Use case · E-invoicing
Invoices machines can read.
Across the EU, invoices increasingly have to be machine-readable, not just printable. A hybrid e-invoice is one file that is both: a human-readable PDF and an embedded structured XML that tax and procurement systems can parse.
The problem
Regulations such as the EU's e-invoicing directives push organisations toward structured invoices. The widely-adopted answer is a hybrid document — the formats known asZUGFeRD (Germany) and Factur-X (France) — which carry a structured XML payload, modelled on EN 16931 (the EU semantic standard for the core invoice), embedded inside an archival PDF/A-3 container. One file your customer can read, and your counterpart's accounting system can ingest without OCR.
The model
One file, two layers.
A hybrid e-invoice combines two layers in a single PDF/A-3 file:
- The visual invoice — what a person opens and reads (rendered by NextPDF; download the real sample from the showcase).
- The embedded EN 16931 XML — the structured data a tax or ERP system parses, attached per the ZUGFeRD / Factur-X profile.
NextPDF Enterprise produces the ZUGFeRD / Factur-X attachment and the PDF/A archival container; the human-readable invoice is rendered by the same engine you can try in Core today.
The profiles
Which profile a buyer needs.
ZUGFeRD and Factur-X define the same set of profiles — each carries more of theEN 16931 core-invoice model than the last. The profile your counterpart asks for decides how much structured data the embedded XML must hold.
| Profile | Invoice lines | EN 16931 core |
|---|---|---|
| MinimumBooking / accounting aid | No | No |
| BasicEveryday invoices with lines | Yes | Subset |
| EN 16931 (Comfort)EU reference core-invoice model | Yes | Full core |
| ExtendedComplex, cross-industry invoices | Yes | Superset (CIUS) |
Profiles per ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X 1.0 (the specification also defines BASIC WL — document totals without invoice lines). NextPDF Enterprise targets these profiles; Minimum is a reduced booking aid rather than a complete structured invoice, and acceptance of any invoice is the recipient validator's verdict.
Honest scope
NextPDF Enterprise produces output that targets the EN 16931 model and the ZUGFeRD / Factur-X profiles. Whether a specific invoice is accepted by a given tax authority or buyer portal is determined by that recipient's validator and the correctness of your invoice data — which remain your responsibility. We are happy to walk a regulated workflow through end to end.