Discover a new era of B2G invoicing in Germany with Banqup! In our latest blog post, discover how you can effortlessly send compliant e-invoices to German authorities in just 4 simple steps.
In previous editions of our blog series, we've delved into the B2G e-invoicing landscape in Germany, highlighting its uniqueness.
Now, we want to show you how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, can easily send compliant electronic invoices to German public administrations with just four simple steps using our specially designed tool, Banqup, without complex setup or implementation. It's easier than you think!
One-time registration with the ZRE and OZG-RE:
As described in our first blog post of this series, the federal government uses two federal portals for invoice receipt: the ZRE (Federal Central Invoice Submission Portal) and the OZG-RE (Online Access Act-compliant Invoice Submission Portal). Additionally, organisations in the indirect federal administration can also implement their own solutions for e-invoice receipt. For detailed information on which portals the various states use, refer to the KoSIT state synopsis.
A one-time registration is required to use the two central platforms. Registration is free of charge and must be carried out regardless of the transmission channel used.
We've compiled some basic information for you about the registration process. Detailed video tutorials and operating guides for registration and general use of the ZRE and OZG-RE can be found on the federal government's e-invoicing website.
- Registration should be carried out by a responsible person in the company.
- To register in the production environment* of the platform, please navigate to the platform's respective home page (ZRE: https://xrechnung.bund.de / OZG-RE: https://xrechnung-bdr.de) and start by creating your user account.
- After activating your user account, proceed to create your company account, if necessary.
- The first user to register is automatically assigned administrator rights. Additional user accounts (with or without administrator rights) can be created later.
- On the ZRE platform, an additional step is required to activate your account for Peppol invoicing. Navigate to your ZRE user profile under "Manage ZRE account" to select the transmission method you wish to use by checking the appropriate checkbox, and enter your VAT ID number (which acts as your Peppol ID) in the Peppol ID field in the following format: 9930:[VAT ID]. To verify your Peppol ID, follow the instructions in the ZRE operating guide on the federal government's e-invoicing website.
* Please note that both platforms offer test environments where users can familiarize themselves with the portal. These can be found at (ZRE) https://ref.xrechnung.bund.de/ref/authenticate.do and (OZG-RE) https://test.xrechnung-bdr.de.
For more information on registration and platform use, please refer to the tutorials and operating guides, available on the federal government's e-invoicing website.
Create your B2G customer record:
To send invoices to B2G Germany via Banqup, you must first create a customer record for your public customer in Banqup. Please note the following points:
- Select the correct customer type "Administration" in the customer details. This will activate an additional field in the section for the Leitweg-ID (the routing ID identifying the invoice recipient).
- Enter your customer's Leitweg-ID (Peppol ID) in the designated field and fill in all other relevant details. If you do not know your customer's Leitweg-ID, please contact your customer directly to obtain it.
- Upon saving the customer record, Banqup automatically conducts a check against the Peppol network. If your customer can be reached via the Peppol network, you will be prompted to replace the originally selected delivery method with Peppol delivery.
- Ensure that you accept this proposed delivery method for this customer.
- After saving the record, your customer will appear in your customer list with OpenPeppol as the delivery method.
With these simple steps, you can create the customer record for your B2G customer in Banqup in no time and ensure that your invoices can be successfully delivered.
Create your B2G invoice:
Once you've set up your customer details, it's time to create your B2G invoice. Follow these simple steps to ensure your invoices are accurate and compliant. Regardless of whether you create your invoices directly on the platform or upload an existing invoice in PDF format, there are some important points to keep in mind:
- Complete information: Ensure you provide all required information in the invoice header and invoice lines. This includes information such as the invoice number, invoice date, detailed description of the services or products, and the total amount of the invoice.
- Verify extracted data: If you use the invoice upload feature and our OCR technology extracts the data, review it carefully. Ensure all information has been captured correctly. If necessary, you can manually add or correct missing or incorrect data.
- Additional mandatory information for Peppol deliveries: For delivery via the Peppol network, the buyer reference in the invoice header is also required. This is automatically filled in with the Leitweg-ID previously provided by your customer. Make sure that this field is filled in correctly to meet the requirements for Peppol deliveries.
By following these steps, you will ensure that your invoices are created or uploaded correctly and contain all the required information.
One last check - send and done:
Once you have checked and confirmed all the invoice details, simply click on "Send" in Banqup.
This efficient process ensures that your invoices meet all the necessary requirements for B2G transactions in Germany.
Banqup makes it easy for you to navigate the world of international e-invoicing and effortlessly comply with invoicing requirements in Germany.
Stay tuned for our next blog series, where we'll tell you all about Peppol - from the basics to how it works - so you can fully immerse yourself in the world of e-invoicing.
