E-invoice and PDF invoice: simply convert and pay

Discover our intuitive e-invoicing tool

Read and pay e-invoices easily

Have you received an XML invoice and can’t read it?

Upload it to E-Invoice Space or drag it into E-Invoice Space. A valid electronic invoice in ZUGFeRD format is generated from the data. The document complies with the PDF/A standard and the original XML data is embedded in the PDF. You can also download this invoice for further use.

Read out bank details and pay directly

Do you want to pay your invoices directly?

e-invoice.space reads the IBAN and amounts correctly from every invoice in XML or ZUGFeRD format. On the Mac, you can now pay simply by clicking on MoneyMoney. It is also very easy with the SEPA QR code and your banking app on your smartphone. Simply go to “Scan QR code” in the banking app during the transfer and scan the code displayed.

Read images and scanned invoices

No machine-readable data? No problem. Drop a photo or scan of your invoice (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or AVIF) or a PDF without a text layer, and E-Invoice Space recognizes the text directly in your browser. IBAN, amounts and other invoice details are extracted automatically, so you can pay or convert the invoice right away.

Create e-invoices easily yourself

Are you using a tool to create your invoices that does not support e-invoices?

No problem, because E-Invoice Space can convert your “normal” invoice into an e-invoice. To do this, open your invoice in PDF format with e-invoice.space. An intelligent algorithm recognizes most of the relevant data and fills out the form with the basic information. Add or correct if necessary. That’s it! Now you can download the finished e-invoice - either as a machine-readable XML file or as a PDF/A with embedded XML data.

When converting, your uploaded original stays stored with the invoice: the editor shows it on the Source document page with recognized values highlighted (amounts, dates, IBAN, VAT ID, invoice number). A click copies the value into the matching field; right-click offers more targets - or takes a whole line over as an invoice position (quantity, description, tax rate and price are recognized). The original and the click-to-fill remain available whenever you reopen the draft.

Under “Process details” you also choose the format of the invoice (PRO): EN 16931 / Factur-X for general use, or XRechnung 3.0 for public sector clients in Germany. Which format fits when, and what it means for your data, is explained in Which format should I choose?.

You are not limited to a plain invoice: under “Process details” you can also pick the document type (BT-3) and create a credit note, a corrected invoice, a prepayment invoice or a self-billed invoice. The chosen type is written into the e-invoice data and shown as the heading of the generated PDF (“Credit note” instead of “Invoice”, and so on).

You can download the finished invoice as CII (embedded into the PDF) or UBL (for PEPPOL).

Every invoice starts as a draft you can keep editing. When it is ready, issue it: the app assigns the next invoice number (if configured) and locks the invoice. From then on it can no longer be edited - opening it just shows its final PDF instead of the form. Issuing also freezes the result: the finished PDF/A and its XML are stored with the invoice, so reopening it later always shows exactly the document you issued, never a freshly recalculated one. The invoice list marks each entry as draft or issued.

Made a mistake in an issued invoice? Because it is locked, the fix is a follow-up document - and the app guides you through it: the viewer of an issued invoice offers Cancel (creates a corrective invoice draft with all amounts negated and a reference to the original) and Correct (creates the cancellation plus an editable copy to fix and re-issue). Once the cancellation is issued, the original is marked as cancelled. Duplicate in the same menu uses any invoice as a template for a new one.

You also do not need to know your way around VAT codes: the tax scenario selector on the process page sets the right VAT category and exemption reason on every position in one step - small business (German sec. 19 UStG, no VAT), reverse charge or intra-Community supply - prefills the matching invoice note and checks the scenario’s required fields (such as both VAT ids for reverse charge). A seller can even carry the small-business preset permanently, so every invoice for it starts out VAT-exempt - this works without a PRO subscription.

Use your own letterhead as a background

With the PRO version you can place your own letterhead (logo, design) behind every invoice you create. Upload it in the “Layout” section of the write form, either as a PDF or as an image (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or AVIF).

Because every invoice is generated as a PDF/A-3 document - the standard required for archiving e-invoices - a PDF background has to meet the same requirements. A letterhead exported from a word processor or design tool often does not, for example because its fonts are not embedded, or because it uses encryption, transparency or embedded scripts.

E-Invoice Space checks a PDF background automatically and tells you when something would break compliance.

