Which profile should I choose?

EN 16931, the default, follows the European standard that e-invoicing rules like the German and French ones build on. Choose XRECHNUNG for invoices to German public authorities, EXTENDED when your invoices need more detail than the standard allows, and BASIC for simple invoices.

Where does the PDF come from?

From your billing as it is today: send the URL of the invoice PDF you already make. If you build invoices from HTML, create the PDF with the HTML to PDF API first and pass its URL on. In Zapier and n8n you can map the file from an earlier step.

What happens if the invoice breaks a rule?

You get no e-invoice back. The job fails with a 422 and lists every violation with its rule, like BR-CO-16, so you can fix the data and send it again. Nothing invalid leaves the API.

Can I send my own invoice XML?

Yes. Pass a ready ZUGFeRD, Factur-X or XRechnung XML as xml instead of the invoice data, and it is embedded and checked the same way, in the profile it declares. A PDF that already is an e-invoice gets its XML replaced.

Its pages, links and form fields stay as they are. The file is saved as PDF/A-3, the archive format e-invoices use, so a PDF whose fonts aren't embedded can't become one. The download URL stays valid for 60 minutes.

POST /api/pdf/einvoice/create

ZUGFeRD & XRechnung API

Send your PDF invoice and its data, get a ZUGFeRD / Factur-X e-invoice back — totals calculated and checked against its profile, XRechnung included.

Get your free API key Read the docs

Free plan
No credit card

Request

curl -X POST https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
  -d file="FILE_URL" \
  -d invoice[number]="RE-2026-0042" \
  -d invoice[issue_date]="2026-11-11" \
  -d invoice[due_date]="2026-11-25" \
  -d invoice[currency]="EUR" \
  -d invoice[seller][name]="Acme GmbH" \
  -d invoice[seller][vat_id]="DE123456789" \
  -d invoice[seller][address][line1]="Hauptstraße 1" \
  -d invoice[seller][address][city]="Berlin" \
  -d invoice[seller][address][postcode]="10115" \
  -d invoice[seller][address][country]="DE" \
  -d invoice[buyer][name]="Contoso AG" \
  -d invoice[buyer][address][line1]="Am Markt 5" \
  -d invoice[buyer][address][city]="Hamburg" \
  -d invoice[buyer][address][postcode]="20095" \
  -d invoice[buyer][address][country]="DE" \
  -d invoice[payment][iban]="DE02120300000000202051" \
  -d invoice[lines][0][name]="Consulting" \
  -d invoice[lines][0][quantity]="8" \
  -d invoice[lines][0][unit]="HUR" \
  -d invoice[lines][0][unit_price]="120" \
  -d invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]="19" \
  -d invoice[charges][0][amount]="4.95" \
  -d invoice[charges][0][reason]="Shipping" \
  -d invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]="19"

const data = new FormData();
data.append('file', 'FILE_URL');
data.append('invoice[number]', 'RE-2026-0042');
data.append('invoice[issue_date]', '2026-11-11');
data.append('invoice[due_date]', '2026-11-25');
data.append('invoice[currency]', 'EUR');
data.append('invoice[seller][name]', 'Acme GmbH');
data.append('invoice[seller][vat_id]', 'DE123456789');
data.append('invoice[seller][address][line1]', 'Hauptstraße 1');
data.append('invoice[seller][address][city]', 'Berlin');
data.append('invoice[seller][address][postcode]', '10115');
data.append('invoice[seller][address][country]', 'DE');
data.append('invoice[buyer][name]', 'Contoso AG');
data.append('invoice[buyer][address][line1]', 'Am Markt 5');
data.append('invoice[buyer][address][city]', 'Hamburg');
data.append('invoice[buyer][address][postcode]', '20095');
data.append('invoice[buyer][address][country]', 'DE');
data.append('invoice[payment][iban]', 'DE02120300000000202051');
data.append('invoice[lines][0][name]', 'Consulting');
data.append('invoice[lines][0][quantity]', '8');
data.append('invoice[lines][0][unit]', 'HUR');
data.append('invoice[lines][0][unit_price]', '120');
data.append('invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]', '19');
data.append('invoice[charges][0][amount]', '4.95');
data.append('invoice[charges][0][reason]', 'Shipping');
data.append('invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]', '19');

fetch('https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create', {
    headers: {'Authorization': 'Bearer TOKEN'},
    method: 'POST',
    body: data
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(json => console.log(json));

use GuzzleHttp\Client;

