If your shop is in Germany, your invoices go out as e-invoices. There is nothing to switch on and it is part of every plan: the invoice your customer gets is the same PDF as before, with a machine-readable e-invoice inside it that accounting software reads on its own.
Shops in other countries are not affected. Everything on this page applies only when your shop's country is Germany.
What your customer receives
| Customer | What they get |
|---|---|
| Anyone, by default | A ZUGFeRD invoice: the PDF they can read and print, with the e-invoice (EN 16931) attached inside it |
| A public authority with a Leitweg-ID | An XRechnung: the same kind of PDF, and the e-invoice as a separate .xml file in the email as well |
The PDF says so in its footer, in your documents' language; in German: Diese Rechnung enthält eine maschinenlesbare E-Rechnung nach EN 16931 (ZUGFeRD). A private customer simply sees an invoice, while accounting software such as DATEV, lexoffice or sevDesk can read the data without anyone typing it in.
When the e-invoice is made
The e-invoice is written the first time a copy of the invoice leaves the shop: when you download it, print it or email it, or when the customer downloads it from their order page. From then on that file is the invoice. It is kept exactly as it went out and is never rebuilt, even if you later change your logo, your address or the template.
That is also why a payment receipt re-attaches the same file: it shows the invoice as issued, not today's balance.
Before your first e-invoice
Open Settings → Tax & Invoicing and scroll to E-invoicing. The checklist there shows what an e-invoice needs from your shop, with a Fix link to each field:
Your shop's address
Street, postcode and city, under Settings → Shop.
Your shop's email address
It goes into the e-invoice as your electronic address.
Your Steuernummer or your USt-IdNr.
Either one is enough. A small business without a VAT ID enters its Steuernummer.
Your VAT rate, or small-business status
Set a rate, or, as a Kleinunternehmer, leave VAT registration off with a rate of 0%. Your invoices then state Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet.
An XRechnung also needs your phone number and your IBAN. The checklist marks those two separately, because they only matter once you bill a public authority.
The same panel shows how many e-invoices have gone out so far.
Business customers
In Germany an invoice to a business has to be an e-invoice: from 2027 for shops with more than €800,000 turnover the year before, from 2028 for everyone. So a business customer is treated differently from a private one.
Open the customer and turn on Business customer in the company section. A new customer is switched on automatically as soon as you give them a company name or a tax ID; you can turn it off again. A fleet is always a business customer.
| Private customer | Business customer | |
|---|---|---|
| Everything on file | E-invoice | E-invoice |
| Something missing, such as their address | A plain PDF goes out, nothing stops you | Invoice stops and lists what is missing |
When invoicing stops, the dialog names each missing detail. Your shop's own gaps link to the field in Settings; Edit customer opens the customer's form right there, and saving it tries the invoice again.
Note
A board column that invoices jobs automatically does the same thing its own way: the card still moves, the job is not invoiced, and a message says why. Invoice it from the order to see the list.
A private customer needs a name and a full address (street, postcode, city) for an e-invoice. Without them the invoice goes out as a plain PDF, which is fine: invoices to consumers never have to be e-invoices.
Public authorities (XRechnung)
A town, a district or a federal office gives you a Leitweg-ID, the routing
number their invoice portal delivers by, such as 04011000-1234512345-06. Enter
it on the customer under Business customer. From then on their invoices go
out as XRechnung.
The Leitweg-ID has check digits, and GarageFlow checks them as you type: a mistyped one is an invoice the authority never receives, usually found out weeks later as an unpaid one. An XRechnung customer also needs an email address.
Seeing which invoices are e-invoices
An invoice that went out as an e-invoice carries an E-invoice · ZUGFeRD (or XRechnung) label: on the invoice, beside its number on the order, and in the invoice list.
An invoice that went out as a plain PDF says Plain PDF on the invoice page. Hover it to see why, for example a customer address that was missing, or an invoice that was sent before e-invoicing existed.
Warning
A plain PDF stays a plain PDF. Adding the missing address afterwards does not turn that invoice into an e-invoice: the customer already holds it, and they must never have two different documents under one invoice number. The next invoice will be an e-invoice.
To download the files themselves, use the invoice's ⋯ menu: Export PDF (ZUGFeRD) and Export e-invoice (XML).
Correcting an invoice
An invoice your customer may already have is never rewritten. If you reopen the
order, change it and invoice it again, GarageFlow cancels the original with a
credit note (Stornorechnung, numbered like CN-1043) and issues a new
invoice (INV-1043-2). Payments move to the new invoice.
The credit note takes the form of the invoice it cancels: an e-invoice is cancelled by an e-invoice that names it, a plain PDF by a plain credit note. That is what German tax rules ask of a correction.
An invoice nobody outside the shop has seen yet (not downloaded, printed or sent, and not opened by the customer on their order page) is simply updated in place.
For your accountant
Under Settings → Tax & Invoicing → E-invoicing, choose a period and select Download ZIP. You get every e-invoice and credit note dated in that period, each XML beside its PDF, ready for your Steuerberater.
Tip
E-invoices have to be kept for eight years, in the form they were sent. Download them regularly and keep your own copy: your archive should never depend on any one piece of software, this one included.
What the law asks, in short
| From | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2025 | Every German business | Must be able to receive e-invoices |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Turnover above €800,000 in 2026 | Must send e-invoices to German businesses |
| 1 Jan 2028 | Every German business | Must send e-invoices to German businesses |
Invoices to private customers, invoices up to €250 and small businesses under § 19 UStG are exempt from sending them. Your Steuerberater is the one to ask about your own case.
Receiving e-invoices from your suppliers happens in your accounting software, not in GarageFlow.
Troubleshooting
"Invoice stops with a list of missing details." The customer is a business customer and their e-invoice would be incomplete. Fill in what the list names, or, if they are not a business, turn Business customer off on the customer.
"A customer got a plain PDF." Something was missing when the first copy left. Hover Plain PDF on the invoice to see what. Fix it on the customer; their next invoice will be an e-invoice.
"My Leitweg-ID won't save." Its check digits don't add up. Compare it character by character with the one the authority gave you.
"The payment email shows the balance before payment." It re-attaches the invoice as issued, which is the point: the e-invoice is never rewritten.
"Shop supplies show as not subject to VAT in the e-invoice." GarageFlow does not charge VAT on shop supplies and shop-wide fees (see fees, shop supplies and discounts), so the e-invoice states them as untaxed, matching what was charged.
"I don't see E-invoicing in Settings." Your shop's country is not Germany.