OZG-RE
To submit supporting documents or attachments with your invoice, they must be embedded in the invoice data file and should not be sent separately as an email attachment. Documents of the following file types may be embedded: PDF documents (PDF), Images (PNG, JPEG, JPG), Excel spreadsheets (XLSX), Support and OpenDocument spreadsheets (ODS) and Text files (CSV) as well as XML when using an extension.
You have various options for embedding documents depending on the way you create your invoices and which transmission method you use to submit them to the Online Access Act-compliant Invoice Submission Portal (OZG-RE).
Create new invoice (via web submission)
If you create your electronic invoice manually (using the web submission form), you can manually add supporting documents of the accepted file types to the invoice. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on “Additional documents”. This will open a page where you can select and upload the relevant documents from your computer, including via drag and drop. When you submit your invoice, the documents will be directly embedded in the invoice. Please note that the maximum number is limited to 200 documents and the size of all attachments is limited to 15 MB.
Upload invoice file
You can submit your completed invoice in the XML format using the function “Upload invoice file”. To attach supporting documents, you must embed them in the XML file encoded in Base64 before uploading your invoice.
For more information, contact your software provider to ask about options for embedding documents in electronic invoices. Please note that the maximum number is limited to 200 documents and the size of all attachments is limited to 15 MB.
Transmit via email
You can submit your completed invoice using email. To attach supporting documents, you must embed them in the XML file encoded in Base64 before submitting your invoice.
For more information, contact your software provider to ask about options for embedding documents in electronic invoices. Please note that the maximum number is limited to 200 documents and the size of all attachments is limited to 15 MB. Transmit via Peppol
You can submit your completed invoice using Peppol. To attach supporting documents, you must embed them in the XML file encoded in Base64 before submitting your invoice.
For more information, contact your software provider to ask about options for embedding documents in electronic invoices. Please note that the maximum number is limited to 200 documents and the size of all attachments is limited to 15 MB.
What status notifications are issued for e-invoices submitted to the OZG-RE and what do they mean?
The OZG-RE has five different status notifications. They are:
- Initial: The invoice has been created in the “web submission” format but not yet sent. You have the option to continue processing.
- Awaiting collection: The invoice has been successfully transmitted and is awaiting collection by the recipient.
- Collected: The recipient has collected the invoice and confirmed receipt of the invoice.
- Rejected: The invoice has been rejected by the system or the recipient due to an error of form or content.
- Deleted: The last change in the status of the invoice was more than 28 days ago. The invoice was therefore deleted by the system.
In the OZG-RE you can find the status of your submitted e-invoices under “Processing status of submitted XRechnung invoices ”.
The OZG-RE does not currently issue automated email notifications about changes to the status of your submitted e-invoices. A feature that would enable automated email notifications is currently being planned.
For further information on specific status notifications, please refer to the additional FAQs about the OZG-RE below.
If payment of a submitted e-invoice is still outstanding after the due date, you should first check the status of that invoice in the OZG-RE. You can do this from the OZG-RE dashboard by clicking “View processing status of submitted invoices”.
We recommend that you only send an overdue payment reminder to the invoice recipient if the status of your submitted e-invoice is marked “Collected”.
If the status of your e-invoice is marked “Rejected”, please investigate possible reasons for this. There are two ways in which a submitted e-invoice can be rejected:
- Rejection by the OZG-RE: The submitted e-invoice is checked by the OZG-RE portal. If it does not meet the formal requirements of e-invoices or contains calculation errors, it is rejected by the portal.
- Rejection by the invoice recipient: In such cases, the submitted e-invoice is rejected by the recipient due to factual errors in the invoice itself. When rejecting an e-invoice, the invoice recipient should state a reason for the rejection. If no reason is stated, please check your submitted e-invoice and contact the invoice recipient if you are still unsure why it was rejected.
In both cases, the invoice must be corrected and resubmitted. However, please always check the status of your submitted e-invoice before taking any further steps.
The OZG-RE does not currently issue automated email notifications about changes to the status of your submitted e-invoices.
If you send your invoices via Peppol, you must register with the OZG-RE in order to view the status of submitted e-invoices. Registration and use of the ZRE are free of charge for invoice issuers.
To send test invoices to the OZG-RE reference environment, please use the following IDs:
Peppol receiver ID = 0204:99661-WEBSERVICEOZG-28
Buyer reference = 99661-WEBSERVICEOZG-28
If you are already in contact with an invoice recipient, and you wish to test with them directly, you can also use their buyer reference.
Once transmission to the OZG-RE reference environment via Peppol is working, you may also send productive invoices. Please note that you also need to enter your Peppol Sender ID in User Administration in your account in the OZG-RE productive environment. The following should be noted for sending invoices via the ZRE productive environment:
Peppol receiver ID = 0204:Leitweg-ID Ihres Kunden
Buyer reference = teilt Ihnen Ihr Kunde mit.
As an additional transmission channel, the OZG-RE provides the option of sending invoices from the originating software through a web service and transmission via the Peppol network. The submission of e-invoices via Peppol is essentially possible in three different ways:
- Use of the web service via the Federal Government’s Peppol (free).
- Use of an existing Peppol service provider (chargeable).