$client = new Client();
$response = $client->post(
    'https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create', [
    'headers' => [
        'Authorization' => 'Bearer TOKEN'
    ],
    'form_params' => [
        'file' => 'FILE_URL',
        'invoice[number]' => 'RE-2026-0042',
        'invoice[issue_date]' => '2026-11-11',
        'invoice[due_date]' => '2026-11-25',
        'invoice[currency]' => 'EUR',
        'invoice[seller][name]' => 'Acme GmbH',
        'invoice[seller][vat_id]' => 'DE123456789',
        'invoice[seller][address][line1]' => 'Hauptstraße 1',
        'invoice[seller][address][city]' => 'Berlin',
        'invoice[seller][address][postcode]' => '10115',
        'invoice[seller][address][country]' => 'DE',
        'invoice[buyer][name]' => 'Contoso AG',
        'invoice[buyer][address][line1]' => 'Am Markt 5',
        'invoice[buyer][address][city]' => 'Hamburg',
        'invoice[buyer][address][postcode]' => '20095',
        'invoice[buyer][address][country]' => 'DE',
        'invoice[payment][iban]' => 'DE02120300000000202051',
        'invoice[lines][0][name]' => 'Consulting',
        'invoice[lines][0][quantity]' => '8',
        'invoice[lines][0][unit]' => 'HUR',
        'invoice[lines][0][unit_price]' => '120',
        'invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]' => '19',
        'invoice[charges][0][amount]' => '4.95',
        'invoice[charges][0][reason]' => 'Shipping',
        'invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]' => '19'
    ]
]);

$body = $response->getBody();
echo json_encode($body->getContents());

require 'rest-client'

response = RestClient.post(
  'https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create',
  {
    'file' => 'FILE_URL',
    'invoice[number]' => 'RE-2026-0042',
    'invoice[issue_date]' => '2026-11-11',
    'invoice[due_date]' => '2026-11-25',
    'invoice[currency]' => 'EUR',
    'invoice[seller][name]' => 'Acme GmbH',
    'invoice[seller][vat_id]' => 'DE123456789',
    'invoice[seller][address][line1]' => 'Hauptstraße 1',
    'invoice[seller][address][city]' => 'Berlin',
    'invoice[seller][address][postcode]' => '10115',
    'invoice[seller][address][country]' => 'DE',
    'invoice[buyer][name]' => 'Contoso AG',
    'invoice[buyer][address][line1]' => 'Am Markt 5',
    'invoice[buyer][address][city]' => 'Hamburg',
    'invoice[buyer][address][postcode]' => '20095',
    'invoice[buyer][address][country]' => 'DE',
    'invoice[payment][iban]' => 'DE02120300000000202051',
    'invoice[lines][0][name]' => 'Consulting',
    'invoice[lines][0][quantity]' => '8',
    'invoice[lines][0][unit]' => 'HUR',
    'invoice[lines][0][unit_price]' => '120',
    'invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]' => '19',
    'invoice[charges][0][amount]' => '4.95',
    'invoice[charges][0][reason]' => 'Shipping',
    'invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]' => '19'
  },
  {
    Authorization: "Bearer TOKEN"
  }
)

