create_zugferd
Create a ZUGFeRD / Factur-X invoice
Builds a ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X hybrid invoice from the same details create_xrechnung
takes, and returns it as a PDF file.
A hybrid is one invoice stated twice in one file: a PDF/A-3 document a person reads,
carrying the same invoice inside it as EN 16931 XML a machine books. This is the
format private-sector German B2B buyers generally want, where XRechnung is what public
bodies require. If the recipient is a public authority and gave you a Leitweg-ID, you
want create_xrechnung instead.
The embedded XML declares plain EN 16931 — the profile ZUGFeRD calls COMFORT — not the
XRechnung CIUS, because that CIUS is a statement about public-sector procurement.
Validation is identical to create_xrechnung, except that the IBAN is optional here
(EN 16931 makes BG-16 optional): the same EN 16931 rules are applied before anything
is built, and a rejected call names the rules and business terms that failed.
What this does NOT do:
- The result is a binary PDF returned as an attachment. It is not text and there is
nothing useful to read in it — do not try to quote or summarise its contents. Offer
it to the user as a file.
- It does not validate against veraPDF or the Mustangproject validator. The document is
built to be valid PDF/A-3 with the required Factur-X metadata, but that is our
reading rather than a validator's verdict.
- It handles ONE tax rate and one tax category for the whole invoice, exactly as
create_xrechnung does.
- It does not send the invoice anywhere, and there is no Peppol.
- There is no logo and no custom styling. The PDF uses the default invoice layout.
Nothing is stored: no account, no invoice record, no retained personal data.
Parametersinvoicerequired
calculate_vat
Calculate German VAT
Converts between net, tax and gross for a given VAT rate, in either direction.
Give an amount and say whether it is net or gross, and you get all three figures back
rounded to the cent. Germany's rates are 19 % (standard) and 7 % (reduced), but any
rate from 0 to 100 is accepted, so this also works for an Austrian or French invoice.
Rounding is half-away-from-zero, the convention invoices and tax authorities use, and
the three returned figures always reconcile: net plus tax equals gross exactly, with
no cent left over from rounding each separately.
What this does NOT do: it does not decide which rate applies to a supply, handle more
than one rate at a time, or know anything about reverse charge, intra-community supply
or the Kleinunternehmer rules. It is arithmetic, not tax advice.
Parametersraterequiredbasisrequiredamountrequired
create_xrechnung
Create an XRechnung
Builds a German XRechnung 3.x electronic invoice (EN 16931, CII syntax) from invoice
details and returns the XML as text. This is the format German public-sector buyers
are legally required to receive, and that many private B2B buyers now ask for.
The EN 16931 business rules are checked before anything is built, and a rejected call
comes back naming the rules that failed and the business term (BT-xx) each concerns.
The ones worth getting right up front: tax category S requires a rate above 0 %,
categories Z, E and AE require exactly 0 %, E and AE additionally require a stated
exemption reason (BT-120), both parties need an email address because XRechnung
makes the electronic address (BT-34, BT-49) mandatory, and an IBAN (BT-84) is
required, because XRechnung makes payment instructions (BG-16) mandatory (BR-DE-1).
For a public-sector buyer, put their Leitweg-ID in buyerReference (BT-10) —
check_leitweg_id will verify it first.
What this does NOT do:
- It does not validate against the KoSIT Prüftool. It applies our reading of EN 16931,
which is not the same thing as the Schematron suite a receiving portal runs. Use
validate_einvoice for a second look, and the official validator before a deadline.
- It does not produce ZUGFeRD or Factur-X. There is no PDF and no embedded XML — this
is a bare XML file. Use create_zugferd for the hybrid a private-sector B2B buyer
usually wants.
- It handles ONE tax rate and one tax category for the whole invoice. A document
mixing 19 % and 7 % lines is not expressible here.
- It does not send the invoice anywhere, and there is no Peppol.
Nothing is stored: no account, no invoice record, no retained personal data.
Parametersinvoicerequired
check_leitweg_id
Check a Leitweg-ID
Checks a German Leitweg-ID — the routing identifier that goes in BT-10 of an
XRechnung to a public authority. An invoice to a German public body with a wrong or
missing Leitweg-ID is rejected, so this is worth checking before building a document.
It verifies the structure (Grobadressierung of 2 to 12 digits, an optional
Feinadressierung of up to 30 alphanumerics, then two check digits) and recomputes the
ISO/IEC 7064 MOD 97-10 check digit, the same procedure an IBAN uses. When the check
digits are wrong it returns the ones the address parts actually imply, so the value
can be corrected rather than merely rejected. It also names the Bundesland the leading
two digits point at, or Bund for the federation.
One real limit: the check digit is computed over the address parts with the hyphens
removed, which is what KoSIT specifies, so it CANNOT detect a hyphen in the wrong
place. '04011000-1234512345-06' and '040110001-234512345-06' both pass. That is the
specification's behaviour, not a defect here.
What this does NOT do: it does not confirm that the ID belongs to a real authority or
that they are reachable. It checks the number, not the recipient — there is no
directory lookup.
ParametersleitwegIdrequired
validate_einvoice
Check an e-invoice
Reads an existing electronic invoice and reports what is wrong with it. Accepts
XRechnung and ZUGFeRD XML in either EN 16931 syntax — CII (used by XRechnung and
ZUGFeRD) and UBL — and reports the syntax and profile it found along with the
invoice's key fields, so it also answers "what is this file?".
It checks the rules behind most real rejections: BT-10 buyer reference present, and
its Leitweg-ID check digit when it looks like one; BT-34 and BT-49 electronic
addresses present; tax category S not used at 0 %; BT-120 exemption reason present
for categories E and AE; line amounts summing to BT-106; net plus tax equalling the
BT-112 gross; BT-115 amount due matching gross less prepaid; and the due date not
falling before the issue date.
What this does NOT do:
- It is NOT the KoSIT Prüftool and is not a substitute for it. It covers the rules
that account for most rejections, not the full EN 16931 Schematron suite. A file
that passes here can still be rejected by a Rechnungseingangsportal.
- It does not check the XSD schema, so a structurally invalid document may parse here.
- It reads XML only. A ZUGFeRD PDF must have its embedded XML extracted first — pass
the XML, not the PDF.
Nothing is stored: the document is parsed in memory and discarded.
Parametersxmlrequired