- Fee-based membership with OpenPEPPOL and the establishment of your own Peppol Access Point
In principle, no registration with the OZG-RE is needed to transmit electronic invoices via the Peppol web service. However, the processing status of invoices submitted via the Peppolweb service can only be viewed if the “Web-based data entry and Peppol” transmission channel is enabled after successful registration and if the PeppolSender ID used by the sender has been entered.
Indirect Federal Administration institutions (and cooperating states) are connected to the OZG-RE. See the following document for an overview of the public contracting authorities connected to the OZG-RE:
A support service is available to answer your questions about using the OZG-RE or if you are having issues.
It can be reached by email or by telephone:
Support and service for invoice recipients (authorised users):
(Mon – Fri 07:00 AM – 06:00 PM)
Support and service for invoice recipients:
(Mon – Fri 08:00 AM – 04:00 PM)
If the company does not have software for viewing locally saved invoices in XML format, a solution can be purchased on the market or developed in house. No solutions can be recommended here.
There are no time restrictions on the creation or submission of invoices via the OZG-RE. Maintenance work may result in a short period of unavailability at times however. Upcoming maintenance work will be announced in advance via a pop-up window.
Yes, it is possible to save a local copy of sent invoices. A manual Download option is available in the “Processing status of submitted XRechnung invoices” section.
Note: The platform does not provide any audit-proof archive for invoice issuers. The generated e-invoice must be archived in XML format by the supplier or invoice issuer.
No. Invoices submitted via the OZG-RE cannot be recalled.
Users can track the current status of their invoice in the log view. If you have submitted an incorrect invoice by mistake, please contact the invoice recipient.
You can track the status of the submitted invoice. To do so, select “View status of submitted invoices” in the Home section.
Depending on the processing status, an invoice can have the following status types: new, delivered, received and rejected.
In this section, you can also continue with a manual invoice entry previously started via web-based data entry.
When using the platforms, there are five submission channels available to invoice senders for invoices:
- Web-based data entry (available)
- Uploading (available)
- Email (available)
- De-Mail (coming soon)
- Web service via Peppol (available)
For more information about the submission channels, see the OZG-RE technical terms of use.
For each invoice provided via the OZG-RE, the invoice recipient must cover the cost. The amount of this payment is specified in the administrative agreement to be signed.
To ensure that an e-invoice can be forwarded by the OZG-RE to the intended invoice recipient, it is mandatory for the invoice issuer to provide a so-called buyer reference to uniquely identify the invoice recipient.
A user account can only be deleted by an administrator in your company. See your administrator for help with this.
The administrator is also able to delete the company account.
The email address can only be changed by the appropriate administrator (in the user management section). Contact your administrator.
Change password:
After logging in, navigate to “Personal Settings” via the person icon. You can change your password in this section.
Reset password:
You can reset your password using the “Forgot password?” function on the OZG-RE homepage by entering your email address. You will receive a link by email which you can use to specify a new password.
To register a company account for the first time, at least the following data must be entered:
Company data:
- Business name
- Language
- VAT identifier
- Tax registration number
User data:
- First name
- Last name
- Language
- Password
At the same time, the terms of use and Privacy Policy must be accepted.
Download the OZG-RE privacy notice
If your company is already registered for the OZG-RE and only a new user needs to be created by the administrator, the following information must be provided:
- First name
- Last name
Both registration and use of OZG-RE are free of charge for invoice issuers.
Please note that costs may be incurred by the user while using the OZG-RE platform, in particular for the provision, connection and operation of necessary software and hardware as well as for Internet use, which will not be reimbursed by the responsible parties (publisher and technical service provider) of the OZG-RE.
Yes! In order to be able to transmit invoices via OZG-RE, it is necessary to set up a company account.
On the OZG-RE homepage you have the option of creating a company account. Use the ‘Register’ function to access the corresponding form. Enter the required mandatory data and confirm the terms of use and Privacy Policy. You will receive an activation link by email, which you must confirm. The registration is now complete.
If your company is already registered for the OZG-RE, please contact the responsible administrator. The responsible administrator can add more users to the company account.
The OZG-RE assumes the following three tasks for the transmission of e-invoices:
- The receipt of e-invoices via various transmission channels.
- The technical verification of e-invoices (including invoice size, number and type of attachments, virus check, entry of all mandatory information)
- The transmission of e-invoices to the respective invoice recipient via buyer reference.
The following federal invoice receipt platforms must be used to submit electronic invoices:
- You can submit invoices to direct Federal Administration institutions and Federal Government constitutional bodies via the ZRE.
- You can submit invoices to institutions associated with the indirect Federal Administration, affiliated beneficiaries and cooperating federal states via the OZG-RE.
You will receive information on which invoice receipt platform to use via the underlying order or directly from the invoice recipient.
The ZRE and the OZG-RE are functionally similar for invoice issuers and for invoice recipients. However, the group of affiliated invoice recipients is different.
The ZRE is the mandatory central invoice receipt platform for the institutions of the direct Federal Administration. The OZG-RE, on the other hand, is an optional service offered by the Federal Government; it forwards invoices to affiliated institutions of the indirect Federal Administration, affiliated beneficiaries and cooperating federal states.
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