Electronic invoicing will be mandatory from 2025. With Candis, you are able to easily receive and process ZUGFeRD and XRechnung invoices.
A new law comes into force on 1 January 2025 and affects companies in the EU that do B2B business and issue invoices over 250 euros. From this date, these companies are obliged to be able to receive and process e-invoices. Here is an overview of the deadlines:
From 1 January 2025: companies that issue invoices over 250 euros must be able to receive and process e-invoices.
Until the end of 2026: Invoices can still be submitted as paper invoices or PDF documents, but only with the consent of the invoice recipient.
Until the end of 2027: Companies with a turnover of up to 800,000 euros are still exempt from the e-invoice obligation. Electronic invoices that do not comply with the new regulations may continue to be issued (also with the consent of the invoice recipient)
From 2028: Compliance with the new regulations for e-invoices is mandatory for all companies
Which formats does Candis support?
Candis supports the common e-invoice formats:
ZUGFeRD: A hybrid format that contains both a PDF and an XML file.
XRechnung: A format that is prescribed in specific fields, especially for public contracts. The data is provided in an XML format and is therefore initially not readable. Candis then generates a readable PDF version from the data in the XML file.
The invoice data is extracted directly from the XML file, which guarantees 100% accurate data recognition.
How the processing of e-invoices work:
Import by e-mail: Send e-invoice as usual to the Candis import e-mail address. The system automatically recognises the format.
Automatic data extraction: Candis extracts the invoice data from the XML file and generates a PDF file for XRechnungen so that they can be viewed.
Review and approval: The invoice data can be reviewed and the approval process started as usual.
Export: Nothing changes when exporting either. The data from Candis can be used in the accounting software or ERP as before.
Storage and archiving: All e-invoices are securely stored in the Candis archive and can be retrieved at any time.
Invalid ZUGFeRD invoices
When Candis recognizes an invalid ZUGFeRD invoice, a warning is displayed. You can view the exact cause in the invoice history.
At the moment, you can process it like a regular PDF invoice. We ignore the XML data and fall back to the PDF OCR recognition.
NOTE: towards the end of the year, this will be changed and the PDF will no longer be used as a base for invalid ZUGFeRD invoices. Candis will then not be able to extract any data, as the entire invoice is not compliant.
We recommend that you inform the supplier about the problem. This way, they can ensure that valid invoices with compatible versions and profiles are provided in the future.
There are several reasons why a ZUGFeRD invoice can be recognized as invalid:
Outdated ZUGFeRD versions
ZUGFeRD invoices must be at least version 2.0.1.
Older versions such as version 1.0 are not e-invoices within the standards of EN 16931.
Outdated ZUGFeRD profiles
There are currently six ZUGFeRD profiles, but not all of them comply with the EN 16931 standard or are invoice-compliant in accordance with the Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG).
Candis supports the extraction of XML invoice data for the BASIC, EN 16931 (COMFORT), EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG profiles.
The MINIMUM and BASIC WL profiles are not recognized as complete invoices in Germany under the UStG and are therefore not supported in Candis.
Invalid XML content
In addition to the supported version and profile, Candis also validates the content of the XML file. However, errors can occur here, e.g. missing currency or missing total amount. The information may well be present in the PDF, but if it is not correctly specified in the XML, the data cannot be read from it. Instead, PDF text recognition is used here too for the moment. This will be adjusted in the future so that the PDF is no longer used for invalid ZUGFeRD invoices. Candis will then not be able to extract any data, as the entire invoice is not compliant.
If you have any further questions, please contact our support team by email at support@candis.io or via chat.