E-invoices from your own server
InvoiceShelf issues e-invoices to the European standard EN 16931. Your invoice PDFs become ZUGFeRD / Factur-X hybrids that people and accounting software both read, and your data never leaves your server.
Part of the InvoiceShelf 3.0 preview, through the free official E-Invoicing module.
One invoice, readable by people and machines
Nothing changes in how you invoice. When an invoice meets the standard, its PDF carries the e-invoice; when it does not, you are told why and the ordinary PDF goes out.
Hybrid e-invoice PDFs
An invoice PDF becomes a ZUGFeRD / Factur-X e-invoice: a PDF/A-3 file people read as usual, with the EN 16931 XML inside that accounting software reads. Download, public link, customer portal and email all carry it.
The XML on its own
Download the EN 16931 XML from any invoice, for portals and systems that take a file upload rather than a PDF.
Know before you send
Each invoice says whether it qualifies and, if not, exactly what is missing: a VAT ID, an IBAN, a tax category. Your company settings show a checklist of what still needs filling in.
Ready for the German mandate, and more
ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are the same hybrid format, the one Germany and France built their e-invoicing on.
Germany
ZUGFeRD in the EN 16931 profile is a valid e-invoice under the German B2B rules: receiving became mandatory in 2025, and issuing follows in 2027 and 2028. Send it the way you already send invoices.
France
Factur-X EN 16931 is one of the three formats the French reform accepts. Delivery through a certified platform is not part of InvoiceShelf yet.
Everywhere else
A standards-based EN 16931 e-invoice any business can accept voluntarily, plus the XML for portals that ask for a file.
Next on the roadmap: UBL formats (Peppol BIS Billing, XRechnung UBL) and sending through the Peppol network, for Belgium and the countries that use it.
Real invoices, not just the easy ones Checked against EN 16931
Every kind of invoice below is validated in CI against the official EN 16931 business rules, with Mustang, and the PDF against PDF/A-3 with veraPDF.
Standard, zero rated, exempt, reverse charge, intra-community and export, with exemption reasons
Pick the code for each unit: hour, day, piece, kilogram and more
Issued as EN 16931 credit notes that refer to the invoice they correct
Line and document discounts and settled down payments, written the way the standard expects
With the buyer VAT ID and delivery country the rules ask for
IBAN, BIC and payment terms from your settings, checked when you save them
Gotenberg and one module
E-invoice PDFs are built by Gotenberg, the PDF service InvoiceShelf already supports. Without it the XML download still works.
# docker-compose.yml: add a Gotenberg service next to InvoiceShelf
services:
pdf:
image: gotenberg/gotenberg:8.37.0 # the full image, not -chromium
# InvoiceShelf environment: allow it on the private network
GOTENBERG_ALLOWED_PRIVATE_HOST=http://pdf:3000
# Then in Administration → PDF Generation choose Gotenberg,
# host http://pdf:3000, and install the E-Invoicing module.Then complete your company details and the IBAN in Settings → E-Invoicing. The checklist there shows what is left.
Built with the community
The EN 16931 mapping started as a contribution by André Kinne and iebl, and became the official module with their work at its core. The code is AGPL, like the rest of InvoiceShelf.
E-invoicing without a subscription
Download InvoiceShelf, add the E-Invoicing module, and issue your first ZUGFeRD invoice from your own server.