Understand the difference between XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X and Peppol BIS — and choose the right format and delivery channel for your recipient.
Four names come up in every e-invoicing conversation, and they are not four options. Two of them are formats, one is a format with a different nationality, and one is mostly a network. Sorting that out takes five minutes and saves a lot of wasted project time.
A format is what the invoice is. A network is how it travels.
XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are formats. Peppol is a network. "Peppol BIS Billing" is the format specification used on that network — which is why it appears in both lists and causes half the confusion by itself.
You can send an XRechnung by email. You can send it over Peppol. Those are two independent decisions, and your customer may have a requirement on each.
The German national profile of the European standard EN 16931 — a CIUS, meaning it takes the European standard and narrows it. Pure XML, no visual layer. Mandatory for invoices to German federal authorities and widely used in B2B. Current version 3.0.2, with 4.0 on the way based on the revised EN 16931.
A hybrid: a PDF/A-3 file with an XML invoice embedded inside it. A human sees a normal PDF; a machine reads the XML. This makes it the gentlest migration path, because the recipient who is not ready still sees something familiar. Only profiles that conform to EN 16931 count as e-invoices under the German rules.
The French equivalent of ZUGFeRD — and technically the same thing. The two were developed jointly and the profiles align. If you already produce ZUGFeRD, France is closer than it looks.
The invoice specification used across the Peppol network, in UBL syntax. If your customer says "send it over Peppol", this is normally the format they mean, and you will also need their participant identifier.
If yes, pure XRechnung is the cleanest. If you are not sure, ZUGFeRD hedges: valid structured data for those who can read it, a readable PDF for those who cannot.
Email, a customer portal, or Peppol. Peppol requires the recipient to be registered on the network. You can check that in advance rather than discovering it on the due date — our Peppol Participant ID Checker looks up whether an identifier is reachable in the production environment.
"Our system exports ZUGFeRD" is not an answer. Which profile? Only EN 16931-conformant profiles qualify as e-invoices. A ZUGFeRD file in a lower profile is a PDF with an attachment.
A PDF is not an e-invoice. Not under the German rules, not under the French ones. Sending a PDF by email has not been compliant B2B invoicing since the definition changed.
Version matters as much as format. Older XRechnung profiles are being retired from the Peppol network and from national portals. A file that worked last year can fail this year with no change to your data.
Export one real invoice from your system and run it through our free E-Invoice Validator. It covers XRechnung 3.0.2, 2.3.1–2.0.1 and 1.2.2, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.20 and ZUGFeRD 2.2 / 2.1.1, in the browser.
Two tips so the result is meaningful:
380 is an invoice, 381 a credit note, and UBL uses a different root element for each. Choosing the wrong one produces errors that have nothing to do with your data.Open the free E-Invoice Validator and check your own file against the business rules — XRechnung, Peppol BIS Billing and ZUGFeRD.
Free of charge · XRechnung 3.0.2 to 1.2.2, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.20, ZUGFeRD 2.2 and 2.1.1 · Result in seconds
Our format converter turns what your ERP already produces into what your recipient requires — XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X or Peppol BIS — and our access point delivers it. One integration; the format question stops being yours.
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Start free trialXRechnung is pure XML with no visual layer, while ZUGFeRD is a hybrid PDF/A-3 file with an XML invoice embedded inside it. Both can conform to EN 16931, but ZUGFeRD gives recipients a human-readable PDF even if they cannot process XML.
Technically yes — they were developed jointly and the profiles align. Factur-X is the French name for the same hybrid PDF/XML format. If you already produce ZUGFeRD, you are close to being compliant in France.
Peppol is a network. "Peppol BIS Billing 3.0" is the invoice format specification used on that network, in UBL syntax. You can send XRechnung or other formats over Peppol — they are independent decisions.
XRechnung is mandatory for invoices to German federal authorities. You will also need the Leitweg-ID they provide, which goes in field BT-10 (buyer reference).
No. Under both German and French rules, a plain PDF sent by email is not a compliant e-invoice. The invoice must be in a structured format (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, or Peppol BIS) that machines can process.
