XRechnung — German B2G e-invoicing
XRechnung is Germany's mandatory pure-XML e-invoicing standard for business-to-government (B2G) transactions. Every invoice to a federal, state, or municipal buyer must be transmitted as XRechnung XML through the Peppol network or a federal portal — paper, PDF, and ZUGFeRD hybrids are no longer accepted by public-sector buyers.
Mandatory since 27 November 2020 for federal buyers (Bundesverwaltung). Mandatory at most state (Länder) and municipal levels by 2025. From 1 January 2027, mandatory for large-enterprise B2B sending; from 1 January 2028, for everyone.
Koordinierungsstelle für IT-Standards (KoSIT) · Bundesministerium des Innern
XRechnung 3.0 (extension to EN-16931, profile XRechnung-CIUS)
The manual reality
XRechnung is structurally unforgiving. Each invoice needs a valid Leitweg-ID (the buyer's routing identifier), a precise EN-16931 line-item structure, and a Peppol-conformant envelope. Manual generation through your accounting tool's export typically produces XML that fails federal-portal validation on first try. The feedback loop is asynchronous — rejection notices arrive hours or days later, and the original invoice's payment window keeps ticking.
The WorkAist approach
The WorkAist B2G AI Bookkeeper agent is purpose-built for the XRechnung path. It reads invoices from your accounting system, validates the structure against the XRechnung 3.0 schematron before transmission (catching ~95% of rejections at source), looks up the buyer's Leitweg-ID from a federal directory, routes the invoice through Peppol AS4 (or the Zentrale Rechnungseingangsplattform / OZG-RE federal portal as a fallback), and tracks acknowledgement messages. Rejections are translated from Peppol error codes into plain German with a fix suggestion.
Implementation in 5 steps
- 1Connect your accounting system (sevDesk, DATEV, lexoffice).
- 2Register a Peppol Access Point endpoint (WorkAist provides one as a managed connector, or you bring your own).
- 3Load your buyer directory (Leitweg-ID list — most authorities publish their own ID on their website or via the federal directory).
- 4Define your validation rules (mandatory PO number, tax-exempt logic, exact line-item formats).
- 5The agent transmits via Peppol, ingests acknowledgements, and posts the result back to your accounting system.
Connectors & agents involved
FAQ
How is XRechnung different from ZUGFeRD?▼
ZUGFeRD is a hybrid PDF/A-3 with embedded XML — readable by humans and machines. XRechnung is pure XML — machine-only. For B2G in Germany, XRechnung is mandatory; for B2B, ZUGFeRD is more pragmatic. The two share the underlying EN-16931 syntax, so converting between them is mostly mechanical.
What is a Leitweg-ID and where do I find it?▼
A Leitweg-ID is the routing identifier of a public-sector buyer. It looks like '991-12345-67'. Federal buyers publish theirs on their websites or in the central federal directory; state and municipal buyers do the same locally. The WorkAist agent maintains a directory of common Leitweg-IDs and flags any missing one before transmission.
Do I need a Peppol Access Point?▼
Yes — Peppol AS4 is the standard transmission channel for XRechnung. You can register your own AP (significant effort) or use a Peppol service provider. WorkAist's Peppol connector is a managed AS4 endpoint and shipped as part of the platform.
Can the agent handle ZRE (Zentrale Rechnungseingangsplattform) submission too?▼
Yes. The OZG-RE / ZRE federal portal accepts manual upload as a fallback path for senders without Peppol. WorkAist supports both routes and chooses Peppol when available, ZRE when the buyer is reachable only there.
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