Coming soon. This feature is not available yet. This page describes how it will work when it launches.
Across the EU, business customers are starting to require invoices their software can read on its own, and in Germany, France and Belgium the law now requires it for B2B sales. Send Invoice already has everything an e-invoice needs on the order: the buyer’s company and VAT number, every line, and the VAT on each. E-invoicing will write that data out in the three formats European buyers ask for, alongside the branded PDF you already send.
Key takeaways
- Three formats: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL XML), ZUGFeRD and Factur-X (PDF/A-3 with XML inside).
- Built from the Shopify order, with nothing to re-key.
- Your branding stays. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X use the same templates as every other document.
- Not available yet. Plans and Peppol delivery details will be confirmed at launch.
What e-invoicing is
An e-invoice is not a PDF sent by email. It is an invoice written as structured data, usually XML, that the buyer’s accounting software can read without anyone typing it in. The European standard EN 16931 defines what that data has to contain: seller and buyer, VAT numbers, every line, the VAT breakdown and the amount due. Peppol, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are three ways of carrying that same data.
The three formats
| Format | What the buyer receives | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | A UBL XML file, exchanged over the Peppol network | Belgium, the Netherlands, the Nordics and public sector buyers across Europe, plus Singapore, Australia and New Zealand |
| ZUGFeRD | A PDF/A-3 that people can read, with the XML embedded inside it | Germany |
| Factur-X | The same hybrid PDF and XML, under its French name | France |
ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are technically the same standard, developed together by Germany and France. A hybrid invoice is one file that works for both readers: your customer opens a normal-looking PDF, and their software reads the XML attached to it.
Why it matters now
E-invoicing is moving from optional to required for business-to-business sales in the EU:
- Germany: every business has had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Sending them becomes mandatory from 2027 for larger businesses and from 2028 for everyone.
- France: every business must be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026. Large and mid-sized businesses must send them from the same date, small businesses from September 2027.
- Belgium: B2B e-invoicing over Peppol has been mandatory since 1 January 2026.
Deadlines and exemptions vary by country and change, so check what applies to your business with your accountant. If you only sell to consumers, none of these rules require e-invoices yet.
What we are building
The aim is that an e-invoice takes no more work than the invoices Send Invoice already sends:
- Built from the Shopify order. The buyer’s company, VAT number, line items and VAT rates are already on the order, so there is nothing to re-key.
- Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 as a UBL XML file.
- ZUGFeRD and Factur-X as hybrid invoices: your branded PDF, from the same templates as your other documents, with the XML embedded inside.
- Checked against EN 16931 before it goes out, so a missing VAT number is caught by you and not by your customer’s accounts team.
Which plans it comes on, and how Peppol delivery will work, will be confirmed when it launches.
Until then
Send Invoice does not create e-invoices today. If you sell B2B into the EU and need Peppol, ZUGFeRD or Factur-X now, an app that supports them is the better fit for the moment. Our comparison with Sufio covers what it offers here. Everything else on this site, from automatic invoices to bulk export, works today.
Related: Bulk invoice export · Draft orders and quotations · All Send Invoice features