Since the start of 2025, every business has had to be able to receive e-invoices. It sounds like an IT project - but it's really a question of organisation. Here's what actually matters, without the jargon.
What's Changed
Between businesses, the classic paper or plain-PDF invoice is no longer the standard. An e-invoice isn't a nice-looking PDF - it's a structured data record (for example in XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format) that software can read directly.
The timeline in brief: since January 2025, your business must be able to receive and process these invoices. The requirement to issue e-invoices yourself is being phased in - for most small businesses, in the years after that. The bottom line: there's little room for excuses, and an inbox full of PDFs is no longer enough.
A PDF is a picture of an invoice. An e-invoice is the invoice's data. Only the data can be checked, booked, and archived automatically.
What This Means for a Small Business
You don't need an in-house IT person. You need three things working together:
- Receive & read: incoming e-invoices need to be recognised and made readable - not just saved.
- File it correctly: audit-proof and findable, so you're not searching during an audit (keyword: GoBD).
- Issue them yourself later: once your obligation kicks in, generate invoices in the right format - without a second tool.
E-invoicing isn't an IT issue. It's a filing issue.
Three Things You Should Do Now
1. Check How Invoices Currently Reach You
Do they land in your email inbox, on WhatsApp, on paper? The more scattered they are, the greater the risk that an e-invoice gets lost or just sits around as a dead PDF.
2. Set Up a Filing System That Does It Automatically
Not "one more folder", but a system that assigns the invoice to the right job and archives it properly - without anyone having to file it by hand.
3. Loop In Your Tax Advisor
Clarify early on which format they need the data in. It saves you the big year-end clean-up.
How aktuno Solves This
In short: aktuno is e-invoice-ready, without you buying an extra tool. Incoming e-invoices are recognised, made readable, and automatically filed in the right file - with the right customer, the right job. And once your obligation to issue them kicks in, you generate compliant documents straight from the same system.
Let e-invoicing run itself.
aktuno receives, reads, and automatically files every invoice in the right file. From €199/month, everything included.
Book intro callThis article doesn't replace tax or legal advice. Talk to your tax advisor about your specific situation.