Keep Stripe. Add German e-invoices, each validated against the official validator.
From 1 January 2027 (prior-year turnover above EUR 800,000) and from 1 January 2028 (everyone), a PDF sent by e-mail is no longer enough for domestic B2B invoices in Germany. We are planning a bridge that turns your Stripe invoices into XRechnung and ZUGFeRD documents, validates each one against the official validator, e-mails it to your customer and archives it.
In development: nothing is live and there is no launch date yet. We aim to give design partners test-mode access before 1 January 2027. That is an aim, not a promise, so please keep a fallback plan with your tax adviser. The waitlist is how we decide what to build first.
The problem: your tax adviser will ask for "E-Rechnung"
If you bill German business customers through Stripe, the invoice that Stripe sends today is a PDF. From the dates below, that PDF alone is no longer enough for domestic B2B invoices.
| Date | What applies |
|---|---|
| Since 1 Jan 2025 | All businesses in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. |
| Until 31 Dec 2026 | Paper invoices remain permitted; other formats such as PDF only with the recipient's consent. |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Businesses with prior-year turnover above EUR 800,000 must issue e-invoices. Smaller businesses may still use paper or PDF until the end of 2027. |
| 1 Jan 2028 | Issuing e-invoices becomes mandatory for all businesses. |
A simple PDF sent by e-mail does not meet the definition of an e-invoice. Structured formats that follow the European standard EN 16931, such as XRechnung and ZUGFeRD 2.x (except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles), are accepted. Exemptions exist, for example for small-amount invoices up to EUR 250, tickets and invoices to consumers.
Sources: IHK Frankfurt am Main: E-Rechnungspflicht ab 2025; IHK Koeln on the BMF letter of 15 October 2025 (Federal Ministry of Finance). Check your own situation with your tax adviser; this page is not tax advice.
What the bridge will do
- Connect Stripe. You authorize read access to your invoices. You stay the issuer of every invoice.
- Generate. When an invoice is finalized in Stripe, we map it to EN 16931 and create an XRechnung file and a ZUGFeRD hybrid PDF.
- Validate. Each document is checked with the official validation tooling and the validation report is stored with it.
- Deliver. The document is e-mailed to your customer. In Germany no clearance platform is needed for this.
- Archive. Documents are kept unchanged in EU storage, with an export for your accountant.
What we are not. We are not an accounting system, we do not calculate VAT and we do not give tax advice. We generate documents on your instruction from the data in your Stripe account. Whether a document is accepted is the tax authority's decision, so we show you validation reports instead of promises.
Germany comes first. France, Belgium and Romania are on the list; tell us which one you need in the form.
Join the waitlist
Early members get a short call about their billing setup and can become design partners. We send a confirmation e-mail first; you are only on the list after you click the link in it.
Questions
Does Stripe not do this already?
Not natively, as of 4 October 2026. Stripe's documentation says that Stripe Invoicing "doesn't generate or transmit legally compliant e-invoice files on its own" and points to third-party providers in the Stripe App Marketplace. It names Billit as its preferred e-invoicing partner. Apps whose listings mention German e-invoice formats include Billit, Fizard, MiracleBill and Invopop; check each vendor for current scope and prices. If one of them already covers your needs, that may be all you need. What we plan to add, and have not built yet: a validation report for every invoice, an unchanged archive in the EU and an export for your accountant. Sources: Stripe documentation on e-invoicing and Stripe App Marketplace, both checked on 4 October 2026.
Do I need this in 2027 if my turnover is below EUR 800,000?
According to the sources above, smaller businesses may still use paper or PDF invoices until the end of 2027, but you must be able to receive e-invoices already. Ask your tax adviser about your case.
Will the tax office accept the documents?
We cannot promise that. We will generate documents in the formats named by the Federal Ministry of Finance and show you the validation report for every document.
What does it cost?
Not decided. Waitlist members will see the pricing before anything is charged.