Articles in this section
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Automated invoice processing in Germany: controls, evidence and AI agents in the loop
Only content errors under § 14 Abs. 4 UStG endanger input VAT, and German retention is eight years, not ten. Controls for automated invoice processing. -
The German Versandpflicht from 1 January 2027: the €800,000 threshold and who crosses it
From 1 January 2027 a business established in Germany with more than €800,000 total turnover in 2026 must issue E-Rechnungen. From 2028, all must. -
The German Empfangspflicht: receiving an E-Rechnung since 1 January 2025
Since 1 January 2025 every business established in Germany must be able to receive an E-Rechnung: no turnover threshold, no transition, no consent needed. -
XRechnung and ZUGFeRD: profiles, the XML rule, and what breaks a cross-border ERP setup
XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 both qualify as a German E-Rechnung; the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles do not. In a hybrid file the XML governs.
In practice
The control has to run before the invoice becomes irreversible.
An accepted structured invoice can be corrected but never deleted, and from the penalty date every defect has a price. Barzel puts the approval threshold, the duplicate check and the signed record in front of submission, so the process can be defended on the day an auditor or the tax authority asks.
95 days leftE-Rechnung issuing duty from 1 January 2027 for 2026 turnover above €800,000
BarzelVault
The AI action firewall: decide what an agent may do before it does it.
- Approval thresholds and policy checks enforced before execution; human approvals that expire and escalate.
- Cryptographically signed audit receipts: trigger, inputs, policy version, approver, outcome.
- Credential isolation, spend and action limits, and an emergency kill switch.
Free tier: 10,000 calls a monthPaid plans from $199 a monthLive on MCPize
BarzelOps
Governed workflow automation across the systems that run the business.
- Durable, idempotent execution: a timeout is retried once, never filed twice.
- Human approval checkpoints that pause the workflow and resume it.
- Isolation per entity or client, signed evidence receipts and a portable manifest; HubSpot, Xero, Gmail, Google Drive and Slack.
Free tier: 100 calls a dayPaid plans from $19 a monthLive on MCPize
Enterprise: written quote by email within two business days. No sales call.