# Receive e-invoices in Germany: open, check and store XML

> Since 1 January 2025, every business established in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices from other German businesses, small businesses included. An email inbox is enough, and you cannot refuse an e-invoice. You then need to make the XML readable, check it, and keep the original file unchanged for eight years.

- URL: https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/receive-e-invoices-germany/
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- Publisher: Billfree (OnlineBuilders LLC, https://onlinebuilders.biz)

For many foreign freelancers in Germany, the first e-invoice arrives unannounced. An email from the phone provider or a wholesaler, with an attachment called `invoice.xml` that opens as a wall of text in the browser. Since 1 January 2025 that is no oddity. It is a legal duty: every business established in Germany must be able to accept and process such invoices.

That sounds like new software. To start, you need far less.

## Who has to receive e-invoices?

All businesses established in Germany that buy from other German businesses. That includes freelancers, small businesses under the Kleinunternehmer rule, associations with commercial activities, and landlords with only tax-exempt rent. There is no minimum size. Small businesses end up in an odd position: they never have to issue e-invoices, but they must receive them, as the article on the [Kleinunternehmer invoice](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/kleinunternehmer-invoice/) explains.

Your consent is not needed. § 14(1) UStG explicitly exempts invoices under the mandate from the consent requirement that applies to other electronic invoices. So you cannot refuse them either.

## Is an email inbox enough?

Yes. According to the Finance Ministry's guidance on e-invoicing, it is enough to provide an email inbox the file can be sent to. No portal, no Peppol access point and no EDI connection is required. Suppliers who bill through their own portal may point you there, if you agree to it.

Set up a separate address just for invoices, such as `invoices@` or `accounts@`. Files then do not end up in the spam folder of a personal address, and bookkeeping software can collect them automatically later.

## Six steps from inbox to archive

**From inbox to archive**

1. **Set up an address** One mailbox for invoices, shared with your suppliers.
2. **Recognise the format** Plain `.xml` is usually XRechnung, a PDF with an attachment usually ZUGFeRD.
3. **Make it readable** Viewer or bookkeeping software renders the data.
4. **Check it** Validate technically, then check the details and amounts.
5. **Store it** Keep the XML unchanged for eight years, with the validation report.
6. **Book and pay** After the check, not before.

Recognising the format is quick. An XRechnung is a plain XML file. ZUGFeRD invoices are PDFs you can open as usual, with an XML hidden inside as an attachment. Legally, the XML counts in both cases. The differences are explained in [XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/xrechnung-vs-zugferd/).

## How do I open an XRechnung?

The easiest way is the bookkeeping or invoicing software you already use. Mainstream German tools now import XRechnung and ZUGFeRD and display them as a document. If you have none, you need a viewer.

One free and neutral option is [KoSIT's visualisation](https://github.com/itplr-kosit/xrechnung-visualization), which many commercial tools use under the hood. It turns the XML into an HTML or PDF view. Plenty of web viewers from other providers exist as well. Check whether they upload your file to their servers. An invoice contains names, addresses, bank details and amounts.

When nothing else is at hand, a text editor works. Not pretty, but the fields are there. They are called `cbc:PayableAmount` or `ram:DuePayableAmount`, yet amount, IBAN and invoice number are easy to find.

## What you need to check

There are two levels. Technical: does the file meet the standard? Validators answer that, for example KoSIT's open-source [validator](https://github.com/itplr-kosit/validator), which many tools have built in. Content: are the mandatory details, the service, the VAT rate and the amounts correct? That check is the same as for any paper invoice, with the list in [German invoice requirements](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/german-invoice-requirements/). The [invoice checker](https://billfree.de/en/invoice-checker/) speeds it up.

The Finance Ministry's second letter on e-invoicing, dated 15 October 2025, distinguishes format errors, business rule errors and content errors. For you as a recipient, one point matters most. During the transition, an e-invoice with a format error still counts as an „other invoice“, and you can deduct the VAT. Once the supplier is under the mandate, from 2027 or 2028, that no longer holds and you need a corrected file. Keep the validation report, because it documents your diligence.