Embed the background as an image (recommended for PDFs)

The simplest way to keep a PDF background compliant is to embed it as an image instead of as a vector page. An image carries no fonts or other problematic structures, so the resulting e-invoice is always PDF/A-3 compliant, no matter how your letterhead was created. When the app detects a problem it switches to this mode automatically; you can also turn on “Embed background as image” yourself for any PDF background. (An uploaded image is already in this form, so this option only applies to PDFs.)

Choose the resolution

When a PDF background is embedded as an image, you can pick the resolution: Screen (150 dpi), Balanced (220 dpi) or Print (300 dpi, the default). A higher resolution means sharper lines and text but a larger file. Print quality is a good default; lower it if file size matters. (An uploaded image keeps its own resolution, so this setting does not apply to it.)

Embedding into your original PDF

If you keep your uploaded invoice as the document and only add the machine-readable data (“Embed into original”), the same rules apply. A non-compliant original is flagged, and you can optionally turn on “Embed original as images” to force PDF/A-3 compliance. This keeps the embedded invoice data but replaces the original pages with images, so the text in them is no longer selectable.

Add to dock

Want to add E-Invoice Space to your dock for quick access?

Open e-invoice.space in the Safari browser on your Mac. Via “File” or the posting function you can “add E-Invoice Space to the dock” with only two clicks.

Import into Receipts App

You can import the created PDF directly into your Receipts app at the click of a mouse. The e-invoice will then appear in the current or most recently opened library.

PRO version offers

The PRO version unlocks the following functions

• Use your own fonts and backgrounds
• Setting the delivery date
• Deactivate watermark
• Customize watermark

Further features are planned and will be integrated quickly thanks to your support.

By subscribing to the PRO version, you support the future development of E-Invoice Space. Please contact us if you are missing something.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The app shows an old version or behaves unexpectedly?

E-Invoice Space is a web-based app. In rare cases, your browser serves an older, cached version. A forced reload (hard reload) bypasses the cache and reloads the page completely:

• Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge:
  • Windows/Linux: Ctrl F5 or Shift F5
  • macOS: ⌘ ⇧ R
• Mozilla Firefox:
  • Windows/Linux: Ctrl F5 or Ctrl Shift R
  • macOS: ⌘ ⇧ R
• Safari (macOS only): ⌘ ⌥ R (only available when the Develop menu is enabled in Safari’s settings)

Which formats are supported?

• EN 16931: European standard for e-invoices
• Zugferd / Factur-X in all versions from 1.0: E-invoice data embedded in PDF/A. German-French standard for hybrid invoices.
• XRechnung is an XML-based semantic data model that has been established as the standard for electronic invoices and is used in particular in the exchange of invoices with public sector clients in Germany
• CII and UBL: the two technical syntaxes of EN 16931 - same business data, different notation. We emit both: CII (embedded into the PDF/A) and UBL (for exchange over PEPPOL).
• ebInterface: Austrian XML invoice standard

Which format should I choose: EN 16931 or XRechnung?

When you create an invoice you set the format under “Process details”. Technically every e-invoice carries an identifier for this called the “Specification identifier” (BT-24) - it tells the recipient which rule set the invoice follows. An invoice can only declare one rule set, which is why the choice matters.

• EN 16931 / Factur-X (default). The European base standard. Fits most cases, especially regular business (B2B) and international invoicing. Few mandatory fields, straightforward.
• XRechnung 3.0. The stricter German profile you need when invoicing public sector clients in Germany (authorities, B2G) - many of them only accept XRechnung. It requires additional mandatory data:
  • the recipient’s Leitweg-ID (the “Buyer reference” field),
  • a seller contact with phone and email,
  • the email addresses of buyer and seller.

Rule of thumb: German public authority → XRechnung. Everything else → EN 16931. When in doubt, ask your recipient which format they expect.

And CII or UBL? That is a different question - the technical notation, not the rule set. Both carry the same data and follow the same chosen format. CII is embedded into the PDF (ZUGFeRD/Factur-X), UBL is the variant for exchange over the PEPPOL network. When creating an invoice you can download both - use whichever your recipient expects. See Which formats are supported? for more.

Is there an API or integration into your own products?

We are happy to provide a REST API on request. We can also discuss integration into your own solutions and products via support. The technology is based on Javascript and can therefore be used on all common systems on both the client and server side.