Create a ZUGFeRD invoice: a PDF for people, XML for software
Fill in the form and download the finished ZUGFeRD PDF: the page for your customer and the XML for their accounting come from the same data.
Invoice total
€1,323.38
Ready to download
| Net | €1,119.06 |
| VAT | €204.32 |
| File | PDF/A-3 with factur-x.xml (EN 16931 profile) |
| Pre-check | 66 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
A ZUGFeRD invoice is a PDF file in the archive format PDF/A-3 with an XML file holding the invoice data embedded inside. People read the PDF like any other invoice; accounting software reads the attached factur-x.xml file and takes over the data without retyping. Under the German VAT Act ZUGFeRD counts as an e-invoice from version 2.0.1 and in the profiles from BASIC upwards; the current release is numbered 2.5.2. The creator on this page produces the XML in the EN 16931 profile, formerly called COMFORT, which covers the full European standard, and builds a PDF/A-3b from it with embedded fonts, a colour profile and the metadata software needs to recognise the invoice. The PDF page shows exactly the amounts in the XML, because both come from the same input. We tested the generated files with the open-source validation tool Mustang, which includes veraPDF: every one is a valid PDF/A-3b with valid XML. The file is built in your browser, with no upload.
Why ZUGFeRD and not just XML?
ZUGFeRD was developed by the German e-invoicing forum FeRD so that an e-invoice also works where no software processes it yet. Your customer opens the file like any PDF, checks it by eye and approves it. Their accounting finds the same invoice as structured data too. That makes ZUGFeRD the natural format for small and medium businesses that invoice other businesses and do not know how far along their customer is technically. The French variant is called Factur-X and is technically identical.
What the creator writes into the file
| Component | Content | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Visible page | A4 invoice with every detail | Read, approve, print |
| Fonts | fully embedded | same look on every device, required for PDF/A |
| Colour profile | sRGB as OutputIntent | unambiguous colours, required for PDF/A |
| XMP metadata | PDF/A identifier, Factur-X schema, profile | software recognises the e-invoice |
| Attachment factur-x.xml | CII XML in the EN 16931 profile | the actual invoice data |
The XML follows the UN/CEFACT CII syntax on which ZUGFeRD is based. Its identifier in field BT-24 reads “urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017”, which is the EN 16931 profile. The file is always named factur-x.xml, because reading software looks for exactly that name.
Placing version and profile correctly
Whether a ZUGFeRD file counts as an e-invoice depends on two things: the version and the profile. Version 1.0 does not meet the standard; from version 2.0.1 it is a question of profile. Check a combination that a supplier or your software offers you:
As an e-invoice between businesses
As an e-invoice between businesses
Accepted
| To federal bodies | Use XRechnung instead |
| Name of the XML inside the PDF | factur-x.xml |
| Current version | 2.5.2 (4 August 2026) |
How we test the PDF
A ZUGFeRD file has to pass two tests: the PDF must conform to PDF/A-3, and the XML must be valid. The open-source tool Mustang checks both, using the PDF/A validator veraPDF internally. For our method we generated four invoices: a service at two VAT rates, a small-business invoice, a construction service under the reverse charge and an invoice to a public body. All four were rated valid PDF/A-3b with valid XML. If you want to check a generated PDF yourself, drop it into the viewer: it shows the embedded XML and reports the PDF/A identifier.
What you must keep
For a ZUGFeRD invoice the XML is the original. The GoBD as amended in July 2025 require the structured data to be kept, and the PDF page only if it carries tax-relevant details missing from the XML. In invoices from this creator everything is in the XML. The simplest course is still to keep the whole PDF, since it contains the XML unchanged. More on archiving e-invoices.
Upgrading a PDF without XML
If you have so far sent invoices as PDFs from a word processor, you cannot turn them into ZUGFeRD after the fact by attaching some XML; the data has to come cleanly from the invoice details. Enter the invoice in the form once instead. A guide to that route is on convert PDF to XRechnung, and the format comparison on XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. For the VAT Act both are equivalent as long as the profile is right.