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E-invoice validator
E-invoice error codes
What the validator’s findings mean, where they usually come from and how to fix them. With notes for Dynamics 365, Business Central and Finance.
All error codes explained
- BR-DE-15: Buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) is missing
Every XRechnung needs a buyer reference in BT-10. - XML is not valid against the schema
The file is not built the way the format prescribes. - BR-DE-2: Seller contact block is missing
An XRechnung must name a contact at the seller: name (BT-41), phone (BT-42) and e-mail (BT-43). - BR-DE-5: Seller contact name is missing
The seller contact block is present but has no name. - BR-DE-6: Seller contact phone number is missing
The seller contact block has no phone number. - BR-DE-7: Seller contact e-mail address is missing
The seller contact block has no e-mail address. - BR-DE-1: Payment instructions are missing
An XRechnung must state how it is paid. - BR-DE-16: Seller VAT ID or tax number is missing
As soon as a line, allowance or charge uses one of the VAT categories S, Z, E, AE, K, G, L or M, the seller must be identifiable for tax purposes. - BR-DE-3: Seller city or post code is missing
EN 16931 only asks for the country code in the seller's address. - BR-CO-25: Payment due date or payment terms missing
If the buyer has to pay, the invoice must say by when. - BR-DE-TMP-32: Delivery or service date is missing
The structured data has no delivery or service date. - PDF without embedded invoice data
The validator found no embedded invoice XML in the uploaded PDF, so there is nothing to check against EN 16931. - ZUGFeRD PDF is not PDF/A-3 compliant
veraPDF checked the PDF against PDF/A-3 and found violations. - BR-AE: Reverse charge (category AE) is incomplete
Category AE means reverse charge: the buyer owes the VAT, for example under § 13b of the German VAT Act. - BR-CO-10: Sum of line net amounts does not match
The line total in the invoice header (BT-106) must equal the sum of the net amounts of all lines (BT-131). - BR-CO-13: Invoice total without VAT does not match
The invoice net total (BT-109) must follow from the lines: sum of lines minus document-level allowances plus document-level charges. - BR-CO-15: Invoice total with VAT does not match
The gross total (BT-112) must be exactly the net total (BT-109) plus VAT (BT-110). - BR-CO-14: Total VAT does not match the VAT breakdown
The VAT in the invoice header (BT-110) must equal the sum of the tax amounts of all VAT breakdown rows (BT-117). - BR-CO-16: Amount due for payment does not match
The amount due (BT-115) must follow from the gross total (BT-112), minus amounts already paid (BT-113), plus a rounding amount (BT-114). - BR-S-08: Taxable amount per standard rate does not match
Each standard rate (category S, for example 19 % and 7 %) needs its own row in the VAT breakdown. - BR-DE-18: Cash discount (Skonto) line has the wrong format
XRechnung has a fixed notation for cash discount (Skonto) in the payment terms (BT-20), so the buyer's software can calculate the deduction. - BR-DE-23: Credit transfer without bank account
Codes 30 (credit transfer) and 58 (SEPA credit transfer) mean that the buyer transfers the money to you. - BR-61: IBAN or account number missing for a credit transfer
For payment by credit transfer (code 58 SEPA credit transfer or 30 credit transfer) the invoice must name the account the buyer pays to: the IBAN, or for non-SEPA accounts the account number (BT-84). - BR-DE-21: Specification identifier does not match XRechnung
BT-24 states which standard the file follows. - BR-DE-17: Invoice type code is not one XRechnung expects
BT-3 states what kind of document it is. - BR-16: Invoice has no line
Every EN 16931 e-invoice needs at least one line. - BR-27: Negative item net price on a line
The net price of a line (BT-146) must not be below 0. - BR-Z: Zero rated (category Z) is inconsistent
Category Z means taxable supplies at a rate of 0 %, in Germany for example solar installations under § 12 Abs. - BR-O: Not subject to VAT (category O) is inconsistent
Category O means supplies outside the scope of VAT. - BR-DE-26: Corrected invoice without reference to the original
Code 384 in BT-3 marks a corrected invoice. - BR-DE-25: Direct debit without mandate data
Code 59 means SEPA direct debit: you collect the amount from the buyer. - BR-DE-24: Card payment without matching card data
Codes 48 (bank card), 54 (credit card) and 55 (debit card) mean payment by card.
Got a finding that isn’t listed here? Check your file. The validator also shows the official rule text for rules that don’t have their own page yet.