ZUGFeRD 2.4

ZUGFeRD (Central User Guide for the Electronic Invoice Germany Forum) is a hybrid format for electronic invoices developed in Germany. It combines a human-readable PDF/A-3 file with an embedded, structured XML data record according to the CII (UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice) syntax. This means the document remains legible and printable for humans, while the XML payload can be processed automatically. The current version is ZUGFeRD 2.4, Published on 4 December 2025, intended for use from 15 January 2026.

Context

ZUGFeRD knows several Profiles, which differ in the level of detail of the embedded data: MINIMUM and BASIC WL (Header data only, no line items — not EN-16931 compliant and may not be used as a pure e-invoice under the 2025 legal situation), BASIC and EN 16931 (EN-compliant, standard case for B2B), EXTENDED (full detail with project-specific fields) as well as the XInvoiceProfile (purebreds XML without PDF, ideal for B2G). In SAP Business One, ZUGFeRD has been supported since the standard German localisation — for the Going out from FP 2405, for the Entrance with draft creation and XPath-based mapping from FP 2502. Partner products such as Versino Financial Suite, CKS.DIGITAL or EDS complete the processing. Besides ZUGFeRD, there is the almost identical French counterpart Factur-X; Both standards share the same technical basis.

Demarcation

ZUGFeRD is not a pure data format like XRechnung — the PDF remains part of the container, even if the XML payload is legally valid. It is also not the only way to e-invoicing: alongside ZUGFeRD, XRechnung (pure XML) and Peppol-based UBL formats are available. Compared to an EDI-based INVOIC flow, ZUGFeRD is easier to implement (no EDI clearing necessary), but less geared towards automation in end-to-end business chains. Not every ZUGFeRD profile is EN-16931 compliant — the choice of profile is therefore not a minor detail, but a central design decision for any e-invoicing strategy.

LATS: Considering several paths simultaneously with AI — and the availability check in SAP B1

This series focuses on artificial intelligence in conjunction with SAP Business One. Not as a collection of product announcements, but as...

ReAct and RLEF: How Artificial Intelligence Learns from Real Mistakes — and What Automated Bank Reconciliation in SAP Business One Has to Do with It

This is the fourth instalment in a series on this blog dealing with AI fundamentals in conjunction with SAP Business One...

SAP B1 10.0 FP2608: Service Layer AI as a transactional layer

The SAP Business One Service Layer has previously served predominantly as a passive data provider: applications requested data via OData, each ...

Process Reward Models: Why a correct result does not yet prove a correct method

This series continuously examines individual AI basic terms and methods such as the Process Reward Model. The previous episode has ...

Test-Time Compute Scaling: Why a Smaller AI Model Can End Up Winning — and What Supplier Comparison in SAP Business One Has to Do With It

This is a continuation of the series on this blog, which deals with Artificial Intelligence in combination with SAP Business One...

RLHF and reward models: AI hype or what the approval process in SAP Business One has to do with it

Key takeaways: The article covers the application of artificial intelligence in the context of SAP Business One and fundamental AI topics. Thanks to ...