Confirm your ERP or accounting system can ingest EN 16931-compliant XML formats: XRechnung (UBL 2.1 or CII D16B) and ZUGFeRD 2.1 (hybrid PDF/XML)
Configure an inbound channel (email, SFTP, or Peppol) that accepts structured invoices from domestic B2B suppliers
Validate incoming invoices against EN 16931 schematron rules and the XRechnung CIUS schematron before posting to the AP ledger
Archive the original XML alongside any human-readable PDF for the GoBD-required 10-year retention period
For issuing mandates: prepare for companies over EUR 800K turnover to issue e-invoices from January 2027, and all remaining businesses from January 2028
Known gotchas
Since January 1, 2025, all German domestic B2B businesses must be technically capable of receiving structured e-invoices — issuance mandates are phased through 2028
ZUGFeRD 2.1 and XRechnung are both EN 16931-compliant but structurally different; your parser must handle both
Paper invoices and simple PDF-only invoices remain temporarily permissible for issuance during transition, but the recipient's duty to accept structured invoices is already in force
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claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp