What's New: E-Documents ZUGFeRD Format (2025 release wave 2)
ZUGFeRD e-document format support in Business Central (2025 release wave 2), shown for German compliance. It covers creating outgoing PDF/A-3 invoices with embedded XML on the sales side and automatically importing inbound ZUGFeRD documents on the purchase side.
- Introduction to ZUGFeRD and PDF/A-3 Format
- ZUGFeRD Implementation in Business Central
- Demo Overview and Setup
- Sales E-Document Export Demo
- Purchase E-Document Import Demo
- ZUGFeRD Setup Requirements and Email Integration
- Closing Remarks and Resources
Overview
The video explains ZUGFeRD, a hybrid format that combines a human-readable PDF with embedded machine-readable XML, based on the PDF/A-3 standard for long-term archiving. It states that ZUGFeRD is required for the German market and that supporting it makes a company compliant there.
It demos the sales side, where Business Central builds a PDF from a report layout with embedded XML and sends it through existing connectors or email. It also demos the purchase side, where the system extracts the embedded XML from an inbound document, creates the purchase document and attaches the PDF for review. It also covers setup requirements, including the BIO reference, and automatic email sending of posted e-documents.
Key points
- ZUGFeRD is a hybrid format based on PDF/A-3: a human-readable PDF with embedded XML. PDF/A-3 allows embedding any file type and produces self-contained files.
- Sales side: posting a sales invoice creates an e-document whose PDF is generated from the report layout, with the ZUGFeRD XML embedded as an attachment; the exported file can be checked in the e-document logs.
- Outgoing ZUGFeRD documents can be sent through existing connectors or by email.
- Purchase side: create a new e-document, choose the ZUGFeRD format and import the PDF. The system extracts the embedded XML, the e-document is In Progress with the PDF attached, and Reprocess creates the purchase invoice.
- On the e-document service for ZUGFeRD, enable ‘bio reference mandatory’ and choose where the reference comes from: the customer card or the reference on the document.
- With post-to-send, the system automatically creates and sends an email for e-documents. This is available from version 27 (2025 release wave 2), especially relevant for the German market.
- The presenters say ZUGFeRD support makes Business Central fully compliant in Germany and that all German formats are now supported.
Features
| Feature | Status | At |
|---|---|---|
| ZUGFeRD Format Support | status not stated, demoed | 0:21 |
| PDF/A-3 Format for Long-term Archival | status not stated, demoed | 0:21 |
| Outgoing E-Document Creation via ZUGFeRD | status not stated, demoed | 1:31 |
| Inbound E-Document Processing from ZUGFeRD | status not stated, demoed | 1:58 |
| Automatic Email Sending for Posted E-Documents | status not stated | 6:17 |
Quotes
- 0:39 “PDF A3 is standard format for long-term arriving of electronic documents and it allow embedding any file type into the PDF”
- 0:49 “this is ideal for hybrid documents to keep human readable format as a PDF so you can read as a human pin but in”
- 1:45 “So it enables creation outgoing e documents in sufare format. So that means we will create pdf based on report layout with embedded xml”
- 1:58 “On a purchase side, we enable receiving inbound e documents in format. So once when you get it, system will automatically extract embedded XML”
- 2:35 “So main business values there are you will be completely compliant in Germany. So now with the souk we support all formats in the”
- 5:59 “on e document service for zuk first format we need to enable bio reference mandatory”
- 6:36 “once when you create uh when you have created if you choose post to send system will automatically create an email and send it.”
Disclaimers in the video
- 6:36 coming-later: It will be available for 27 version. So that means from this uh 25 release wave two
Presenters (as heard): Alexander Totovich, Milit Jukich.