

Yes. For subscriptions, maintenance contracts or monthly services you set up a schedule; Billance creates the invoices either as drafts for review or automatically finalised. Upcoming and missed runs stay visible so no billing cycle slips through. Learn more under recurring invoices.

Yes. You capture incoming invoices, receipts and running costs via drag and drop or file import, assign categories, input tax and payment method, and set up standing receipts for recurring costs. Bank transactions are imported via FinTS, CAMT, MT940 or CSV so incoming payments can be matched with open invoices. File integrity checks and backups support your record keeping, and every receipt stays local on your device.

You export single or multiple documents as a DATEV posting batch and optionally attach the PDF and XML files as a ZIP, so your tax firm receives postings and document images together. In addition you can generate reports such as a cash-basis (EÜR) overview for your own review. Learn more under DATEV export.

Yes. In the invoice designer you change layout, fonts, colours and spacing in a live preview and add your logo, signature and QR code. Templates can be saved per document type and business area, including standard texts, payment terms and early payment discounts. Learn more under invoice designer and templates.

Yes. Contacts and recipients are imported via CSV, Outlook CSV or VCF, products and services via CSV including categories, units, article numbers, net and gross prices and tax categories. Per recipient you can store defaults for output format, price logic, tax type, payment account and design template so recurring settings are pre-filled. Learn more under customers, products & company profiles.

Invoice, customer and receipt data is stored encrypted in a local database on your device by default. No cloud is required. Only account data such as your email address and subscription status is kept on our servers. Optional online features like Billance AI or cloud sync process only the data you deliberately release for them. Details are set out in the privacy policy.

Cloud sync is optional and follows a "bring your own cloud" approach: you sync via Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox or your own WebDAV server. Data is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM before transfer and the key stays with you. Automatic backups run on a schedule with retention rules, content selection and a preview before restoring. Learn more under cloud sync & backup.

Billance supports your archiving process with local storage, folders, an archive and a recycle bin, a traceable document timeline, file integrity checks and scheduled backups. Proper retention, the process documentation and the tax assessment remain your company's responsibility. Software alone does not establish compliance with the German GoBD rules.

Open the 'Subscription' section in your account to see your current plan. You can cancel a subscription from the website, Google Play or Microsoft Store there at the end of its billing period. Manage plan changes, invoices and payment methods with the respective provider. Cancel an Apple App Store subscription in your Apple ID subscription settings.

Write to us using the form on the help and support page or by email to info@billance.de. We usually reply within 24 to 48 hours on business days. Step-by-step guides are available in the Help Center, and every change per version is listed under what's new. Updates arrive through the respective store or as an update notice inside the app.