puts response.body

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create',
    headers = {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer TOKEN'
    },
    data = {
        'file': 'FILE_URL',
        'invoice[number]': 'RE-2026-0042',
        'invoice[issue_date]': '2026-11-11',
        'invoice[due_date]': '2026-11-25',
        'invoice[currency]': 'EUR',
        'invoice[seller][name]': 'Acme GmbH',
        'invoice[seller][vat_id]': 'DE123456789',
        'invoice[seller][address][line1]': 'Hauptstraße 1',
        'invoice[seller][address][city]': 'Berlin',
        'invoice[seller][address][postcode]': '10115',
        'invoice[seller][address][country]': 'DE',
        'invoice[buyer][name]': 'Contoso AG',
        'invoice[buyer][address][line1]': 'Am Markt 5',
        'invoice[buyer][address][city]': 'Hamburg',
        'invoice[buyer][address][postcode]': '20095',
        'invoice[buyer][address][country]': 'DE',
        'invoice[payment][iban]': 'DE02120300000000202051',
        'invoice[lines][0][name]': 'Consulting',
        'invoice[lines][0][quantity]': '8',
        'invoice[lines][0][unit]': 'HUR',
        'invoice[lines][0][unit_price]': '120',
        'invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]': '19',
        'invoice[charges][0][amount]': '4.95',
        'invoice[charges][0][reason]': 'Shipping',
        'invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]': '19'
    }
)

print(response.text)

import (
  "fmt"
  "github.com/go-resty/resty/v2"
)

func main() {
  client := resty.New()
  data := map[string]string{
    "file": "FILE_URL",
    "invoice[number]": "RE-2026-0042",
    "invoice[issue_date]": "2026-11-11",
    "invoice[due_date]": "2026-11-25",
    "invoice[currency]": "EUR",
    "invoice[seller][name]": "Acme GmbH",
    "invoice[seller][vat_id]": "DE123456789",
    "invoice[seller][address][line1]": "Hauptstraße 1",
    "invoice[seller][address][city]": "Berlin",
    "invoice[seller][address][postcode]": "10115",
    "invoice[seller][address][country]": "DE",
    "invoice[buyer][name]": "Contoso AG",
    "invoice[buyer][address][line1]": "Am Markt 5",
    "invoice[buyer][address][city]": "Hamburg",
    "invoice[buyer][address][postcode]": "20095",
    "invoice[buyer][address][country]": "DE",
    "invoice[payment][iban]": "DE02120300000000202051",
    "invoice[lines][0][name]": "Consulting",
    "invoice[lines][0][quantity]": "8",
    "invoice[lines][0][unit]": "HUR",
    "invoice[lines][0][unit_price]": "120",
    "invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]": "19",
    "invoice[charges][0][amount]": "4.95",
    "invoice[charges][0][reason]": "Shipping",
    "invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]": "19"
  }

  resp, _ := client.R().
    SetFormData(data).
    SetHeader("Authorization", "Bearer TOKEN").
    Post("https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create")

  fmt.Println(resp.String())
}

import okhttp3.*;

class Pdf {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
    FormBody formBody = new FormBody.Builder()
      .add("file", "FILE_URL")
      .add("invoice[number]", "RE-2026-0042")
      .add("invoice[issue_date]", "2026-11-11")
      .add("invoice[due_date]", "2026-11-25")
      .add("invoice[currency]", "EUR")
      .add("invoice[seller][name]", "Acme GmbH")
      .add("invoice[seller][vat_id]", "DE123456789")
      .add("invoice[seller][address][line1]", "Hauptstraße 1")
      .add("invoice[seller][address][city]", "Berlin")
      .add("invoice[seller][address][postcode]", "10115")
      .add("invoice[seller][address][country]", "DE")
      .add("invoice[buyer][name]", "Contoso AG")
      .add("invoice[buyer][address][line1]", "Am Markt 5")
      .add("invoice[buyer][address][city]", "Hamburg")
      .add("invoice[buyer][address][postcode]", "20095")
      .add("invoice[buyer][address][country]", "DE")
      .add("invoice[payment][iban]", "DE02120300000000202051")
      .add("invoice[lines][0][name]", "Consulting")
      .add("invoice[lines][0][quantity]", "8")
      .add("invoice[lines][0][unit]", "HUR")
      .add("invoice[lines][0][unit_price]", "120")
      .add("invoice[lines][0][vat_rate]", "19")
      .add("invoice[charges][0][amount]", "4.95")
      .add("invoice[charges][0][reason]", "Shipping")
      .add("invoice[charges][0][vat_rate]", "19")
      .build();

    Request request = new Request.Builder()
      .url("https://apdf.io/api/pdf/einvoice/create")
      .addHeader("Authorization", "Bearer TOKEN")
      .post(formBody)
      .build();

    Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();
    System.out.println(response.body().string());
  }
}

Your invoice.
Now machine-readable.

