ZUGFeRD
Also known as: Factur-X · ZUGFeRD invoice · hybrid invoice
ZUGFeRD (and its French twin Factur-X) is a hybrid e-invoice format: a PDF/A-3 document with embedded, EN 16931-compliant XML. People read the PDF, accounting systems read the structured data set.
ZUGFeRD is the German hybrid e-invoicing standard maintained by FeRD (Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland). Its defining trait is the hybrid structure: a single file carries both layers.
- Visible layer: a PDF/A-3 that anyone can open and read.
- Structured layer: an embedded XML (CII) file per the EN 16931 standard that accounting software processes automatically.
From the COMFORT profile onwards (i.e. EN 16931 / “BASIC”), ZUGFeRD meets the requirements of a legal e-invoice. The French format Factur-X is technically identical — both countries developed the standard jointly.
RoadReview embeds the CII XML data set into a PDF/A-3, covering the German B2B e-invoicing duty. Invoices to private individuals stay ordinary PDFs, because no structured transmission is required there.
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