XRechnung and ZUGFeRD electronic invoices

PDF

.pdf

A visual business document for reading, printing and review. An ordinary PDF does not contain a structured invoice dataset.

Send where an ordinary PDF is the appropriate agreed format.

EN 16931 CII XML

.xml + PDF view

A structured CII invoice with a separate visual PDF and a validation report.

The XML is the structured invoice. Send it through the agreed channel; the PDF can accompany it as a view.

XRechnung

XRechnung 3 CII .xml

Structured XML with the references and electronic endpoints required by the chosen profile. A separate PDF view helps you review the content.

Submit the XML to the recipient's address or portal, using the routing reference they supplied.

ZUGFeRD

PDF/A-3 with embedded XML

A hybrid PDF combines the readable document and its EN 16931 XML attachment. LuaBill also saves an identical separate XML file.

Normally send the hybrid PDF. Follow the recipient's requirements if they also request the separate XML.

What LuaBill checks

The shared calculation engine checks amounts and required input. Every electronic output runs the reviewed EN 16931 CII rules; Mustang also checks the XML schema and selected profile with the active rule package before the result is published.
ZUGFeRD additionally passes PDF/A and container checks; the extracted XML attachment is compared byte for byte with the separate XML file. Keep .validation.xml, .validation-rules.xml and .validation-info.json with the issued PDF/XML.
Technical validation does not verify tax registrations, the facts of a transaction or invoice-number uniqueness. Review the document's business content and the recipient's submission requirements.

LuaBill

Know which rules checked your invoice

LuaBill 0.1.31 includes a reviewed package of current CII rules. Read the active versions in the application and retain the validation evidence with your issued documents.

Rule package included in LuaBill 0.1.31, verified on 1 November 2026.

The rule package in this release

EN 16931 CII rules: 1.3.17The official CEN rules run as a separate required check for every XML, XRechnung and ZUGFeRD output.
XRechnung / Schematron: 3.0.2 / 2.6.0The format and its checking rules have different version numbers. The current CII rules are selected through LuaBill’s verified package.
ZUGFeRD / Factur-X: 2.5.2 / 1.09.2The EN 16931 profile combines a readable PDF/A-3 with structured XML; PDF/A and container validation remain part of generation.
Mustang CLI / veraPDF: 2.26.0 / 1.30.2The original Mustang JAR is unchanged. The reviewed rule package takes precedence where applicable; its versions and the original bundled versions are shown separately.

LuaBill standards dialog showing active rule versions separately from the original Mustang JAR resources — Actual desktop dialog: active rules, last document validation and update-check results are available separately.

Keep the invoice and its validation evidence

Open Help → E-invoice standards and updates, or use Validation versions beside a generated result. The generation log and saved audit show rule and validator versions, SHA-256 hashes, the XML profile and the results of the checking stages.

*.pdf: The visual document; for ZUGFeRD, the hybrid invoice with XML embedded.
*.xml: The structured invoice; for ZUGFeRD, identical to the embedded XML.
*.validation.xml: The original Mustang validation report for XML and, where applicable, PDF/A and the container.
*.validation-rules.xml: The SVRL report from the additional current EN 16931 CII rules check.
*.validation-info.json: The version audit: active and original rules, hashes, profile and stage results.

Official rule and validator sources: EN 16931 ↗ · XRechnung / KoSIT ↗ · ZUGFeRD / FeRD ↗ · Mustangproject ↗

01

Create an XRechnung

Prepare invoice data for XRechnung CII, generate and validate the XML, inspect reports and send the structured invoice to the recipient.

Create a ZUGFeRD invoice

Generate a ZUGFeRD EN 16931 hybrid PDF with embedded XML, validate its invoice data and PDF/A container and send the resulting PDF.