E-invoicing in Europe 2026: a practical country guide
FatturaPA, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X and QR-Rechnung compared. B2B mandates by country — and how native software avoids paid plugins.
If your business invoices across several European countries, “PDF by email and done” no longer holds in 2026. Each country has its own format, its own transmission channel and its own timeline for the B2B mandate. This guide lines up the five systems you’ll meet most often — FatturaPA/SDI (IT), XRechnung and ZUGFeRD (DE/AT), Factur-X (FR) and QR-Rechnung (CH) — explains who must do what, and why software that handles them natively saves you the usual paid plugins.
Why the formats differ so much
All these standards come from the same European norm (EN 16931, the common semantic model of the electronic invoice), but each country poured it into its own tax infrastructure. The content is similar; what changes is three things:
- The syntax (UBL, CII or a proprietary XML format).
- The transmission channel (a government hub, direct exchange, or a network like Peppol).
- The mandate timeline (who must issue, and from when).
Understand those three dimensions and you’ve understood the whole landscape.
The five systems compared
| Country | Format | Transmission | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | FatturaPA (XML) | SDI (Sistema di Interscambio) | structured XML |
| Germany / Austria | XRechnung | Peppol / public portals | XML (CII or UBL) |
| Germany / Austria | ZUGFeRD | Email / direct exchange | PDF/A-3 + XML (hybrid) |
| France | Factur-X | PDP / Peppol | PDF/A-3 + XML (hybrid) |
| Switzerland | QR-Rechnung | PDF / paper | PDF with payment QR |
Italy — FatturaPA and SDI
Italy is the most mature case: B2B e-invoicing has been mandatory for years and runs entirely through the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI). It’s a pure XML file (not a PDF): the SDI validates it, delivers it to the recipient and records the outcome. No conformant XML, no valid invoice.
Germany and Austria — XRechnung and ZUGFeRD
These are two different things, and this is where confusion usually starts:
- XRechnung is an XML-only format, born for invoicing the public sector and now the backbone of the German B2B mandate.
- ZUGFeRD is hybrid: a human-readable PDF/A-3 with the structured XML embedded inside it. Handy during the transition, because the recipient still sees a normal PDF.
In Germany the B2B reform took effect on a phased schedule: first the obligation to receive e-invoices, then the obligation to issue them, with thresholds and dates that depend on company size.
France — Factur-X
France chose the hybrid Factur-X format (the French equivalent of ZUGFeRD: same PDF/A-3 + XML principle) and an architecture built on PDPs (accredited dematerialisation platforms) alongside the Peppol network. Here too the B2B mandate follows a staggered timeline tied to company size.
Switzerland — QR-Rechnung
A case apart: Switzerland is not in the EU and has no general B2B mandate for structured e-invoicing (yet). The market standard is the QR-Rechnung — an invoice carrying a Swiss QR code with all the payment data (IBAN, amount, reference). It solves collection, not the structured tax invoice — but if you sell into Switzerland, you still need it.
Who’s obligated, and from when
The practical rule for an SMB:
- Italy: already fully mandated for B2B via the SDI.
- Germany / Austria: the obligation to receive is already active for everyone; the obligation to issue is phased in by revenue band over the following years.
- France: receiving first, then issuing, with dates depending on company size.
- Switzerland: no general structured mandate, but the QR-Rechnung is effectively the standard customers expect.
Exact dates change and are updated by the national tax authorities: always check the deadline that applies to your revenue band before you plan. This article explains the mechanism; it does not replace the official source or your accountant’s advice.
The paid-plugin problem
Here lies the hidden cost. Many “traditional” systems can write an invoice — but for every national format they sell a separate add-on: a module for the SDI, one for XRechnung, one for Factur-X, maybe a Peppol connector on the side. Each add-on is another subscription, another update to chase whenever the law changes, another vendor to manage.
For a company invoicing in Italy, Germany and France, that means three or four overlapping plugins, each with its own price and its own lifecycle.
What native software changes
The alternative is software that treats the European formats as part of the product, not as extensions:
- One record, many outputs: you enter the invoice once and the system generates the right format (SDI XML, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X) based on the customer’s country.
- Regulatory updates included: when a standard changes, the software vendor updates it — not you, by buying a new plugin version.
- No surprise fees: compliance is in the subscription, not an extra at checkout.
In Blina Desk, invoicing is part of the vertical modules and follows the linear pricing model: the base is €19 per user per month (CRM, search, OCR and AI included), single modules cost €29 per month flat per company (not per user), and the “Complete” vertical bundles start at €69 for the first user + €19 per additional user, with every module in the sector included. From two modules on, the bundle already beats buying à la carte. Annual −20%, 30-day trial, no setup fees, EU-based servers and GDPR-compliant.
In short
The European formats aren’t bureaucratic whimsy: they’re the same model (EN 16931) poured into five different infrastructures. What matters for an SMB isn’t “being able to write an invoice” — it’s not paying a plugin for every border. Native software turns five problems into a single box to tick.
Want to see how Blina Desk generates the right format for each country? Try Blina Desk free for 30 days and invoice in Italy, Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland from one system.