E-invoicing has been mandatory in the B2B sector in Germany since January 2025. XRechnung has been the mandatory standard for invoicing to public clients since November 2020. But how do NetSuite users deal with this requirement? This article sheds light on the challenges, shows what NetSuite offers regarding xRechnung, and how Alta Via helps companies comply with the e-invoicing obligation.
The Challenge for Public Sector Clients
xRechnung presents companies that work with public sector clients with specific requirements. It is not just about creating an invoice but also about transmitting invoice data in a specific XML format. NetSuite users are faced with the question of how they can implement this standard efficiently and in compliance with the law.
Oracle NetSuite’s “Electronic Invoicing”
With the “Electronic Invoicing” app, Oracle NetSuite offers a solution for processing electronic documents. This app is a universal platform for exchanging incoming and outgoing documents. It can generate outgoing invoices using templates in various formats, such as XML or JSON. The app is free of charge for use in one country and is easy to install. However, no template for the xRechnung is supplied as standard.
Practice Is Catching up with Theory
While the legislator envisages a gradual introduction of e-invoicing – starting with the receipt of e-invoices from 2025 and sending from 2027 – we see a different dynamic in practice. The customer is king. From 2025, more and more companies will demand e-invoices in XML format. Suppliers must, therefore, adapt quickly and be able to send xRechnungen.
Alta Via: Pioneer in Sending xRechnung with NetSuite
Alta Via recognized this development early on and understood that creating the xRechnung (outbound) in the B2B sector becomes relevant before receipt (inbound). Based on our expertise in accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and our experience from customer projects in the B2G sector, we have developed the right NetSuite product for the German market.
Alta Via’s Lean Solution for xRechnung
The xRechnung is a clearly defined standard that converts specific fields of an invoice into an XML format. However, we have noticed that our customers also use their own fields for invoicing, which must be included both on the PDF and in the xRechnung. We have developed a lean configuration for all these requirements to integrate the xRechnung into NetSuite.
With just a few fields on the customer master data, a script, and a workflow, we enable the direct creation of the necessary xRechnung XML from a NetSuite invoice at the click of a mouse. So it remains as simple as generating a PDF invoice.
xRechnung as Part of the Localization of Germany for NetSuite
The xRechnung functionality is part of Alta Via’s “Localization Germany for NetSuite” (formerly known as German Bundle). With this solution, we have been offering valuable additions to the NetSuite standard for years to improve working with NetSuite in Germany. In addition to the xRechnung functionality, the German localization contains further components tailored to the German market’s specific requirements.
What Remains to Be Done for 2025?
For companies that use NetSuite as their ERP, the matter is simple: With Alta Via and our “Localization Germany for NetSuite”, you can already master the challenges of e-invoicing today.
Our solution enables you to create e-invoices easily and optimally prepares you for the increasing demand for electronic invoices starting in 2025. Our customers currently handle the actual sending of e-invoices very differently and use various platforms. We have designed our solution to make creating the necessary xRechnung files efficient and flexible. As soon as there is a concrete need for a dispatch function, we are ready to fulfill this requirement as well.