Overview
As part of Germany’s move to digitalize financial processes, electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will soon be mandatory for certain business transactions.
Importantly, this new requirement applies only to B2B (business-to-business) transactions of over 250 Euro - such as the invoices you receive from bookingkit. It does generally not apply to invoices that you, as a bookingkit customer, send to your own B2C end customers. Please contact your company’s tax or legal counsel to get information specific to your situation.
This article explains what this regulation means for you, the expectations around bookingkit’s provision of e-invoices, and what to expect during the transition period.
Key Point: E-Invoicing Applies Only to B2B Transactions
Starting on Jan 1st 2025, German businesses must use e-invoices for B2B transactions with a value of over 250 Euro. This mandate specifically impacts invoices exchanged between businesses, such as the invoices you receive from bookingkit. You are not required to issue e-invoices to your own customers if you operate in a B2C (business-to-consumer) capacity.
What This Means for You as a bookingkit Customer
No Impact on B2C Invoices: If your business involves selling to consumers, you don’t need to make any changes to your own invoicing process due to this regulation.
bookingkit’s Compliance for B2B: We’ll ensure that invoices sent to you are compliant with regulations within the official transition period. We will inform you about the exact process separately.
Manual E-Invoice Creation: In the short term, bookingkit allows for the manual creation of E-invoices upon request, ensuring immediate compliance for providers with urgent needs.
Timeline and Expectations for bookingkit’s Transition to E-Invoicing
bookingkit is committed to a smooth transition to e-invoicing, ensuring our B2B transactions meet legal requirements within the allowed timeframe until 2027. Here’s what to expect:
E-Invoice Availability: bookingkit will begin providing compliant e-invoices for all invoices issued to you within the legally mandated transition period, as well as a way to request an e-invoice from January 1st, 2027.
Transparency and Communication: We will keep you informed of any updates or changes to the invoicing process as we implement e-invoicing.
Future Integration Plans: bookingkit uses a specialized third-party provider to create valid e-invoices for the different European markets (see the questions below).
Current Status: bookingkit will issue e-invoices on your behalf to your business customers. The final solution is still being finalized, and we will publish more details soon.
E-Invoices Issued by bookingkit on Your Behalf: Frequently Asked Questions
B2B invoicing: Will bookingkit create and send e-invoices according to EN 16931 on behalf of organizers?
Yes. bookingkit will issue e-invoices in alignment with the legal requirements. For German vendors, only the ZUGFeRD format will be used for B2B invoices. The XRechnung format will be used for B2G (business-to-government) invoices.
Identification of business customers: How is the distinction made between private and business customers, and can business customers provide the required billing data when booking?
The booking process will let business customers enter their company details, such as company name and VAT number. When this data is entered for an order, bookingkit will automatically create an e-invoice. Admin users will also be able to enter or change company details on an existing order afterwards, which triggers the creation or re-creation of the e-invoice. It is not yet final whether a customer is treated as a business based on the company name and tax ID alone, or whether the checkout will include an additional checkbox to explicitly select that the buyer is a business. We will update this article once this is decided.
Schedule: From when will the e-invoicing function be available?
The creation of e-invoices will be in place in time to be compliant from 1 January 2027. We will publish more details about the exact timeline for when this becomes available and configurable during December 2026. The setup will mostly be prepared and configured by bookingkit, with only minor effort required from you to configure and confirm.
Validation: How is it ensured that e-invoices comply with legal and technical requirements, and that the ZUGFeRD XML data matches the PDF?
bookingkit uses a specialized third-party provider to ensure that the e-invoices created for the different European markets are valid and comply with the exact legal and technical requirements, including as these requirements evolve. This also makes it possible to submit e-invoices to government entities that require submission via PEPPOL or other country-specific methods.
Archiving: Are the created e-invoices, including the structured XML data, archived, and can they be exported?
Yes. bookingkit will automatically archive all e-invoices and provide an export. The export will work like the current invoice export, with documents provided as a compressed zip file.
Need More Information?
This article does not provide legal or tax advise. If you have questions about e-invoicing in general or about e-invoice related accounting or legal questions, please contact your company’s tax or legal counsel.
Still looking for advice? Your local chamber of commerce will be helpful to answer specific questions concerning your business.
If you further have questions about how bookingkit is preparing for this transition or if you have immediate e-invoice requirements, please contact our Customer Support team via chat.