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Free XRechnung viewer: read a German e-invoice, print it or save it as PDF

By Blink Brief · Updated  · How pages are made

Drop up to 5 XRechnung files into the box below and you see each one as a normal invoice, in English: seller, buyer, every line, VAT, the amount due and the bank details. You can print it, save it as PDF, or download one table of all the invoices as a CSV file for Excel. It's free, needs no sign-up, and the files never leave your browser.

1. Choose XRechnung files

Drag XML files here

XRechnung in UBL 2.1 (invoice and credit note) or UN/CEFACT CII · up to 5 files at a time

What the viewer reads

An XRechnung is the German version of the European e-invoice standard EN 16931. It comes in two XML syntaxes, and the viewer reads both: UBL 2.1 (an Invoice or a CreditNote) and UN/CEFACT CII (a CrossIndustryInvoice). It tells them apart by the file's first element and reads the fields by their names, so it doesn't matter which software made the file.

  • The summary table: invoice number, date, seller, net, VAT, gross, amount due and IBAN for every open file.
  • Each invoice: the seller and buyer with their VAT IDs, the issue and due dates, the order number and the buyer reference (the Leitweg-ID that German public buyers use), every line with quantity, unit and price, VAT per rate, and the payment details.
  • The sum check: the viewer adds up the lines, net, VAT, gross and amount due itself and shows each total that doesn't match the one written in the invoice.

The labels, invoice types, payment means and units are shown in English. Names, addresses, descriptions and notes stay as the seller wrote them, usually in German. Amounts show with the invoice's own currency.

It was tested on 4 November 2026 with KoSIT's official test invoices in UBL and CII and with Factur-X sample files, in Chrome and Safari's engine: every total matched.

A ZUGFeRD or Factur-X PDF: take the XML out first

ZUGFeRD, called Factur-X in France, is a PDF/A-3 invoice with the XML invoice data attached inside the PDF. The page you see in a PDF reader is the readable copy; the attached XML is the e-invoice. This viewer reads XML only and tells you so if you drop a PDF.

  1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Open the Attachments panel. It lists the files inside the PDF, usually one XML file such as factur-x.xml.
  3. Save that XML file to your computer, then drop it into the viewer.

The viewer reads ZUGFeRD 2 and Factur-X, which use the CII syntax. It doesn't read the older ZUGFeRD 1.0 format and says so.

Under each invoice, Print or save as PDF opens your browser's print dialog with only that invoice. Choose a printer, or Save as PDF (Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows). Print or save all as PDF, under the table, prints every open invoice, each starting on a new page.

Keep the XML file as well. KoSIT, which maintains the standard, says plainly that a visualization of an XRechnung is not an XRechnung: the XML is the original invoice that has to be archived.

The table in Excel

Download the table as CSV saves one row per invoice, with more columns than the screen shows: the buyer, tax numbers, VAT rates, BIC, Leitweg-ID and the sum check. As the box starts, with German number format unticked, the file has commas between columns, amounts as 1234.56 and dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Tick it for semicolons, 1234,56 and DD.MM.YYYY, the form a German Excel reads.

If Excel puts each whole row in column A when you double-click the file, import it instead:

  1. In Excel, choose Data › From Text/CSV and pick the file.
  2. Set Delimiter to Comma, or to Semicolon if you ticked German number format, and click Load.

What it doesn't do

  • It doesn't validate the invoice against the XRechnung schema and business rules. KoSIT's free validator does that; it is software you run yourself.
  • It doesn't open PDFs, scans or images, only the XML.
  • It opens 5 files at a time. Remove some to open more.
  • It doesn't send, store or file anything. Close the tab and the invoices are gone from the page.

To compare it with ELSTER's official viewer, Quba, Autum8, billance and other tools, see XRechnung and ZUGFeRD viewers compared.

Privacy: the invoices stay in your browser

Your browser reads each file with its built-in XML parser. No file, name or amount is sent anywhere: there is no server that sees the invoices, and the page loads nothing from other sites. Once the page has loaded, the viewer works without an internet connection.

Questions

How do I open an XRechnung file?

An XRechnung is an XML file, so a double-click shows code. Drop it into the viewer on this page: you get the seller, buyer, every line, the VAT and the amount due as a readable invoice, with nothing uploaded. You can open up to 5 files at once.

Can I convert an XRechnung to PDF?

Yes. Open it here and click Print or save as PDF under the invoice, then choose Save as PDF in your browser's print dialog. Print or save all as PDF puts every open invoice in one PDF. The PDF is a copy for reading; the XML file is the original invoice.

What is the difference between XRechnung and ZUGFeRD?

Both follow the European standard EN 16931. An XRechnung is a plain XML file. A ZUGFeRD or Factur-X invoice is a PDF with the same kind of XML attached inside it. This viewer reads the XML, so for ZUGFeRD save the attached XML file from the PDF first.

Does the viewer check that the invoice is valid?

It recalculates the totals and shows every sum that doesn't match, but it doesn't check the invoice against the XRechnung schema and business rules. For that, KoSIT, the body behind the standard, publishes a free open-source validator.

Is my invoice uploaded?

No. Your browser reads the XML files on your computer. The page makes no request when you open a file, and once it has loaded it works offline.

Sources

What this page sends