For German SMEs · E-invoice ready

E-invoice Peppol and cash flow software for German SMEs

Germany’s E-Rechnung law is live: every B2B business must now be able to receive structured electronic invoices, and sending becomes mandatory step-by-step through 2028. Paylists generates Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format and support to improve cash flow at the same time.

Start free — €5/month See Germany rules
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 EN 16931 supported § 14 UStG-konform (coming soon) GoBD-supported archiving (coming soon)
German E-Rechnung law

E-Rechnung is mandatory in Germany. Here’s exactly what changes — and when.

Since 1 January 2025, every German B2B business must be technically able to receive structured electronic invoices (E-Rechnungen). From 2027, larger companies must send them too; from 2028, the obligation extends to all businesses.

An E-Rechnung is not a PDF. It must be a structured XML format following the European EN 16931 standard. Paylists issues invoices in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, the format used to send invoices over the Peppol network across Europe. PDF-by-email is no longer enough.

Paylists handles all of this for you: generates BIS Billing 3.0 format, delivers it via Peppol or email. If you sell across the border — for example to Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg — we route every invoice over the right Peppol access point automatically.

1 Jan 2025
Receiving E-Rechnung mandatory for all B2B
Every German business — including SMEs — must be able to receive structured e-invoices.
2025–2026
Transition period for sending
PDF and paper invoices still permitted for issuing, with buyer consent.
1 Jan 2027
Sending mandatory for businesses > €800k revenue
Large and mid-sized German companies must issue E-Rechnungen.
1 Jan 2028
Sending mandatory for all B2B businesses
Every German business must issue structured e-invoices to other businesses.

German B2B invoicing — what the law requires

EN 16931 European standard E-Rechnungen must follow
8 yrs GoBD archiving period for issued invoices
§ 14 UStG The legal basis for E-Rechnung in Germany
2025 Year receiving became mandatory for all B2B

Built for Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 — without the headache

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 output

Paylists generates EN 16931-supported invoices in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 — the format used across the Peppol network in Europe.

Send & receive via Peppol

We connect to the Peppol network for you — your buyer’s ID is enough, no IT project needed.

GoBD-supported archiving (coming soon)

Every invoice is stored in tamper-proof format with full audit log for the full 8-year retention period.

Open banking payment (coming soon)

Customers pay in one tap via open banking — your cash arrives in seconds, not days.

Live cash flow forecast

Plan Soll and Haben across every account, model early payment discounts, and forecast late payers.

Cross-border ready

Sell to customers in BE, LU, SE, IE, NL — Paylists routes each invoice over the right Peppol access point.

Paylists in 7 countries and 6 Peppol markets

Trading across the EU? Paylists routes invoices over Peppol for all supported countries automatically.

Each country page covers local rules, currency, Peppol status and pricing. See Peppol availability →

E-Rechnung in Germany — questions, answered

An E-Rechnung is a structured electronic invoice that follows the European norm EN 16931 — Paylists issues invoices in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format. A PDF alone, or a scanned paper invoice, does not qualify as an E-Rechnung under the new German law.
Receiving has been mandatory since 1 January 2025. Sending becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for businesses with revenue over €800,000, and on 1 January 2028 for all B2B businesses. Until then a transition period applies for issuing, with the buyer’s consent.
Paylists is built for SMEs, so we focus on Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 — the European standard used for sending invoices over the Peppol network. It is EN 16931-supported and accepted by buyers across Europe, including German B2B customers.
No. Paylists connects to Peppol on your behalf. You just enter your buyer’s Peppol ID or VAT number, and we route the invoice for you.
GoBD-supported archiving is coming soon. When live, every invoice will be stored in immutable, tamper-proof form for the full 8-year retention period, with a full audit trail of every change, send and receipt. Export to your DATEV/Lexware workflow will be supported.
Yes. Paylists also routes invoices over Peppol for our other supported markets, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden and Ireland.

Get E-invoice-supported — and improve your cash flow — in one tool.

Set up your first Peppol invoice in 3 minutes. No card required for the trial.

Start free — €5/month See all pricing

From €5/month · no per-invoice fees · cancel anytime