Practical DATEV E-Rechnung checklist for German businesses: receiving duty, ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, EN 16931, archive, accountant handover and software demo questions.
Many German SMEs use DATEV directly or through a tax adviser, so E-Rechnung readiness is often a handover problem as much as a software problem. The BMF FAQ says the new rules apply to invoices for transactions between domestic businesses from 2025, with transition rules for issuing. DATEV-facing teams should therefore test how invoices are received, read, booked, approved, archived and later exported, not just whether a file can be opened.
From 1 January 2025 businesses must be able to receive E-Rechnungen for affected domestic B2B transactions. Transition rules allow many outgoing paper or other electronic invoices for a period, but larger businesses move earlier and full domestic B2B issuing is expected from 2028. Treat dates as a planning calendar: reception first, outbound conversion next, then exception handling and audit evidence.
Ask providers to show EN 16931-compliant data, not only a visual PDF. In practice the names you will hear are XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, XML, hybrid invoice, Leitweg-ID for some public-sector cases, GoBD archive, invoice validation and accounting import. A simple PDF attached to email is not the same thing as a structured E-Rechnung.
Write down who receives supplier invoices, who checks validation errors, who approves payment, who posts to accounting, and who gives the Steuerberater access. If the adviser works in DATEV Unternehmen online or a connected process, confirm whether supplier and customer invoices appear with the XML, readable view, status notes and booking information.
Use a real sample pack: one ZUGFeRD supplier invoice, one XRechnung XML, one ordinary PDF that should be rejected or treated separately, one credit note, one invoice with a missing VAT ID, one B2G invoice with Leitweg-ID, and one archived invoice search. The provider should show what the user sees, what the accountant sees and what evidence remains after booking.
Score tools on DATEV integration, EN 16931 validation, ZUGFeRD and XRechnung support, readable preview, audit-proof archive, export, user permissions, duplicate detection, correction handling, support in German, clear pricing and ability to keep pace with BMF guidance.
Do not assume that your email inbox is enough for receiving. Do not let supplier PDFs and E-Rechnungen follow the same uncontrolled path. Do not archive only the rendered view if the structured data is the legally relevant payload. Do not wait until outbound issuing is mandatory before cleaning supplier master data and approval workflows.
Book a 45-minute walkthrough with your software provider and Steuerberater. Bring the sample pack, list current invoice channels, document who owns each exception, and save screenshots or notes from the test. If the workflow is unclear, use the readiness report or checker to identify the missing decisions before buying another add-on.
During the test, confirm that the original structured file, readable preview, validation status, booking link and access history remain available after posting. The goal is not only to upload an invoice into DATEV or a connector; finance should be able to find it later, explain whether it was accepted or corrected, export the data needed by the adviser and show that the archive did not drop the structured payload.
Ask where supplier invoices are received, how the format is detected, who sees validation errors, how duplicates are blocked, whether credit notes follow the same approval path and how the Steuerberater receives evidence. Also ask what happens if a supplier still sends only a PDF, if a public-sector invoice needs a Leitweg-ID, or if a customer requests one format over another. These answers reveal whether the tool covers daily operations or just a narrow import feature.
Confirm whether your affected German B2B invoices are in scope
Make receiving structured E-Rechnungen operational, not just technically possible
Test ZUGFeRD and XRechnung files with real supplier/customer examples
Agree DATEV or Steuerberater access, posting and archive responsibilities
Separate ordinary PDFs, EDI cases, B2G invoices and small-value exceptions
Validate VAT ID, customer/supplier master data, payment data and approval roles
Check GoBD-style archive, search, export and deletion controls
Document fallback owner for rejected, duplicate or unreadable invoices
No. German rules do not require every business to use DATEV. The practical reason to check DATEV is that many SMEs and tax advisers use DATEV-based processes, so invoice reception, booking and archive responsibilities must match the accountant’s workflow.
Not necessarily. A structured E-Rechnung contains machine-readable invoice data that complies with the required standard. ZUGFeRD may include a readable PDF layer, but the structured data and its processing path still matter.
For affected domestic B2B transactions, the receiving requirement started on 1 January 2025. Outgoing invoicing has transition rules, so businesses should confirm their own timeline with official sources and advisers.
Ask which file formats they can receive, whether they want invoices uploaded through DATEV Unternehmen online or another channel, how validation errors are handled, who archives XML data and how booked invoices remain searchable.
Neither is universally better. XRechnung is pure structured XML, while ZUGFeRD combines readable PDF and structured data. The right format depends on recipient expectations, your software and accountant process.
In some cases transition rules allow paper or other electronic formats with recipient consent, but this should not be treated as a long-term plan. Prepare structured issuing and receiving before the deadline that applies to your business.
The biggest risk is split ownership: invoices arrive in email, accounting expects a DATEV upload, approvals happen elsewhere, and no one owns rejections. Write down the flow before go-live.
No. This is practical software-readiness guidance. Confirm legal scope, exceptions and dates with the BMF FAQ, official materials and your qualified adviser.
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