Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Validation and validity

Why is my invoice “compliant” even though the report contains a warning?

Because only findings with the severity Error overturn validity. The report knows exactly two severities, Error and Warning; “compliant” means “no finding with the severity error”. A warning is a pointer or a recommendation — it should be read, but it does not render the invoice ineffective.

Do I need an account to validate invoices?

No. Validating runs without signing in, at full scope — as do seven other of the ten tools. An account is needed only for batch processing and bulk import.

Does a successful API response mean the invoice is sound?

No. Through the API, 200 only means “validated”. The verdict is in isValid and errorCount. A 400 means validation could not run at all.

What does the validation level tell me?

It names the route that was taken, and the routes are not equivalent: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Peppol go through the native EN 16931 validator; the national formats through arithmetic consistency and business rules; ERP and non-European formats are not validatable. So a “compliant” from the consistency check is a different assurance. Details: Validation and compliance.

Why does Peppol require a buyer reference?

The rule PEPPOL-EN16931-R003 demands either a buyer reference (BT-10) or an order reference (BT-13) — as an error, not a warning.

And why is that not enough for XRechnung?

There the rule is stricter: BR-DE-15 requires BT-10 itself, and an order reference is not enough. With public-sector buyers, BT-10 is the Leitweg-ID. Store it in the customer record and it will no longer be missing.

Why is my EDIFACT not validated?

Because UN/EDIFACT INVOIC is not an e-invoice validation format. The same goes for SAP INVOIC IDoc, cXML, openTRANS, DATEV, Invoiceflair JSON and Excel: they are read and converted, but not validated against EN 16931 — there are no EN 16931 rules there to validate against.

Why does validation reject my ZUGFeRD file even though it is ZUGFeRD?

It is probably ZUGFeRD 1.0. That format predates EN 16931 and is therefore readable but not validatable. Convert it to a current version and validate that one.

Why does the report contain a warning about code lists?

The code-list check needs a bundled file in the installation’s output directory. If it is missing, validation does not reject wrongly — it skips those rules and notes the fact. That way an unvalidated invoice is never reported as a validated one.

Why are individual messages in German even though my interface is set to English?

The interface is translated. Some validation messages come from the engine and have no translation yet; those passages are marked as German in the report. Rule IDs and BT references are language-neutral — so automated evaluation always checks the rule ID, never the text.

My document was damaged and was still read — is that all right?

Yes, and it is disclosed. Narrowly defined defects are fixed before reading: wrong encoding names, invalid tag names, bare &, an orphaned end tag at the end of the file. Every repair is stated in the report; nothing happens silently. A file that is badly nested or cut off mid-element keeps its fault.

Formats and their limits

What is the difference between “Extract” and “PDF to e-invoice”?

Extract retrieves the already embedded XML from a hybrid PDF — no recognition, no inference. PDF to e-invoice derives the data from the layout of an ordinary PDF: labels, zones, table bands, arithmetic of the totals. If the PDF contains no attachment, the Extract tool says exactly that and points onwards.

Does the recognition train on my invoices?

No. It is a deterministic layout heuristic — no cloud model, no training on customer data, not even in the cloud.

Why can I produce FA_VAT but not submit it?

Because the engine builds the format, not the connection to the government platform. For FA_VAT the KSeF connection is missing — authentication, session, acknowledgement. The same goes for the SdI (Italy), Chorus Pro (France) and FACe (Spain). Valid XML is produced; submission is explicitly not built.

Why does my Facturae lack a signature?

A legally valid Facturae for the public sector requires an embedded XAdES signature. That is not generated server-side. The result page therefore says “without signature” and offers “Sign with AutoFirma”: the signature is created locally on your machine, and the private key never leaves the device.

Why can I read the XML rendering of EDIFACT but not write it?

Because that rendering looks different in every middleware — namespace, root element, record conventions. A file written by us would only be valid for the one installation whose conventions we had guessed.

Why can I not convert into a non-European format?

Because the documents of those systems carry codes issued solely by the respective tax authority — a number we wrote ourselves would be invalid there. Some twenty non-EU formats (CFDI 4.0, NF-e, DTE, e-Fapiao …) are therefore read but not written.

My document is named but cannot be converted — why?

Then it belongs to the second, smaller group: recognised and named, but not read. Those are Mexico in the legacy version CFDI 3.3, the municipal ABRASF legacy layout of the Brazilian NFS-e, and the Taiwanese eGUI (電子發票). There is no importer for these three; the message therefore points to Create, not to Convert.

What is preserved in conversion?

Conversion always runs source → hub model → target; there is deliberately no direct route between two formats. A field the target format cannot carry is lost — a limit of the format, not a fault.

