B2C businesses in Germany recorded €88.8 billion in ecommerce revenue in 2024. Increasingly, shopping online is becoming as much a part and parcel of people's everyday lives as shopping in-store. But online shoppers expect more than just an attractive range of products. They also want their order to be processed correctly and transparently—and that includes getting invoicing right.

This article explains why accurate invoices are necessary for webshops and outlines the requirements it must fulfill in Germany.

What's in this article?

• Why are correct invoices important for webshops?
  
• What requirements does an invoice have to fulfill in Germany?
  
• How Stripe Payments can help
  

Why are correct invoices important for webshops?

Generally speaking, issuing incorrect or incomplete invoices creates three problems in one for online stores: they risk trouble with the tax authorities, lose customer confidence, and have to spend additional time sorting out their own books.

Regulatory issues

German law, specifically § 14 of the German VAT Act (UStG), requires webshops to send invoices. An invoice that is missing mandatory pieces of information, or containing incorrect figures or formatting errors, might be rejected by the revenue office. Consequences range from being charged financial penalties or default interest, getting into arrears, or greater auditing scrutiny from the tax authorities. For businesses in the country, this goes beyond potential monetary losses; it can also affect their image, which can hurt earnings long term.

Loss of trust

The success of an online retail operation hinges on more than just attractive products and a smooth order process. Invoicing is also an integral component of a good working relationship. Issuing them accurately is key for online retailers that want to cultivate a professional appearance. It signals that the webshop is a serious player, which strengthens customer loyalty.

An ecommerce invoice with errors or missing details comes across as unprofessional and can permanently damage buyer trust. Shoppers expect establishments to be reliable and to comply with the law. Reissuing invoices that have already been sent or only sending them after multiple reminders gives the impression of poor diligence. In the worst-case scenario, customers will leave for a competitor.

Accurate bills are of utmost importance in the B2B sector as well. Business partners rely on error-free receipts for fulfilling their own tax and bookkeeping duties. Inconsistencies or repeated corrections delay payments and complicate reconciliation. In the long term, this can undermine the foundations of a partnership built on trust.

Challenges for the finance team

Faulty ecommerce invoices can also cause major headaches internally. Incomplete or inaccurate receipts make your finance team's job harder, increasing the time spent reconciling the accounts and delaying annual statements. On top of that, recording amounts incorrectly can result in false financial figures, which risks prominent business decisions being made based on unreliable data.

To minimize error rates, consider moving toward automation. Automation creates, processes, sends, receives, and archives invoice documents, all without manual data entry by humans. Modern software solutions integrate easily with payment services and payment service providers. They also generate e-invoices in line with international standards, and process recurring invoices or dunning letters independently.

What requirements does an invoice have to fulfill in Germany?

An invoice from an online store serves as a demand for settlement from a customer, and also serves as a legal document for the webshop's bookkeeping and value-added tax (VAT) returns. For that reason, Germany heavily regulates the requirements an invoice must meet. The legal basis for these criteria covers § 14 and § 14a of the UStG, plus the German Fiscal Code (AO) and the German Commercial Code (HGB).

Mandatory invoice details

For an invoice to comply with the law in Germany, it has to include certain pieces of information. Generally speaking, these requirements apply to all VAT-able businesses:

• Full name and address of the buyer and seller
  
• A sequential, unique invoice number
  
• Issue date of invoice
  
• Date of delivery or other service
  
• Tax identifier assigned to the seller by the tax office or the VAT identifier from by the Federal Central Tax Office
  
• The quantity and type of products supplied or the scope and type of work performed
  
• Gross and net amount
  
• The applicable tax rate and the corresponding amount or, in the case of a tax exemption, a reference to the exemption
  

If any of these details are missing, the recipient of the invoice might not be able to deduct input tax. The issuer can correct incomplete or incorrect invoices. But if omissions remain undetected until a company audit, the entity risks fines or going into arrears.

Invoice formats

In Germany, invoices can be issued in both paper form and electronically. However, ones in digital formats still need to contain all the required details to comply with the law. While classic paper billing remains the standard for many organizations, e-invoicing is steadily becoming an increasingly key part of doing business.

Mandatory e-invoicing came into effect in January 2025: German businesses must now be capable of receiving and processing B2B invoices in electronic form. Structured formats include XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. Transitional regulations in place until the end of 2026 allow German companies to continue sending paper invoices, instead of standardized PDF files, provided both contracting parties consent. Structured e-invoicing will foreseeably become mandatory from 2027 onward.

Simplified invoicing options

Certain businesses in the country are exempt from providing all of the information stipulated by § 14 of the UStG on their invoice documents.

Small-value invoices with a gross amount of no more than €250 are subject to less stringent legal requirements. § 33 of the German VAT Implementation Act (UStDV) exempts small-value invoices from listing the following details:

• Seller's tax and VAT ID
  
• Name and address of buyer
  
• Sequential invoice number
  
• Date of delivery or other service
  

Those using the small-scale entrepreneur rule provided for by § 19 of the UStG are not required to state VAT on their invoices. They are, however, needed to add a written note to it indicating that they have applied the small business regulation. This exemption does not affect other mandatory information.

§ 4 of the UStG also defines activities and sectors exempt from VAT. These span medical, social, and nonprofit activities, as well as a range of education-related work. Certain cross-border transactions are VAT-exempt, impacting invoicing for German webshops and beyond.

How Stripe Payments can help

Stripe Payments is a unified, global payment solution which any business—from startups to international corporations—can use to accept payments online, in-person and globally.

With Stripe Payments, you can:

• Optimize your checkout flow: Create a smooth customer experience and save thousands of dev hours, with prebuilt payment user interfaces, access to more than 125 payment methods, and Link, Stripe's proprietary wallet solution.
  
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• Standardize your online and in-person payments: Create unified commerce across online and offline channels as a way of personalizing interactions, rewarding loyalty, and boosting revenue.
  
• Improve payment performance: Increase your sales with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and expanded features for improving authorization rates.
  
• Grow faster, with a flexible, reliable platform: Put your faith in a reliable platform that will scale at your speed, with 99.999% availability.
  

Find out more about how Stripe Payments can help with your online and in-person payments, or get started today.