FacturX

Factur-X is a cross-border electronic invoicing format created by France and Germany to enable seamless electronic invoicing across the European Union. It presents the invoice as a standard PDF for human reading while containing a structured, machine-readable XML payload embedded inside the file, enabling automatic data extraction by accounting systems. The result is a single file that can be processed without separate data transfer, while remaining readable by a recipient who does not use automation.

The technical implementation uses a PDF/A-3 container with an embedded XML invoice. The XML data follows the UN/CEFACT Cross-Industry Invoice model and can be expressed using a UBL-based mapping. Factur-X is aligned with the European standard EN 16931 for e-invoicing and is part of the broader ZUGFeRD family of formats; Factur-X is the French adaptation that harmonizes with German invoicing practices.

In practice, Factur-X has been adopted for both public sector and private sector transactions in France and Germany, and interoperability with other EU e-invoicing ecosystems is promoted. It supports multiple data-density profiles that specify how much information is included in the XML payload, from basic to extended, enabling different levels of automation.

Limitations include varying support for the embedded XML across receiving systems and the need for software capable of extracting and interpreting the XML from the PDF.

See also: ZUGFeRD, UN/CEFACT CII, EN 16931, PEPPOL.