What is e-invoicing? Definition and A–Z glossary

E-invoicing is the exchange of invoices as structured data rather than as documents. The European definition, from Directive 2014/55/EU, is an invoice that is "issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format which allows for its automatic and electronic processing".

That last part is what matters. A PDF looks like an invoice to a person, but software has to guess where the total, the VAT number or the due date are. An e-invoice is usually an XML file in which every value sits in a defined field, so the buyer's system can read it without retyping or guessing.

What counts as an e-invoice, and what does not

The difference is not the channel. An XML invoice sent by e-mail can be a valid e-invoice in Germany, while a PDF sent over a modern portal is still just a PDF.

Where e-invoicing is mandatory

The EU leaves domestic B2B rules to each country. Since the ViDA directive entered into force in 2025, member states no longer need EU permission to require e-invoicing. The three countries we cover:

• Germany: all businesses must receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025 and issue them from 2027 or 2028. Germany guide
• France: all businesses must receive through an approved platform since 1 September 2026; SMEs issue from 1 September 2027. France guide
• Belgium: Peppol e-invoices for B2B since 1 January 2026. Belgium guide

From 1 July 2030, ViDA adds mandatory e-invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B transactions. All dates are in our deadlines calendar.

A–Z glossary

Access point

A certified service provider that connects a business to the Peppol network and sends and receives documents for it. In Belgium these are often built into invoicing software. You cannot join Peppol without one.

Annuaire

The French State's central directory of e-invoicing addresses. Approved platforms use it to find which platform receives each business's invoices. It is filled from data the platforms send in. See France's e-invoicing directory.

BT and BG (Business Terms and Business Groups)

The numbered data elements of EN 16931. A BT is a single field, such as BT-10 Buyer reference; a BG groups related fields, such as an invoice line. Validation messages often refer to these numbers.

B2B, B2C, B2G

Business to business, business to consumer, business to government. Most mandates in this guide cover B2B. B2G e-invoicing started earlier, for example for German federal authorities in 2020 and Belgian public contracts in 2024.

CII (Cross Industry Invoice)

The UN/CEFACT XML syntax for invoices, one of the two syntaxes EN 16931 supports. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X embed a CII file in a PDF, and XRechnung can use it too.

CIUS (Core Invoice Usage Specification)

A national or sector-specific set of rules that narrows EN 16931 without breaking it. XRechnung and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 are both CIUS.

Chorus Pro

The French State's shared invoicing solution for public buyers. It handles B2G invoices; B2B invoices go through approved platforms.

Clearance

A model in which the tax authority or a regulated platform checks an invoice before the customer receives it. Germany has no clearance. In France, invoice data passes through approved platforms to the administration.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Older structured invoice exchange between trading partners, often in EDIFACT. Germany accepts EDI if the data can be converted into an EN 16931 format, and tolerates non-compliant EDI with consent until 31 December 2027.

EN 16931

The European standard for electronic invoicing, developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) at the Commission's request. Part 1 is the semantic data model: which data an invoice contains. The European Commission says a 2026 version of EN 16931-1 was published in May 2026, and the 2017 version remains compliant during the migration period.

E-reporting

Transmission of transaction or payment data to the tax authority. In France it covers sales to consumers, international B2B and some payment data, sent through your approved platform. Belgium plans B2B e-reporting from 2028 in a bill that is not yet law.

Factur-X

The French name of the Franco-German hybrid invoice: a PDF/A-3 for people with an embedded CII XML file for software. FNFE-MPE says Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are technically identical. The current release is Factur-X 1.09.2, published on 4 August 2026.

Four-corner model

How Peppol works: the seller (corner 1) sends through its access point (corner 2) to the buyer's access point (corner 3), which delivers to the buyer (corner 4). Each side chooses its own provider.

KoSIT

The Koordinierungsstelle für IT-Standards, the German body that maintains the XRechnung standard, its validation rules and the Leitweg-ID specification.

Leitweg-ID

The routing identifier of German public authorities, entered in BT-10 of an XRechnung. It is registered as Peppol scheme 0204. Not needed for B2B invoices.

PA (plateforme agréée) and PDP

A French approved platform: a State-registered operator that issues, receives and transmits e-invoices and e-reporting data. Formerly called PDP (plateforme de dématérialisation partenaire). See approved platforms.

PDF/A-3

An archival PDF version that allows embedded files. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X use it to carry the XML invoice inside a readable PDF.

Mercurius

The Belgian government's platform for e-invoices to public authorities, connected to Peppol. Electronic invoicing is compulsory for Belgian public contracts published after 1 March 2024.

Peppol

An international network and set of specifications for exchanging business documents, managed by OpenPeppol. It is the default channel for Belgian B2B e-invoices since 1 January 2026. See What is Peppol?.

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0

The invoice format used on Peppol: a CIUS of EN 16931 in UBL syntax. Every Peppol participant must be able to receive it.

Peppol Directory

A free public search of Peppol participants at directory.peppol.eu, run by OpenPeppol. Listing is voluntary. See Peppol Directory.

Peppol ID

A participant identifier made of a scheme code and an identifier, such as 0208: plus a Belgian enterprise number.

PPF (Portail Public de Facturation)

The French public invoicing portal originally planned as a free option. The 2026 finance law dropped it as an exchange portal; the State now runs the directory and a data concentrator.

Schematron

A rule language for checking XML documents. The business rules of EN 16931, XRechnung and Factur-X are published as Schematron files, which validators such as ours run against your invoice.

Self-billing

The customer, not the supplier, draws up the invoice (Gutschrift in German). In Germany, the turnover of the party issuing the self-billed invoice decides its e-invoicing date. In Belgium, a temporary self-billing tolerance ended on 30 June 2026.

SIREN

The French company identification number. From your issuing date, French invoices to business customers must show the customer's SIREN.

SMP (Service Metadata Publisher)

The Peppol registry where a provider records which documents a participant can receive and where to deliver them. The Peppol Directory aggregates public information from SMPs.

UBL (Universal Business Language)

An XML syntax for business documents, standardised as ISO/IEC 19845 (UBL 2.1). It is one of the two syntaxes EN 16931 supports, and the one Peppol uses.

ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age)

The EU package adopted on 11 March 2025. It allows domestic e-invoicing mandates without EU authorisation, introduces intra-EU e-invoicing and digital reporting from 1 July 2030, and requires national systems to converge by 1 January 2035.

XRechnung

The German CIUS of EN 16931, in UBL or CII syntax, with no PDF part. Maintained by KoSIT. See XRechnung.

ZUGFeRD

The German name of the hybrid PDF/A-3 plus CII invoice, identical to Factur-X. In Germany, versions from 2.0.1 qualify as e-invoices except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles.

Want to see these terms in a real file? Open any XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X or Peppol invoice in our free validator, which runs the official rules in your browser.