Practical knowledge for entrepreneurs: invoicing, accounting and digital business processes made simple.
Invoicing & Accounting
Almost everyone emails their invoices, and nobody ever asks for permission. That is perfectly fine. The question that really counts is a different one: who proves the mail arrived?
Invoicing & Accounting
Revenue at 19 percent is account 8400 in SKR03 and 4400 in SKR04. Same transaction, two numbers – that is the whole difference. Even so, the choice is not a matter of taste: if you have a tax advisor, you adopt their chart, and switching later is barely possible.
Invoicing & Accounting
A BWA is a calculation chain of nine lines. The hard part is not the arithmetic but the sorting: which receipt belongs in which block, what does not belong in it at all, and what you have to apportion. This guide works through every step using one continuous example.
Invoicing & Accounting
Most people hand over too little and pay twice for it: once for the follow-up questions, once for the retyping. What belongs on the pile – and how much of it your software already delivers.
Invoicing & Accounting
Many people search for the GoBD-compliant invoice. No such thing exists: the GoBD do not govern what is printed on the page, they govern how you work. Which half your software handles – and which half stays with you, whatever you buy.
Invoicing & Accounting
Your first customer abroad, and immediately the question: add 19 percent or not? The answer depends on three questions – and on a number you had better check before you send the invoice, not after.
Invoicing & Accounting
A ZUGFeRD invoice is your familiar PDF invoice with invisible data inside it. What you need to set up, which details have to be complete – and the easiest way to check the result yourself.
Invoicing & Accounting
An XRechnung is not a special invoice template – it is your ordinary invoice as a data file. You do not write it yourself, you have it generated. What trips people up is almost never the technology, but a single number the customer already sent you.
Invoicing & Accounting
A delivery note is almost never required by law – but it is your proof that the goods arrived. What belongs on it, why prices are better left off, and which single line matters as soon as your invoice refers to the delivery note.
Invoicing & Accounting
A quote has no legally required details – yet it decides whether the customer says yes and whether you can charge for extra work later. With a template to copy.
Invoicing & Accounting
How to get your incoming invoices under control: the fast route using software, the manual route with a concrete folder structure, allocating material to a job – and what e-invoicing actually changes (less than you think).
Invoicing & Accounting
Progress, partial, final – these three get mixed up constantly. The difference decides when VAT falls due and when the warranty period starts.
Invoicing & Accounting
Customers sign contracts online with a click, the software records the time, IP address and content. Recurring invoices follow at the press of a button — and cancellations land in a list instead of your mailbox.
Invoicing & Accounting
How to deduct progress invoices correctly in the final invoice – with a worked example, a template and the rule that protects you from paying VAT twice.
Invoicing & Accounting
What belongs in an order confirmation, when it becomes binding and how it turns into an invoice the customer will not cut down – with a template you can copy.
Invoicing & Accounting
As a small business you don't have to issue e-invoices – but you do have to receive them and store them correctly. What that means in practice, whether printing is enough and how long you may still receive PDFs.
Invoicing & Accounting
When a customer refuses to pay, the right approach decides whether you see your money. This guide walks you through every step, from the payment reminder and default interest to a court order for payment and debt collection, with the right places to turn.
Invoicing & Accounting
Using invoicing software for free sounds good – the question is where the limit lies. How free offers fund themselves, which restrictions are typical, and when a free solution really is enough.
Invoicing & Accounting
Before you settle on an invoicing program, you should know what really matters for you as a small business – and what doesn't. The criteria at a glance, with a checklist to tick off.
Invoicing & Accounting
Writing your invoices in Word or Excel isn't forbidden. Even so, it lands many self-employed people in conflict with the GoBD rules. Why that happens, what unfolds in an audit – and how to switch cleanly.
Invoicing & Accounting
Both are valid e-invoices, yet they work differently: XRechnung as a pure data file, ZUGFeRD as a PDF with embedded data. The difference – and when you need which.
Invoicing & Accounting
You may not simply change or delete an invoice you have already issued. The two clean routes – cancellation invoice and correction invoice – and when you need which.
Invoicing & Accounting
Small businesses do not state VAT – but must still give all the other mandatory details and a reference to § 19 UStG. This is what the invoice looks like, with wordings and the most important trap.
Invoicing & Accounting
For invoices up to 250 euros gross, fewer mandatory details apply. Which five details remain, what you may leave out, and in which cases the simplification does not count.
Invoicing & Accounting
ZUGFeRD 2.5 has been available since 10 June 2026 and should be used from 1 July. What actually changes, who the e-invoice applies to at all, and why up-to-date software keeps things stress-free.
Invoicing & Accounting
Progress invoices secure your cash flow during long projects. How they work, when VAT becomes due and how to avoid the costly double taxation in the final invoice – explained clearly with an example.
Invoicing & Accounting
Late-payment interest 2026, the EUR 40 flat fee, statute of limitations: how self-employed people and small businesses in Germany secure cash flow with structured dunning — with practical examples.
Invoicing & Accounting
Looking for a free invoice template? Here you will find everything you need to know about mandatory information, formats (Word, Excel, PDF) and why professional invoice software is the better choice.
Invoicing & Accounting
Learn how to write a legally compliant invoice. With mandatory information, examples and tips for the self-employed and entrepreneurs.