Create e-invoices – XRechnung and ZUGFeRD under EN 16931

What an e-invoice is in Billance

An e-invoice is not a PDF with a nice layout — it is a structured data record under the European standard EN 16931. Every field has a fixed meaning: the invoice number is BT-1, the due date BT-9, the buyer reference BT-10, so the accounting software on the receiving side can read the invoice without anyone retyping it. Billance produces exactly that record and delivers it either as XML embedded in a readable PDF (ZUGFeRD) or as a pure XML file (XRechnung, PEPPOL BIS).

The editor is the same one that produces quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes, recurring invoices, credit notes, cancellations and payment reminders. So you do not switch tools when a quote becomes an invoice: line items, recipient data and references carry over, and the document chain stays visible between the records.

Billance checks along as you type. If the recipient has no electronic address, if an XRechnung is missing its buyer reference, or if a tax category does not match the chosen tax case, the hint sits right at the field — not later, when your customer’s invoice intake rejects the file.

How an e-invoice comes together

1. 1

   Pick the recipient and the template

   Saved recipients carry their address, electronic address, buyer reference, tax case, payment method, payment term and design. The default template of the document type prefills subject, introduction and closing text.

2. 2

   Enter the line items

   Take products and services from the catalogue or type them in. Quantity, unit with its UN/CEFACT code, unit price, tax rate and tax category produce net, tax and gross per line.

3. 3

   Add payment and reference details

   Payment method and account, payment term, discount rate and deadline, amounts already paid, the service period and order, project and contract references all belong in the record in machine-readable form.

4. 4

   Choose the output format

   The e-invoice switch decides between a hybrid PDF, a pure XML file and a deliberately unstructured PDF; the format menu picks the profile below that.

5. 5

   Finalize and output

   Finalizing locks the invoice number from its number range. The generated file can be opened, shared, printed and validated with the same module that checks incoming e-invoices.

What the invoice editor does

Seven document types share one editor, so most of what is described here for invoices holds for the other documents too.

App view – screenshot follows at release

• Mandatory EN 16931 details

  Buyer reference (BT-10), Leitweg-ID, electronic addresses of seller and buyer, service date or period and the payment details all have their own fields and are checked before output.

• Every common tax case

  Standard taxation, the German small business rule under § 19 UStG, reverse charge, intra-community supply and services outside the EU can be mapped with the right identifiers and exemption reasons.

• Discounts, prepayments and rounding

  Discount rate and deadline are stored machine-readably. Amounts already paid (BT-113) and an explicit rounding amount (BT-114) keep the payable amount correct.

• Allowances and charges

  Discounts and surcharges can be recorded with reason, percentage and tax category — on a single line item as well as on the whole document.

• Defaults per recipient

  Output format, tax case, payment method, payment term, language and design can be stored per contact and are preselected for the next document.

• Attachments and your own invoice PDF

  Proofs and timesheets travel along as attachments. Alternatively an existing PDF can serve as the basis of the invoice — the structured data is then embedded into that document.

• Foreign currency and bilingual output

  Invoice currency, date format and document language belong to the document, not to the interface: you work in English and still issue a German invoice.

• Drafts and the document chain

  A document starts as a draft and can be saved as often as you like. Follow-up actions such as credit note, cancellation, reminder or delivery note carry the data over and link predecessor and successor.

• Validation before you send

  The generated file can be checked against EN 16931, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X and PEPPOL right away — locally on your device, without uploading the invoice.

ZUGFeRD, XRechnung or PEPPOL BIS – which format when?

Billance knows three output kinds: a hybrid PDF with embedded XML, a pure XML file, and a deliberately unstructured PDF. Which one is right is decided by your recipient — for ordinary B2B invoicing, ZUGFeRD EN16931 is the fitting choice.

CII and UBL are two XML syntaxes for the same business content. The choice changes the technical structure of the file, not the invoice itself.

The details an e-invoice must carry

Which fields are mandatory depends on the profile, the tax case, the payment method and the transaction. These are required by practically every structured invoice.

• Header data

  Invoice number, invoice date, invoice type and currency — plus name and address of seller and buyer.

• Seller identifier

  At least one permitted tax or legal identifier: tax number, VAT ID or a register entry.

• At least one line item

  With description, quantity, unit, unit price and tax category — the unit carries the UN/CEFACT code from BT-130.

• Totals and tax breakdown

  Net, tax, gross and payable amount have to match the breakdown by tax rate; Billance calculates and checks that alongside.

• Service date or period

  Billance asks for a concrete service date so the form cannot produce an incomplete document.

• Payment details

  A positive payable amount needs a due date or a payment term; a bank transfer additionally needs a payment account with IBAN, a direct debit a creditor ID and mandate reference.

• Profile-specific fields

  XRechnung requires the buyer reference and electronic addresses among others, PEPPOL BIS matching endpoints, and a corrective invoice the reference to the preceding invoice.

Billance supports you with mandatory fields and output formats and does not replace tax or legal advice.

Invoicing at the desk and on the move

Both applications write the same record and produce the same files. The difference is how much fits on screen at once.

Free or Premium

When a feature hits the free plan’s limit, Billance shows the notice and the way to upgrade — saved data is never lost in the process.

Frequently asked questions about e-invoicing

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