PEPPOL vs XRechnung — ¿Qué formato de factura electrónica usar?

PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is a cross-border transport network plus a set of format specifications. PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 is the PEPPOL invoice format, based on UBL 2.1 + EN 16931. XRechnung is the German B2G Core Invoice Usage Specification (CIUS) of EN 16931 — a stricter subset of EN 16931 with additional mandatory fields (Leitweg-ID, specific VAT formats). XRechnung is a format; PEPPOL is both a network and a format.

Yes. XRechnung UBL invoices are fully PEPPOL-compatible — they carry the XRechnung CustomizationID URN but otherwise conform to PEPPOL's UBL 2.1 structure. German federal and state portals accept XRechnung delivered via a PEPPOL access point. Many PEPPOL access points (Basware, Storecove, OpenPEPPOL partners) support XRechnung delivery as a standard service.

Use XRechnung. German B2G is explicitly the XRechnung use case. You also need the Leitweg-ID assigned by the buyer, which PEPPOL BIS invoices do not require. If your software generates PEPPOL BIS 3.0 invoices, switching to XRechnung typically means changing the CustomizationID and adding the BuyerReference (Leitweg-ID) — aiDoks handles both profiles from the same form.

Yes, PEPPOL is growing in German B2B, particularly in supply-chain-intensive industries (automotive, retail). The German B2B e-invoicing mandate from 2025/2027 accepts EN 16931-compliant structured invoices in multiple formats: UBL, CII, or ZUGFeRD/Factur-X hybrid. PEPPOL BIS 3.0 UBL qualifies. XRechnung is not typically used for B2B — it is a B2G-specific format.

XRechnung is stricter than PEPPOL BIS 3.0. XRechnung adds BR-DE-* rules on top of EN 16931 (for example: mandatory Leitweg-ID, mandatory seller electronic address, German-specific VAT number formats). A valid XRechnung invoice is always a valid EN 16931 invoice, but a valid PEPPOL BIS 3.0 invoice may not pass XRechnung validation (because the Leitweg-ID and seller endpoint rules may not be satisfied).

Yes. The aiDoks validator auto-detects whether an invoice is PEPPOL BIS 3.0 or XRechnung from the CustomizationID URN and applies the correct rule pipeline. The generator supports both profiles from the same form — switch between PEPPOL and XRechnung with the output profile selector. For XRechnung, the form additionally reveals the Buyer Reference (Leitweg-ID) field.