Find out the differences between the two formats for mandatory e-invoicing in 2025 – and how SAP companies can make clever use of both.
With e-invoicing becoming mandatory from 2025, the question of the right invoice format is becoming increasingly relevant for companies. Especially in the SAP environment, the two standards
XRechnung is the legally prescribed standard format in Germany for electronic invoices to public clients.
For companies, this means that anyone who issues invoices to public authorities must use XRechnung.
The ZUGFeRD format (“Zentraler User Guide des Forums elektronische Rechnung Deutschland”) combines two worlds:
ZUGFeRD therefore enables more flexible handling and is also interesting for international business relationships.
| Criterion | XRechnung | ZUGFeRD |
| format | XML FORMAT | PDF with embedded XML |
| Area of application | Mandatory for B2G invoices in Germany | Frequently in the B2B environment, optionally in B2G |
| Readability | Machine readable only | Human and machine readable |
| Flexibility | Standardized, hardly any scope for design | More flexible, can be used internationally |
| Legal obligation | Binding for invoices to public authorities | Not mandatory, but widely used |
Whether XRechnung or ZUGFeRD – both formats play a central role in the context of mandatory e-invoicing. While XRechnung is required by law, ZUGFeRD offers additional flexibility and added value for companies that also want to digitize invoices in the B2B sector.
A solution that supports both standards and is also internationally scalable is crucial.
With the Global E-Invoice Cloud from Softway AG, companies can rely on a cloud-based all-round carefree package that supports both XRechnung and ZUGFeRD as standard.
In this way, companies ensure that they meet the legal requirements – and at the same time make their invoicing processes efficient, flexible and future-proof.
E-invoicing will be mandatory in Germany from 2025. From 2026 for Poland and Belgium, for example. Companies must ensure that they send invoices in a legally compliant, digital and standard-compliant manner (e.g. XRechnung, ZUGFeRD). For SAP systems, this means that processes must be modernized and automated.
Legal compliance and transparency, international coverage, integration in SAP, automation and a clear reduction in the burden on internal IT are important. A provider should also have experience in SAP output management and offer a future-proof solution.
With a SaaS solution, companies benefit from predictable costs, automatic updates and high scalability. This not only reduces investment risks, but also prevents additional work caused by manual processes or incorrect implementations.
In-house development is often time-consuming, expensive and ties up internal SAP resources. Maintenance, updates in the event of legal changes and international requirements can quickly become cost traps and may not be presented transparently.
A managed SaaS service provides an all-round carefree package: clean core is maintained, archiving is automatic, updates run without SAP transports and the system remains low-maintenance. Companies save development costs and reduce the workload on their SAP team.
With the Global E-Invoice Cloud, Softway AG offers an immediately usable, cloud-based solution for international e-invoicing from SAP. It is legally compliant, automatically archived, relieves IT teams and fulfills the e-invoice obligation according to the principle: SAP output – cleverly solved.
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