XRechnung viewer: open and check e-invoices

What is an XRechnung?

An XRechnung is a German electronic invoice in XML format. The standard is maintained by KoSIT, the Coordination Office for IT Standards, on behalf of the IT Planning Council (e-invoicing FAQ of the German federal administration). It implements the European standard EN 16931 (KoSIT on XRechnung, in German). An XRechnung has no visual layout: it is pure data. It comes in two syntaxes, UBL and UN/CEFACT CII. The content is the same, only the field names differ.

Typical for XRechnung are the buyer reference and mandatory contact details for the seller. For invoices to German public bodies, the buyer reference is the Leitweg-ID, the routing ID that gets the invoice to the right office. Version 3.0 has applied since 1 February 2024. A version 4.0 has been announced but does not apply yet (KoSIT versions and bundles, in German).

Who the viewer is for

German suppliers may send you an XML file or a PDF with embedded data instead of a normal invoice. Without the right software, you see only code. The viewer turns the file into a readable invoice, with field labels, VAT and payment details in English. Item names and notes stay in the language the supplier used.

Businesses outside Germany that receive XRechnung or ZUGFeRD files from German suppliers and want to see what the invoice says.

Suppliers to German public bodies. Suppliers to the German federal administration have had to send their invoices electronically since 27 November 2020, and XRechnung is the standard for public contracting authorities (FAQ of the federal administration). The viewer lets you look at your file before you send it.

Accountants and bookkeepers who need to read, check and file e-invoices from German suppliers or for German clients.

Developers who create or process XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or Peppol files and want a quick look with field numbers (BT) before running a full validation.

What are ZUGFeRD and Factur-X?

ZUGFeRD is a hybrid format from FeRD, the Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland: a PDF file (PDF/A-3) with an embedded XML file that holds the invoice data (FeRD on ZUGFeRD, in German). People read the PDF, software reads the XML. According to FeRD, the French Factur-X is identical to ZUGFeRD (FeRD FAQ, in German).

The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) treats ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 as an e-invoice, except the profiles MINIMUM and BASIC WL (BMF letter of 15 October 2025, in German). These two profiles carry no invoice lines. The profiles are called MINIMUM, BASIC WL, BASIC, EN 16931 (COMFORT), EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG (FeRD FAQ, in German). The viewer shows which one your file uses.

XRechnung and ZUGFeRD compared

The viewer also reads Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 invoices, a core invoice usage specification (CIUS) of EN 16931, and other invoices that follow EN 16931.

Under the German VAT Act, an e-invoice is an invoice that is issued, sent and received in a structured electronic format and allows electronic processing (§ 14 Abs. 1 UStG, in German). A plain PDF without embedded data is not an e-invoice in this sense. The BMF gives an overview in its FAQ on e-invoicing (in German).

How to open an e-invoice

To open an XRechnung, load the XML file into a viewer that turns the code into a readable invoice. This viewer does that for free, with no installation and no account, on Windows, Mac and Linux:

1. 1Save the email attachment. It is usually a file ending in .xml or .pdf.
2. 2Drag the file into the box above or select it with Choose file. You can also paste XML as text.
3. 3The viewer detects the format and profile and shows the invoice with its lines, VAT and payment details. For ZUGFeRD, it reads the XML file inside the PDF.
4. 4Look through the check results. If you need to, print the view or save it as a PDF from the print dialogue.
5. 5Keep the file you received unchanged. The view and the printout do not replace it. Businesses in Germany must keep invoices for eight years (§ 14b Abs. 1 UStG, in German); outside Germany, check the rules that apply to you.

Other free options, such as the German tax administration's viewer on ELSTER, the Quba app and the KoSIT validator, are compared in our guide XRechnung und ZUGFeRD kostenlos öffnen (in German), with notes on uploads, formats and checks and the date of each check.

Why the PDF view is not enough

With ZUGFeRD, the invoice is in the file twice: as a picture in the PDF and as data in the XML. The data is what counts. If the two differ, the XML data takes precedence (section 14.4 (3) of the German VAT Application Decree, as amended by the BMF letter of 15 October 2025, in German). If you only look at the PDF, you may not be checking the valid invoice.

The viewer therefore always shows the XML part and names the file it read. An XRechnung has no picture at all: without a viewer, you only see XML code.

What the check covers and what it does not

The viewer checks selected mandatory details of EN 16931 and names the field and rule numbers, such as BT-1 and BR-02 for the invoice number. For an XRechnung, it adds the XRechnung rules: buyer reference or Leitweg-ID (BT-10), the seller's contact details, electronic addresses and payment instructions. It also recalculates the invoice: lines, allowances and charges, VAT per rate, totals and rounding. It checks IBANs and Leitweg-IDs by their check digits.

This is not a full validation. KoSIT's XML schema and Schematron rules do not run here, and code lists are only partly checked. For a full validation, use the KoSIT validator with the XRechnung validator configuration. According to the BMF, even a technical validation does not replace checking an invoice for completeness and accuracy (BMF letter of 15 October 2025, in German): no software can tell whether the service was provided or the VAT rate is right. The results are not legal advice.

Which free tools validate in full and which upload your file is shown in our comparison of free options (in German).

Your invoice stays on your device

The viewer reads the file directly in your browser. The invoice is not uploaded or stored, and we never see it. The page uses no tracking and keeps no invoice data in browser storage. When you close the window, the view is gone.

Once the page has loaded, the viewer opens XML files even without an internet connection. For the first PDF, it loads the PDF reader pdf.js from our server once; your file is not sent. You can check this yourself: load the page, disconnect from the internet and open an XML invoice. Or watch the network traffic in your browser's developer tools while you open a file.

We publish the viewer's source code under the MIT licence on GitHub.

E-invoicing rules in Germany

Since 1 January 2025, businesses in Germany have had to be able to receive e-invoices (BMF letter of 15 October 2025, section 14.1 (5), in German). For supplies between two businesses that are both established in Germany, the invoice must be an e-invoice (§ 14 Abs. 2 UStG, in German). Transition rules allow paper or, with the recipient's consent, another electronic format such as a plain PDF: for supplies until the end of 2026, and for supplies in 2027 if the issuer's total turnover in the previous year was no more than 800,000 euros (§ 27 Abs. 38 UStG, in German).

If your business is outside Germany, you may still receive XRechnung or ZUGFeRD files from German suppliers, and the viewer helps you read them. Whether and how German rules apply to you depends on your situation; ask a tax adviser. This page is not legal advice.

If e-invoices arrive regularly

For single invoices, the viewer is enough. If you receive many invoices through several channels, the intake can be automated: extract the data, check it, route it for approval and pass it to your accounting software. How we connect such systems is described under integrations and automation; our page on automating incoming invoices is in German. To talk it through, contact us.