Create an XRechnung: free, with every German mandatory field
Enter your data, add the Leitweg-ID, download as UBL or CII. The form knows the extra XRechnung rules and flags every missing detail at once.
Invoice total
€1,323.38
Ready to download
| Net | €1,119.06 |
| VAT | €204.32 |
| File | XRechnung 3.0 as XML (UBL or CII) |
| Pre-check | 84 rules, 0 errors |
Invoice preview
Seller
Muster Webdesign GmbH
Beispielweg 12
10115 Berlin
- VAT ID:
- DE123456789
- Tax number:
- 30/123/45678
- Contact:
- Buchhaltung · +49 30 0000000 · rechnung@muster-webdesign.example
- Electronic address:
- rechnung@muster-webdesign.example (EM)
Buyer
Beispiel Handel KG
Musterstraße 5
50667 Köln
- VAT ID:
- DE987654321
- Electronic address:
- eingang@beispiel-handel.example (EM)
Invoice RE-2026-0415
- Number
- RE-2026-0415
- Date
- 25/10/2026
- Delivery date
- 20/10/2026
- Due
- 08/11/2026
- Buyer reference (BT-10)
- -
| No. | Description | Qty | Price | VAT | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home page design | 12 hour | €85.00 | 19% | €1,020.00 |
| 2 | Hosting October 2026 | 1 month | €29.90 | 19% | €29.90 |
| 3 | Accessibility handbook | 2 piece | €34.58 | 7% | €69.16 |
| Sum of lines | €1,119.06 |
| Total excl. VAT | €1,119.06 |
| VAT 19% | €199.48 |
| VAT 7% | €4.84 |
| Total incl. VAT | €1,323.38 |
| Amount due | €1,323.38 |
Payment: SEPA credit transfer
Account DE02120300000000202051 · Account holder Muster Webdesign GmbH
Terms: Payable within 14 days without deduction.
Technical details
- Syntax
- –
- Specification (BT-24)
- –
- Process (BT-23)
- –
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · VAT Act, ministry letters and XRechnung 3.0.2 checked on 25 October 2026
An XRechnung is the German version of the European standard EN 16931: a pure XML file that holds every mandatory invoice detail in fixed fields and also meets the national BR-DE business rules of the German Coordination Office for IT Standards (KoSIT). The version currently in force is 3.0.2. The form on this page produces such a file in either UBL or CII syntax; both are equivalent and accepted by invoice portals. It asks for the details on which XRechnung files fail most often: the buyer reference in field BT-10, the Leitweg-ID for public bodies, the seller's full address, a contact person with phone and email, and the bank details. We checked our generated files with the official KoSIT validator in its configuration for XRechnung 3.0.2, and it accepted all of them. For federal contracts above 1000 euros, XRechnung or another EN 16931 format has been mandatory for years. The file is built in your browser and sent nowhere.
How an XRechnung differs from other e-invoices
Every XRechnung is an EN 16931 e-invoice, but not every e-invoice is an XRechnung. The KoSIT specification narrows the standard for Germany: some fields that are optional across Europe become mandatory, and some code lists get tighter. You recognise an XRechnung by the identifier in field BT-24, which begins with “urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0”.
| Detail | EN 16931 in general | XRechnung |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer reference BT-10 | optional | mandatory (BR-DE-15) |
| Seller contact BG-6 | optional | mandatory with name, phone, email |
| Seller city and postcode | optional | mandatory (BR-DE-3, BR-DE-4) |
| Payment instructions BG-16 | optional | mandatory (BR-DE-1) |
| Electronic addresses BT-34, BT-49 | optional | mandatory for both parties |
With the “XRechnung” setting the form treats these fields as mandatory. Your email address also serves as the seller’s electronic address; for the recipient you enter their invoice address or, for a public body, the Leitweg-ID.
XRechnung to a public body
Set the recipient to “Authority” and the customer email field is replaced by one for the Leitweg-ID. The form enters it twice: as the buyer reference in BT-10 and as the buyer’s electronic address in BT-49 with scheme 0204, as the administration’s platforms expect. A Leitweg-ID with wrong check digits is flagged immediately, because such an invoice will not arrive. You get the ID from the contracting body, usually in the purchase order.
The federal administration is governed by the E-Invoicing Regulation (ERechV). It requires an invoice under EN 16931, names XRechnung as the standard and, besides the Leitweg-ID, requires bank details, payment terms and the issuer’s email address. For direct awards up to €1,000 net the requirement does not apply. Whether your contract falls under it is shown by the quick test:
E-invoice under the federal ERechV
E-invoice under the federal ERechV
Required
| Format | XRechnung (ZUGFeRD only in the XRECHNUNG profile as XML) |
| Leitweg-ID in BT-10 | Yes |
| Also required by section 5 ERechV | Bank details, payment terms, email address |
| Channels | Weberfassung, Upload, Peppol, E-Mail |
How we test the generated files
The XML is written in the element order the schema prescribes, so that strict validators accept it too. For our method we generated four typical cases, each in UBL and CII: a service at two VAT rates, a small-business invoice, a construction service under the reverse charge and an invoice to a federal authority. The KoSIT validator rated all eight files “accept”. On top of that the viewer reads every generated file back in, and the amounts must match the form.
Sending and portals
To businesses you send the XRechnung as an email attachment. To the federal government it goes through the administration’s platforms; the federal invoice receipt platform accepts invoices by upload, web entry, Peppol or email. By email the rule there is one invoice per message, structured file only. Details on sending e-invoices by email and e-invoicing the federal government. The structure of the Leitweg-ID is set out in the format specification; the checker is on Leitweg-ID.
Common pitfalls
Three mistakes keep turning up in self-made XRechnung files. First, a Leitweg-ID with swapped digits, which the check digits reveal. Second, a contact person without a phone number, because the field rarely appears on paper invoices. Third, an invoice number that has been used before. The form guards against the first two; you have to assign numbers consecutively yourself. Background on the format itself is on XRechnung.