## Typical stumbling blocks

Most problems are mundane. Spam filters catch emails with XML attachments because they are unusual. Some senders zip the file. Others only send a link to a customer portal, where you have to download the invoice yourself. That is allowed if you agreed to it, but it means logging in regularly.

E-invoices can also carry attachments such as timesheets or delivery notes embedded in the XML. Simple viewers do not always show them. They belong to the invoice and go into the archive with it.

Then there is the personal address problem. Many suppliers still have the owner's private email on file. If the e-invoice lands there, it has technically been received but sits outside your process. One short email to suppliers, in German, fixes this:

> Bitte senden Sie Rechnungen ab sofort ausschließlich an rechnungen@beispiel.de. Wir empfangen XRechnung und ZUGFeRD ab Profil EN 16931. Bitte geben Sie unsere Bestellnummer an.

In English: please send invoices only to this address, we accept XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from the EN 16931 profile up, and please quote our order number.

## And if paper still arrives?

No problem. Until the end of 2026, suppliers may still send paper, smaller ones also during 2027. Handle it as before. PDFs by email are allowed during the transition with your consent, which most businesses give simply by paying them. That changes in 2027 for suppliers with more than €800,000 prior-year turnover and in 2028 for everyone else. From then on, a PDF from a German business supplier is no longer a proper invoice.

## Storing it: the XML is the original

The most common mistake is organisational, not technical. Someone prints the rendered view, files it and deletes the email. The original is gone. What you must keep is the XML file, unchanged. For ZUGFeRD, the Finance Ministry's letter says the XML part is enough, provided its integrity is ensured.

Invoices must be kept for eight years since 2025. Details, including the difference for businesses that must keep double-entry books, are in [how long to keep invoices](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/keep-invoices-germany/).

## When volumes grow

At five incoming invoices a month, the viewer route is fine. At fifty, it gets tedious. Then a setup that collects the mailbox, validates the XML, imports the data into your bookkeeping and archives the file is worth it. Many bookkeeping tools do this, and if you want incoming invoices to flow straight into your own platform or ERP, [OnlineBuilders](https://onlinebuilders.biz/solutions/software-development) can build the integration.

From 2027 comes the other half of the change, issuing. Whether and when it hits you is covered under [e-invoicing in Germany](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/e-invoicing-germany/). The sensible step for today is smaller. Create the invoice mailbox and send the address to your five most important suppliers.

## Step by step

1. **Set up an address** Pick one mailbox for invoices, such as invoices@yourcompany.de, and tell your suppliers.
2. **Recognise the format** A plain XML file is usually an XRechnung, a PDF with an attached XML a ZUGFeRD invoice.
3. **Make it readable** Open the XML in your bookkeeping software or a viewer that renders it.
4. **Check it** Validate the file technically, then check the VAT details and amounts.
5. **Store it unchanged** Keep the original XML for eight years, together with the validation report.
6. **Book and pay** Only after the check, not before.

## FAQ

### Can I insist that a supplier keeps sending PDFs?

You can ask, not insist. During the transition, suppliers may still send PDFs or paper, but they do not have to. If they send an e-invoice, you must accept it.

### Is it enough to print the rendered invoice and file it?

No. The original is the XML file, and it must be kept unchanged. A printout or generated PDF can serve as a working copy but does not replace the original.

### Do I need paid software to receive e-invoices?

Not necessarily. A mailbox is enough for receiving, and free viewers exist, including KoSIT's open-source visualisation. If you receive many invoices, bookkeeping software that imports the data directly saves a lot of time.

### What should I do with a faulty e-invoice?

Ask for a corrected file before you deduct the input VAT. During the transition, a file with a pure format error still counts as an „other invoice“. Once the supplier is subject to the mandate, it no longer entitles you to deduct VAT.

Photo: Mozzihh, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Letterbox_2303-0455.jpg)