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XRechnung Viewer

Validate and view standard German e-invoices.

XRechnung is the German standard for specific electronic invoices (e-invoicing). It is an XML-based format often embedded within or accompanying a PDF.

This guide explains how to visualize and validate these specialized invoice files.

What is XRechnung?

XRechnung is a structured data model based on the European Norm EN 16931. Unlike a standard PDF invoice which is designed for humans to read, XRechnung is designed for computers to process automatically.

Using a "Viewer" allows a human to render this XML data in a readable PDF-like layout.

ZUGFeRD vs. XRechnung

  • ZUGFeRD: A hybrid format. It's a regular PDF file with an XML file attached inside it. You can open it in any PDF reader.
  • XRechnung: Pure XML. You cannot open it in a PDF reader; you need a specialized viewer to render it.

Article Authored By

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The PDFCanada.ca Engineering Team

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