One in three companies has never sent an e-invoice

The introduction of e-invoicing in German companies is still progressing slowly, according to a survey by YouGov on behalf of the invoicing service provider Easybill. Just a few months before the next expansion stage of the e-invoicing obligation in 2027, one in three companies in Germany has never sent an electronic invoice. And only 42 percent regularly send e-invoices so far. Another 25 percent have at least made individual attempts.

According to the survey, many companies are also still lagging behind in the transition within their operations. Only 24 percent of respondents stated that they had completed the process. 38 percent are still in the middle of it; 29 percent have not yet started at all or are only at the beginning of planning. 36 percent of companies that are not yet prepared cite technical implementation as the biggest hurdle. Other factors include uncertainty about legal requirements and a lack of knowledge.

Knowledge gaps and technical hurdles

39 percent of companies use accounting software for invoice creation. However, around one in five companies still resort to classic office programs for this: 11 percent use Excel, 10 percent use Word; neither meets the requirements for structured e-invoices.

In general, there still seem to be major knowledge gaps regarding the new rules. Only 37 percent of companies state that they fully understand the legal requirements. 33 percent only partially understand them, 28 percent hardly at all or not at all. According to the information, 502 companies were surveyed. The results are representative, according to Easybill.

Obligation for larger companies from 2027

The obligation to use e-invoicing is being introduced in stages in German business transactions. Since January 2025, every company must be able to receive e-invoices. In principle, an e-mail inbox is sufficient to comply with the pure reception obligation. Ultimately, however, this is only the minimum requirement; naturally, software that can handle structured XML is also needed. Furthermore, recipients of e-invoices are also obliged to archive them in a tamper-proof manner in accordance with legal requirements (GoBD).

From 2027, it will be mandatory for larger companies to send only e-invoices in the business-to-business sector. Smaller companies with an annual turnover of less than 800,000 euros will receive an additional year's grace period, but from 2028 onwards, they too will only be allowed to send electronic invoices to their business partners. An exception are small businesses, for whom there is no e-invoicing obligation if they remain within certain turnover limits. The tax-relevant data contained in invoices is to be transmitted to the tax authorities in real-time by 2030.

According to the specifications, an e-invoice requires an XML file in a structured format that can be processed automatically by machines. Common formats include EDI formats, hybrid formats like ZUGFeRD and Factur-X, which combine a human-readable PDF view with XML data, and the pure XML format XRechnung. Pure image files such as TIFF, PNG, and PDF, Word documents, scanned paper invoices, and the like do not meet the legal requirements. According to earlier surveys, SMEs in particular are struggling with the introduction of e-invoicing.

(axk)