Germany E-Invoicing Service Providers: Peppol, EDI & Access Points

Germany's B2B e-invoicing mandate is live. Since January 2025, every German business must be capable of receiving structured e-invoices. The sending requirement phases in: January 2027 for businesses with revenue over €800,000, January 2028 for all others.

To meet these obligations — especially for B2G invoicing and cross-border EU transactions — you'll likely need a service provider of some kind. This guide explains the provider landscape and what each type offers.

Types of Service Providers

1. Peppol Access Points (AP)

Peppol is the key infrastructure for German B2G invoicing. All invoices to federal government agencies (Bundesbehörden) must be routed via the ZRE (Zentraler Rechnungseingang) or OZG-RE portals, both of which accept Peppol-formatted invoices. State-level (Länder) portals vary but increasingly require Peppol.

When you need a Peppol Access Point:

Invoicing federal or state public sector entities in Germany
Cross-border B2B invoicing to partners in Peppol-enabled countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Nordic countries, etc.)
Future-proofing for the B2B mandate (Peppol BIS 3.0 is one of the accepted formats)

Certified German Peppol Access Points (selection):

Provider	Type	Key Features
Deutsche Telekom (T-Systems)	AP + AS4	Enterprise Peppol, SAP integration, federal government-certified
Basware	AP	End-to-end AP automation, Peppol + EDI
Edicom	AP + EDI	Spanish-origin, strong German B2G coverage
Comarch	AP + EDI	Retail-focused, German Peppol routing
easybill	AP (native)	Best for SMBs; the only affordable SMB tool with native Peppol
Sage Business Cloud	AP (native)	Mid-market, Peppol + XRechnung in one tool
DATEV	AP	Accountant-focused, widely used by German Steuerberater
OpenText	AP + EDI	Enterprise EDI + Peppol, strong in manufacturing

Tip: To verify if a provider is a registered Peppol AP, check the OpenPeppol certified provider list.

2. EDI Providers

Traditional Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has been used by large German manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies long before the e-invoicing mandate. EDI providers are now extending their services to include XRechnung and ZUGFeRD output alongside their standard EDIFACT/AS2 flows.

When EDI makes sense:

You have an established EDI network with trading partners
High transaction volumes (1,000+ invoices/month)
Complex order-to-invoice-to-payment automation required
ERP integration (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) is central

Major EDI Providers in Germany:

Provider	Formats	Speciality
OpenText Trading Grid	XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol, EDIFACT	Enterprise ERP integration
Edicom	XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol, EDIFACT	Retail, manufacturing
Seeburger	XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol, all EDI	German-headquartered, strong in finance
Comarch	XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Peppol, EDIFACT	Retail supply chain
GXS/Inovis (now OpenText)	All major EDI + e-invoice formats	Global network, German coverage
Data Interchange	XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, EDIFACT	UK/DACH focused, supply chain

3. XRechnung Submission Portals

For B2G invoicing, Germany operates dedicated portals for submitting XRechnung invoices:

Federal level:

ZRE (Zentraler Rechnungseingang des Bundes) — the federal government's invoice receiving portal. Accepts Peppol BIS 3.0, XRechnung (UBL and CII). URL: xrechnung.bund.de
OZG-RE — the modernised federal portal replacing ZRE, with improved API access

State level: Each German state has its own e-invoicing portal. Some use their own systems, others route through ZRE or regional platforms. Key state portals include:

Bayern: eRechnung Bayern
Baden-Württemberg: eRechnung BW
NRW: ZRE NRW

A full list is maintained by the KoSIT (Koordinierungsstelle für IT-Standards).

4. Validation Services

Before transmitting, always validate your XRechnung or ZUGFeRD documents:

KoSIT Validator (free, official) — the reference validator for XRechnung. Available as a command-line tool and via ecosio.com's online wrapper
Mustang Project — open-source Java library for ZUGFeRD generation and validation
FeRD ZUGFeRD tools — ferd-net.de for viewing and validating ZUGFeRD PDFs
GEFEG.FX — enterprise validation tool for complex EDI + e-invoice workflows

5. DATEV — The Accountant Platform

DATEV deserves special mention in Germany because it dominates the accountant (Steuerberater) market. An estimated 80%+ of German SMBs work with a Steuerberater who uses DATEV.

What DATEV offers for e-invoicing:

Native XRechnung and ZUGFeRD generation from accounting data
DATEV Unternehmen Online — cloud portal for sharing invoice data with your accountant
Incoming invoice processing with automatic matching
GoBD-compliant archiving (10-year retention)
Peppol access point for B2G invoicing

Who should consider DATEV:

Businesses whose Steuerberater already uses DATEV (seamless data sharing)
Companies that want their accountant to manage the e-invoicing compliance side
Businesses that prefer to buy e-invoicing capability through their accountant relationship rather than separately

6. BPO Providers

For foreign multinationals with German subsidiaries, or businesses in the middle of an ERP migration, outsourcing German e-invoicing compliance to a BPO is often the fastest path to compliance.

What BPO providers offer:

Full XRechnung/ZUGFeRD generation from your existing invoice data
SDI/Peppol/ZRE submission management
Incoming invoice handling and three-way matching
GoBD archiving
Reporting and reconciliation

BPO options in the German market:

Major accounting firms (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, EY all have German e-invoicing practices)
Regional German Steuerberatungsgesellschaften with digital capabilities
Outsourcing specialists: Genpact, Conduent, Infosys BPM (all with German compliance practices)

What to Ask When Choosing a Provider

Format support: Does it produce XRechnung (UBL and CII) AND ZUGFeRD 2.x with EN 16931 profile? Verify with the KoSIT validator, not the vendor's claims.
B2G routing: Can it submit directly to ZRE/OZG-RE? What is the Leitweg-ID handling?
Receiving capability: As of January 2025, receiving is mandatory. Can it receive and process incoming e-invoices?
DATEV integration: Can it export in DATEV format for your accountant?
GoBD archiving: Is 10-year tamper-proof archiving included?
Peppol routing: Is the provider a registered Peppol AP? Which direction (send/receive/both)?
SLA and uptime: Especially important at month-end when invoice volumes spike.

Resources

Last updated: April 2026. Provider information based on publicly available registrations and market research.