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E-invoice error explained

BR-DE-5: Seller contact name is missing

The seller contact block is present but has no name.

What the rule checks

The seller contact block is present but has no name. In CII a person name (ram:PersonName) or a department name (ram:DepartmentName) counts. The buyer needs to know whom to contact with questions about the invoice.

Official rule text

The element "Seller contact point" (BT-41) must be transmitted.

Source: KoSIT configuration XRechnung 3.0.2 (31 Jan 2026).

Typical causes

  • The contact was created with phone and e-mail only.
  • The name field in the company data is empty, or the export reads a different field.
  • The name consists of spaces only.

How to fix it

Add ram:PersonName to ram:DefinedTradeContact, for example "Anna Example", or a ram:DepartmentName such as "Accounts receivable". ram:PersonName is the first element in the block.

Example

Wrong (CII)

<ram:DefinedTradeContact>
  <ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication>
    <ram:CompleteNumber>+49 931 123456</ram:CompleteNumber>
  </ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication>
  <ram:EmailURIUniversalCommunication>
    <ram:URIID>rechnung@muster.de</ram:URIID>
  </ram:EmailURIUniversalCommunication>
</ram:DefinedTradeContact>

Right (CII)

<ram:DefinedTradeContact>
  <ram:PersonName>Anna Beispiel</ram:PersonName>
  <ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication>
    <ram:CompleteNumber>+49 931 123456</ram:CompleteNumber>
  </ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication>
  <ram:EmailURIUniversalCommunication>
    <ram:URIID>rechnung@muster.de</ram:URIID>
  </ram:EmailURIUniversalCommunication>
</ram:DefinedTradeContact>

In Dynamics 365, Business Central and Finance

Sales / Project Operations: Sales and Project Operations have no e-invoice output out of the box. In the WBS Invoice Accelerator for Dynamics 365 the name, phone and e-mail come from the brand profile: Contact person, Phone and Email. Contact person is not on the brand profile form in version 1.1.0.2. Your administrator can ask WBS to set it.

Business Central: Fill Contact Person, Phone No. and E-Mail on the Company Information page. If the file still has no contact, also check the salesperson (Salesperson Code) on the sales document, because depending on the export format the contact can come from there.

Finance: Finance takes the legal entity's contact details from the Person linked to the signed-in user. Check the name, phone and e-mail of that person.

Related error codes

All error codes

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