PDF and hybrid PDF

Why is my hybrid PDF not a PDF/A?

The PDF/A assurance is established in three stages: if the visual layer is already PDF/A-3 it stays so; otherwise it is lifted additively; otherwise the PDF engine steps in. If all of that fails — typically without a valid licence key, or with fonts that are not embedded — the invoice is still produced, but then without the PDF/A assurance and with a warning. The result never carries a false label; the embedded XML is unaffected.

Why is my PDF from my own Word template not accessible?

Because the route via a Word template fundamentally cannot deliver that: the DOCX-to-PDF conversion writes an empty structure tree and not a single tagged content element. Only the natively drawn layouts are accessible (taggable). Anyone who needs an accessible PDF does not choose their own template.

Creating, numbering and the archive

Why does my created invoice get a different number from the one I expected?

Four usual reasons: the number is drawn only on finalising — “Save to archive” merely files a draft. Or you entered a number yourself, in which case it stands. Or a different invoice issuer was selected, since each one with its own range has its own sequence. Or a uniqueness guard advanced the counter. Details: Number ranges.

Can I delete a finalised invoice?

No, it is protected against deletion. Correction goes through “Cancel (credit note)”: a credit note with its own number and a reference to the original invoice is produced, and the original is marked as cancelled. Drafts can be deleted.

Why does the monthly counter show more invoices than my archive contains?

Because archiving is voluntary: the quota is consumed by every successful creation, regardless of whether you save the result. Conversely a unit is refunded if a run fails after the booking; an attempt rejected at the format gate consumes nothing at all.

Accounts, quotas and plans

Why is creating invoices anonymously not counted?

The invoice quota belongs to the plan, and without an account there is no plan. Creating also does not run through the tool gate, and so does not fall under the anonymous fair-use limit either.

Is there no limit at all when anonymous?

For the other tools there is: 20 operations per hour and 50 per day, counted per client address. The limit is a safeguard against abuse, not against work — over 30 days of measured usage the busiest hour reached 20 and the busiest day 44. From the eighth operation within an hour a fair-use card appears; it blocks nobody.

When do the monthly counters reset?

At the turn of the UTC calendar month. That applies to invoices, tool calls, API calls and mail dispatch.

Why can I not create an API key even though I am on a paid plan?

Because startup and team have no API access at all. The API is unlocked from business onwards; free has exactly one key with ten calls a month — for trying out, not for running. Only the owner may manage keys.

Why does my second key consume the same quota as the first?

Because the monthly limit belongs to the tenant, not to the individual key.

I have lost my key — can I have it displayed again?

No. Only a hash is stored; the plaintext appears exactly once, immediately after creation. A lost key is replaced, not recovered.

Why may I only create invoices in two formats?

free and startup have a format gate. While slots are free nothing blocks — the first creation in a format claims a slot automatically. Once the list is full, an explicit change is possible once per calendar month. A hybrid PDF counts as ZUGFeRD here.

Why can I not see the plan page?

Because you are working in an Enterprise installation. There every tenant is unlimited and there is nothing to purchase — the menu entry is absent and the page answers with 404. The counters keep running; they simply no longer limit anything.

Why can I not sign in with a password?

In the cloud no account has a password; the magic link is the only route there, and the form offers no password field at all. The password route exists only in the Enterprise installation — because a fresh installation without a mail relay would otherwise be unreachable.

My magic link was already spent before I clicked it — how can that be?

That should not happen, because the link leads to a confirmation page with a button precisely to prevent it: link scanners in mail systems call every link and would consume the one-time token. If the link has expired (15 minutes) or has already been redeemed, request a new one — at most five open requests per address and hour.

A member has lost access although they remain signed in — is that right?

Yes. Membership is read afresh on every request, so a withdrawn right takes effect immediately and not at the next sign-in.

Products and boundaries

What is the difference between Invoiceflair Desktop and Docuflair Desktop?

Two different products. Invoiceflair Desktop is the workstation tool for e-invoices — the same tools as in the portal, locally and without an internet connection. Docuflair Desktop, by contrast, redacts and pseudonymises documents and has nothing to do with e-invoicing.

Do I need an account for Invoice Desktop?

No. The workstation knows no user account; authorisation comes from a licence that is activated online once and then applies offline — bound to the hardware ID of that workstation.

What can the MCP server do that the portal cannot?

Nothing additional — it makes the same tools available to an AI assistant, locally on your machine. No network access, no key, no quota. Deliberately not included are finalising, number ranges and the archive: a drawn statutory invoice number cannot be recalled, and that does not belong in a tool triggered by a model. See MCP server.