The invoice looks exactly as before, pages and links included.
Its data travels inside as XML that accounting software reads.

invoice-RE-2026-0042.pdf EN 16931 · PDF/A-3

Acme GmbH

Hauptstraße 1, 10115 Berlin

factur-x.xml

Invoice RE-2026-0042 1

Consulting · 8 × 120.00 2960.00

Shipping4.95

Net964.95

VAT 19 % 3183.34

Amount due 41,148.29 EUR

factur-x.xml

1 <ram:ID>RE-2026-0042</ram:ID>

<ram:Name>Acme GmbH</ram:Name>

2 <ram:Name>Consulting</ram:Name>

<ram:BilledQuantity unitCode="HUR">8</ram:BilledQuantity>

3 <ram:CalculatedAmount>183.34</ram:CalculatedAmount>

4 <ram:DuePayableAmount>1148.29</ram:DuePayableAmount>

One file: people read the page, accounting software reads the XML, and both say the same.

The profiles you can create

BASIC: Lines and totals, for simple invoices
EN 16931: The European standard, the default
EXTENDED: The standard with room for more detail
XRECHNUNG: For German public authorities

Line amounts, the VAT breakdown and the totals are calculated from your lines, discounts and charges.

Invoices that book themselves.

Keep the invoice PDF your customers know, and add the data their accounting reads without typing.

Keep your invoice layout

Turn the PDF your billing already makes into an e-invoice, with its branding, pages and links kept.

Invoices to authorities

Send XRechnung invoices to German public authorities, with the Leitweg-ID as the buyer reference.

Credit notes and corrections

Issue credit notes and corrected invoices that point back to the invoices they refer to.

Every way to get paid

State a bank transfer, SEPA direct debit, card or online payment, with discounts and charges.

E-invoices from anywhere.

Turn invoices into e-invoices right where they are made.
One account and one monthly allowance behind every route.

Your code

One authenticated POST from any language. Copy-paste samples in cURL, Node.js, Python and more.

POST /api/pdf/einvoice/create

Open the endpoint docs

Zapier

Pick the action in any Zap and map files from earlier steps. No code and no servers to run.

Create E-Invoice

Use it in Zapier

n8n

Add the Apdf node to any workflow, on n8n Cloud or self-hosted, and chain it with your automation.

Create electronic invoice

Use it in n8n

AI agents

Let Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or your own agent run it through the MCP server, on any paid plan.

create-e-invoice

See what agents can do

1,000 e-invoices
a month. Free.

Start on the free plan and move up only when your volume does — up to 1,000,000 operations a month on Business.

One call is one operation, however many pages.
Only calls that do the work are counted.
Hard limits, so no surprise overage charges.

Compare the plans

Plan PDF operations / month

Hobby Free

$0 / month

1,000

Pro

$39–$99 / month

20,000 – 60,000

Business

$149–$899 / month

100,000 – 1,000,000

Creating e-invoices, answered

Pairs well with

Validate e-invoice · ZUGFeRD and XRechnung rules

POST /api/pdf/einvoice/validate

Read e-invoice · Invoice data as JSON

POST /api/pdf/einvoice/read

Generate · HTML → PDF

POST /api/pdf/file/create

Merge · Many into one

POST /api/pdf/file/merge

Invoice tutorials

Create PDF Invoice Python

Build an Automated Invoice Generator using HTML & Python

The tutorial explains how to build a Python invoice generator by using Jinja2 to merge data into standard HTML/CSS templates. Instead of manually coding complex PDF layouts, the script sends the rendered HTML to the Apdf API, which instantly converts it into a professional, downloadable PDF.

After the API call

Your code made the PDF.
Then it went dark.

Opened, read, signed or ignored — you never see any of it. Send the PDFs you generate as personal links, and every open, page read, comment and signature comes back to your software as a webhook. Need it signed? Same link. Same account, same API key, one more call.

Send and track it Get it signed

Your PDF, after sending Live

document:loaded Acme · CFO

page:read p4 · 38s

signature:signed 11:48

API · Webhook · MCP

Send invoices
that book themselves.

Start free See pricing