Fakturen

Fakturen is the German plural form of Faktur, a term used in business language to refer to invoices. While Rechnungen are the everyday term for an invoice in German, Fakturen appears more often in technical, accounting, or formal contexts. The concept translates to “invoices” or, less commonly, “factures” in English.

A Faktur documents an amount owed by a customer to a supplier for goods or services provided on credit. It serves both as a payment request and as a financial record of the transaction. The typical content of a Faktur includes essential identification and transactional details, such as an invoice number and dates (issue date and due date), the names and addresses of the seller and buyer (with tax or VAT numbers where applicable), a description of the goods or services, quantities, unit prices, and the net amount. It also shows tax information (tax rate and tax amount) and the total amount due, along with payment terms, currency, and payment instructions. References to a purchase order and delivery or shipment details may be included as well.

Legal and regulatory considerations vary by country but generally cover data requirements for VAT invoices, accuracy for tax reporting, and retention obligations. In German-speaking regions, invoices are used for deducting input tax and maintaining accounting records; cross-border transactions within the EU may require additional VAT identifiers. Many businesses now use electronic invoicing, with standards such as ZUGFeRD or XRechnung in Germany and PEPPOL networks for cross-border trade, alongside traditional paper or PDF formats.

Regional usage varies: Faktura or Faktur is common in several German-speaking markets, while Rechnung remains the more widely used term in everyday language. See also invoicing.