# Billfree

> Error-free invoicing in Germany: mandatory details, small-amount invoices, VAT exemption for small businesses, the e-invoicing mandate, XRechnung and ZUGFeRD.

- [German invoice requirements: the 10 mandatory details](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/german-invoice-requirements/): Under § 14(4) of the German VAT Act, invoices over €250 must show both parties' full names and addresses, your tax number or VAT ID, the issue date, a unique sequential number, what you supplied and when, the net amount per VAT rate, and the VAT rate and amount. Some cases need extra notes.
- [Small amount invoice in Germany: receipts up to €250](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/small-amount-invoice-germany/): Germany's small amount invoice (Kleinbetragsrechnung) covers receipts up to €250 including VAT. Under § 33 UStDV it needs only the seller's name and address, the date, what was bought, and the gross amount with the VAT rate. Your name and an invoice number can be missing. You can still deduct the VAT from such a receipt.
- [Kleinunternehmer invoice: what to write since 2025](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/kleinunternehmer-invoice/): Since 2025, invoices from German small businesses under the Kleinunternehmer rule follow § 34a UStDV. They need both parties' names and addresses, your tax number, the issue date, a description of the service, the total amount and a note that the § 19 UStG exemption applies. You must not show VAT, and you never have to issue e-invoices.
- [Reverse charge invoice in Germany: wording and deadlines](https://billfree.de/en/mandatory-details/reverse-charge-invoice-germany/): When you invoice a business in another EU country for services, the customer owes the VAT. Your German invoice shows no VAT, both parties' VAT IDs and the note „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers“ or „Reverse charge“. It must be issued by the 15th of the month after the service and reported in your quarterly EC Sales List.
- [E-invoicing in Germany: who must comply and when](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/e-invoicing-germany/): Since 1 January 2025, every business established in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. From 1 January 2027, businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year must issue them to other German businesses, and from 1 January 2028 almost everyone must. Invoices up to €250, travel tickets and invoices from small businesses stay exempt.
- [XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD: which German e-invoice format?](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/xrechnung-vs-zugferd/): XRechnung is a pure XML file with no visual layer, while ZUGFeRD is a PDF with an embedded XML file that both people and software can read. Both satisfy the German e-invoicing mandate if they follow the EN 16931 standard. ZUGFeRD's MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles do not count. Authorities usually want XRechnung, businesses often prefer ZUGFeRD.
- [Receive e-invoices in Germany: open, check and store XML](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/receive-e-invoices-germany/): 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.
- [How long to keep invoices in Germany: 8 years since 2025](https://billfree.de/en/e-invoicing/keep-invoices-germany/): Businesses in Germany must keep invoices for eight years since 2025, down from ten. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued. In 2026, invoices from 2017 and earlier may therefore be destroyed, unless an audit or open tax assessment requires them. E-invoices are kept as the original, unchanged XML file.
- [Cancel an invoice in Germany: Storno and correction](https://billfree.de/en/invoicing-in-practice/cancel-invoice-germany/): In Germany, a sent invoice is never overwritten or deleted. If a detail is missing or wrong, a separate correction document that clearly refers to the original is enough under § 31(5) UStDV. For a wrong customer, amount or VAT rate, the cleaner route is a cancellation invoice (Stornorechnung) followed by a new invoice with a new number.
- [Gutschrift vs credit note: a German false friend](https://billfree.de/en/invoicing-in-practice/gutschrift-credit-note/): In German VAT law, a Gutschrift is a self-billed invoice: your customer issues the invoice for what you supplied. It needs a prior agreement, the word „Gutschrift“ or „Self-billing“ and all standard invoice details, including your tax number. A credit note correcting your own invoice is legally something else, even though Germans often call it Gutschrift too.
- [Invoice number rules in Germany: formats and examples](https://billfree.de/en/invoicing-in-practice/invoice-number-germany/): German VAT law requires each invoice number to be unique and assigned in sequence. Letters, years and several separate number ranges are allowed, and gaps are not an error for VAT purposes. Small receipts up to €250 and, since 2025, invoices from small businesses under the Kleinunternehmer rule need no number at all, though using one is almost always wise.
- [Unpaid invoice in Germany: reminders, interest, deadlines](https://billfree.de/en/invoicing-in-practice/unpaid-invoice-germany/): German clients are in default after an agreed payment date, after a reminder, or at the latest 30 days after receiving your invoice. From then on, you can charge business clients 10.52 % interest a year and a €40 flat fee, private clients 6.52 % without the fee. Claims expire three years after the end of the year they arose.

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