If your organization plans to issue invoices from a German subsidiary, you can configure your Productive account to generate and send XRechnung XML files, which comply with German e-invoicing standards.
📌 Note: Since XRechnung is downloaded and sent as an email attachment, standard sending restrictions don’t apply. You can generate and send an unlimited number of invoices.
This guide covers the necessary setup, including your subsidiary information, mandatory tax and payment fields, and client details.
👉 Once the setup is complete, you’ll be able to download and send invoices in the XRechnung format.
Prerequisites
XRechnung is only available for German subsidiaries. You must select a subsidiary registered in Germany.
📌 Check your subsidiary information in Settings > Company Info > Subsidiary.
1) E-Invoicing Settings
To enable e-invoicing (eInvoicing) and configure the XRechnung format:
Go to Settings > Invoicing > e-Invoicing.
Select Your Subsidiary: From the list, choose the appropriate subsidiary.
Mandatory Fields for XRechnung
TAX ID
Payment Means: Choose either SEPA Credit Transfer or Credit Transfer.
E-Invoicing Email: Enter the sender’s email address.
E-Invoicing Phone Number: Enter the sender’s phone number. You can input the phone number in either of the following formats: +491701234567 or 00491701234567.
2) Client Company (Invoice Recipient) Settings
To configure your client’s details for XRechnung:
1) Go to CRM > Companies.
2) Select the relevant client company add the following mandatory details:
Full Company Name and Buyer Reference: This unique identifier ensures invoices are sent to the correct recipient. It may also be a reference provided by the client.
📌 The Buyer Reference field is required by the XRechnung specification.
It can be a Leitweg-ID or any other reference provided by the buyer.
📌 Recommended:
Add other details, like the Subsidiary, Tax Rate, Payment Terms, and Invoice Template to automatically pre-fill this information when creating new deals, invoices, and budgets for this client.
Tax ID (optional for client companies): The Tax ID field is treated as the VAT ID (Umsatzsteuer-ID) in the XML file.
The Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (USt-IdNr) follows the format
DE123456789.
4) Add the company contact details:
Email: If a Billing Default email is set on the company, it will be used in the XML invoice.
If multiple Billing Default emails exist, the first one will be used.
If no Billing Default email is set, the first "Work" email for the company will be included.
City, ZIP, and Country
3) Subsidiary (Invoice Sender) Settings
You also need to configure your own company’s details:
1) Go to Settings > Company Info > Subsidiary.
2) Enter the following information:
Full Company Name
The Tax ID field is treated as the VAT ID (Umsatzsteuer-ID) in the XML file.
The Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (USt-IdNr) follows the format
DE123456789.Street, City, ZIP, State, and Country
📌 Note: You can manually adjust these fields when downloading an invoice, but setting defaults here simplifies the process.
4) Bank Account Settings
Bank account information is required in the XML file. Set it up for the correct subsidiary:
1) Go to Settings > Company Info > Bank Accounts.
2) Add or edit an account using the following fields:
Subsidiary
Name of the Bank Account
Bank Name
Bank Address (optional)
BIC/SWIFT Code (Ensure the BIC/SWIFT field is filled in. It is required for generating and downloading the XRechnung XML file.)
IBAN/Account Number
Currency
3) After setting up the subsidiary’s bank account, set it as the default in the subsidiary settings (Settings > Company Info) so it always appears in the Pay to section of invoices issued by that subsidiary.
Downloading and Sending the XRechnung Invoice
Once all settings have been configured:
You can proceed to download or send your XRechnung invoice via email.
For detailed steps, refer to this guide: XRechnung: Downloading and Sending an XML Invoice