E-invoices (ZUGFeRD and XRechnung)

The e-invoice add-on turns an invoice automation into one that also creates a valid e-invoice. You choose one of two formats:

ZUGFeRD: a PDF/A-3 file with the e-invoice data (EN 16931 profile) embedded. People read the PDF; accounting software reads the data inside it.
XRechnung: an XML file (XRechnung 3.0) next to your PDF. Public-sector buyers in Germany usually ask for this format.

Every e-invoice is checked with the official validators (KoSIT for XRechnung, Mustang and veraPDF for ZUGFeRD) before it is delivered. A file that fails the check is never sent; the run stops with a message that names the field to fix.

DocsAutomator creates a valid e-invoice format from your data. It does not check your tax treatment and does not give tax advice. Ask your tax advisor which VAT treatment and format apply to you.

Turn on the add-on

Open Settings, then Add-ons.
Switch on E-invoice (ZUGFeRD / XRechnung). Only owners and admins can do this.
Click Settings next to the add-on and enter your seller details.

The add-on is off until you switch it on. Automations without an e-invoice do not change.

Seller details

You enter the seller details once. Every e-invoice automation uses them, unless you give one automation a different seller (see Seller for one automation). The Swiss QR-bill has its own seller details.

Field	Required
Legal name, street and number, postcode, city, country	Always
VAT ID (USt-IdNr.) or tax number (Steuernummer)	Always, at least one of them
Contact name, contact phone, contact email, IBAN	For XRechnung
Trading name, address line 2, commercial register entry, BIC, account holder	Optional

Set up an automation

Open an invoice automation and find its E-invoice section. Switch on Create an e-invoice, then fill in the parts below. Most fields suggest a match from your data by name.

Format

Format: ZUGFeRD or XRechnung.
Document type: Invoice or Credit note. A credit note can also carry the original invoice number.
VAT treatment: one of the treatments below.

VAT treatment	What changes
Standard VAT	Each line needs a VAT rate. 19 %, 7 % and 0 % can appear on one invoice.
Reverse charge, domestic (§13b UStG)	No VAT. The buyer’s VAT ID is required.
Reverse charge, EU business customer	No VAT. The buyer’s VAT ID and your VAT ID are required.
Intra-EU supply of goods	No VAT. Both VAT IDs and the delivery date are required.
Small business, no VAT (§19 UStG)	No VAT on any line.

Seller for one automation

When one workspace invoices for several companies, an automation can use a different seller. Open Use a different seller for this automation in the automation’s Seller card. It lists every seller field.

Seller card with the seller details from Settings and the closed section Use a different seller for this automation

Each field takes a fixed text, or a field of your data source, so each record can name its own company. Which fields come from Settings depends on the legal name:

With a legal name: the automation uses another company. Nothing comes from Settings, so the invoice never mixes your company’s details, such as your IBAN, with the other company’s. Fill in every field this company needs. An empty required field stops the run, for example with “Seller IBAN is empty for this automation’s seller.”
Without a legal name: the automation keeps your company and changes single fields only, for example another city or another bank account. Empty fields use the value from Settings, and they follow when you change Settings later.

When a field is picked from your data and is empty in a record, the run stops with “Seller name is empty in the mapped field.” (with that field’s name). It does not fall back to the seller in Settings, so an invoice never goes out under the wrong company. Automations that do not use a different seller work as before.

Open section Use a different seller for this automation with the legal name Lumen GmbH: nothing comes from Settings, and the empty required fields are marked Required

Invoice and buyer fields

Map each field to a field of your data source, or enter a fixed text (for example a fixed buyer country “DE” or fixed payment terms).

Field	Required
Invoice number, invoice date	Always
Due date or payment terms	At least one of them
Buyer name, buyer country	Always. The country is a two-letter code such as DE; common country names also work.
Buyer street, postcode, city, email	Postcode, city and email are required for XRechnung
Leitweg-ID or buyer reference	Required for XRechnung
Buyer VAT ID	Required for reverse charge and intra-EU supplies
Delivery date, order reference, note	Optional
Amount already paid	Optional. For final invoices, see Final invoices.

Leitweg-ID: public-sector buyers in Germany give you a Leitweg-ID (for example 991-12345-67). Map it to Leitweg-ID or buyer reference. For other buyers of an XRechnung, use the reference they give you.

Line items

Pick where the lines come from: a linked table or relation (Airtable, Notion, SmartSuite), the subtasks or a relationship field (ClickUp), another sheet (Google Sheets), or the line_items_1 list of each request (API and the other request-based sources). A Google Forms response has no line items, so the response itself is one line.

Column	Required
Item name	Always
Quantity	Always
Net unit price	Always
VAT rate	With standard VAT, unless you set a fixed VAT rate. `19`, `19 %` and `0.19` all mean 19 %. A fixed VAT rate applies to every line without a rate of its own, so a line’s own rate always wins.
Unit	Optional. Values like “Stk”, “h” or “Std” are matched to the unit list; empty rows use the default unit.
Line total	Optional. If you map it, each line is checked against quantity × price.

A discount line can have a negative price; the e-invoice turns “1 × -10.00” into “-1 × 10.00”, the same amount.

Totals

Map the Gross total field that your document prints. Net total and VAT total are optional. DocsAutomator recalculates every total from the lines: each line is quantity × net price, VAT is calculated per VAT rate on the total of those lines, and the gross total is net plus VAT. The run stops when a mapped total differs from the recalculated one by more than 1 cent. Within 1 cent, the e-invoice carries the amount your document prints, so the PDF and the e-invoice show the same numbers.

