Opening and reading a ZUGFeRD PDF

A ZUGFeRD PDF looks like an ordinary invoice, and it is one. The difference is inside: the PDF file also has the structured invoice data embedded as XML. So you can open and view the PDF like any other. It gets interesting when you want to know exactly what the embedded data says.

Simply viewing the PDF

To just read it you need nothing special: open the file with the PDF program you already use. You see the invoice as the issuer designed it, with line items, amounts and the tax shown. For filing or a quick check by eye that is entirely enough.

Making the embedded data visible

Sometimes you want to know more: which invoice number, which delivery date, which tax category is actually in the structured data? Those details are the ones that count when the invoice is processed by machine, and they can differ in detail from what the PDF image suggests. To see them, you have to read out the embedded XML.

That is exactly what the Invograde viewer is for. You upload your ZUGFeRD or Factur-X PDF, and we read out the embedded data and show it to you as a clear, readable invoice: issuer, recipient, line items, taxes and totals. So you do not see the raw XML, but its content in plain language. The tool is free and needs no account.

A handy side effect: the viewer also works with pure XRechnung XML files. If someone sends you an XML file you cannot sensibly view in any program, open it in the viewer and read it like a normal invoice.

If you also want to be sure the file meets the requirements of the norm, check it in the validator. And if you would like to read up again on the difference between the formats, the comparison of XRechnung and ZUGFeRD will help.