Spreadsheets and databases often calculate VAT per line and round each line. On many lines this can drift by more than 1 cent. Calculate VAT once per rate on the summed line totals, as the e-invoice does.

Final invoices

A final invoice (Schlussrechnung) lists all the work and then deducts the partial invoices the buyer has already paid (Abschlagsrechnungen). Map Amount already paid in the Invoice card to the field that holds the paid amount.

Invoice card with Amount already paid mapped to the request key paid

Map Gross total to the full gross total of all lines, as before, not to the amount still to pay.
The e-invoice carries the amount already paid, and the amount due is the gross total minus the amount already paid.
When the amount already paid equals the gross total, the amount due is 0.
The run stops when the amount already paid is negative (“Amount already paid cannot be negative.”) or larger than the gross total (“Amount already paid cannot be larger than the gross total.”).

List the numbers of the paid partial invoices in the Note field. A retention (Sicherheitseinbehalt) is not a payment, so it does not go into the amount already paid. Write it in the Note field, for example “Sicherheitseinbehalt 5 % (595,00 EUR) bis zur Abnahme.”

Values DocsAutomator reads

Amounts: euros only. German and English notation both work (1.234,56, 1,234.56, 1.234,56 €). An amount with another currency sign, such as $4,887.50, stops the run with “is not in euros”.
Dates: 2026-10-31, 31.10.2026 and written dates such as 31. Oktober 2026 or October 31, 2026. A date that can be read two ways, such as 03/04/2026, stops the run.
Linked records: a buyer field mapped to a linked customer (Airtable linked record, Notion relation, SmartSuite linked record) uses the customer’s name.

Test document

The Test document card in the E-invoice section creates a test document from your data and shows every problem it finds, field by field, next to the preview. Fix them and create another test document until the card shows no problems. Test documents are free and do not count against your plan. Their e-invoice is valid, but it is marked as a test: the invoice number starts with TEST- and a note says “Testdokument, keine Rechnung. Test document, not an invoice.”

Where the files go

ZUGFeRD: the PDF is the e-invoice. It goes wherever your automation sends the PDF: the data source field, Google Drive, email and the API response. XRechnung: the PDF goes where it always goes, and the XML file goes to the places below.

Data source	XML file
Airtable	An attachment field you choose under Save the XML file to. Earlier files in that field are replaced unless you switch off Replace earlier files in that field.
Google Sheets	A column you choose under Write the XML file link to gets a link to the file.
Notion	A files property you choose.
SmartSuite	A file field you choose.
ClickUp	A files custom field you choose, or the task attachments together with the PDF. ClickUp allows uploads into files custom fields only on paid plans; on the free plan ClickUp refuses them (“Custom field usages exceeded for your plan”), so choose the task attachments there.
Google Forms, API, Glide, Noloco, Softr, Make, n8n, Zapier, MCP	The API response (`eInvoice.xmlUrl`), plus Google Drive and email when the automation uses them.

With every data source, the XML is also saved next to the PDF in your Google Drive folder and attached to the automation’s email, when the automation uses them. OneDrive and Dropbox receive only the PDF for now.

Settings that do not combine with an e-invoice

Signing and acceptance: an e-invoice cannot be signed. Turn off signing for the automation first.
Merge PDFs: a ZUGFeRD PDF cannot include merged PDFs. Turn off Merge PDFs, or choose XRechnung.
PDF templates and fonts: a ZUGFeRD PDF needs every font embedded. If your PDF template uses fonts that are not embedded, embed them in the template, or choose XRechnung.

Common messages and fixes

Message	Fix
Gross total is not mapped.	Map the field that holds the invoice total.
Gross total does not match the line items. The record says …; the line items give …	Check the lines and the total. Calculate VAT per rate on the total, not per line.
Line 2: line total does not match quantity × price.	Fix the line, or remove the line total mapping.
Line 1: VAT rate is empty.	Fill in the rate on that line, or set a fixed VAT rate.
… is not in euros. E-invoices are in EUR only.	Use euro amounts without another currency sign.
Invoice date “03/04/2026” can be read two ways.	Use a date like 2026-10-31 or 31.10.2026.
Buyer country ”…” is not a country.	Use a two-letter code like DE.
Leitweg-ID or buyer reference is empty. XRechnung requires it.	Map the Leitweg-ID, or the buyer’s reference.
Payment terms and due date are both empty.	Map one of them, or enter fixed payment terms.
Amount already paid cannot be larger than the gross total.	Map the full gross total to Gross total, and the paid partial invoices to Amount already paid.
Seller name is empty in the mapped field.	Fill that field in the record, or clear the field under Use a different seller for this automation.
Seller IBAN is empty for this automation’s seller.	The automation uses another company: enter its IBAN under Use a different seller for this automation.
Seller name has more than one value. Pick a field with one value.	Pick a field that holds one company, not a list.
Seller IBAN is empty. XRechnung requires payment details.	Add the IBAN under Settings, Add-ons.
E-invoices cannot be signed.	Turn off signing for this automation.
The e-invoice check is not available right now. Nothing was sent; please try again in a few minutes.	Run it again later. Nothing was delivered.

Archiving

Keep every e-invoice for 8 years in its original file.

E-invoices from the API and AI clients

API: see Create document from API.
Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients: see DocsAutomator MCP.

Getting Started

Integrations

Features

Use Cases

Account & Billing

Resources

E-invoices (ZUGFeRD and XRechnung)