Shopify Invoices in Germany: Requirements, E-Invoicing & Accounting

This article is for you if you want to create Shopify invoices in your store and are wondering what is mandatory in Germany, which tool fits and how to get the numbers cleanly into your accounting. You get the required invoice details as a table, a tool comparison, the e-invoicing timeline and the rules on record retention. You will find the overall legal framework in the overview legal and tax for Shopify stores.

Do you have to issue invoices at all?

The German VAT Act distinguishes by customer. Under § 14 (2) UStG (German), you are generally only entitled to issue an invoice. You are obliged to do so within six months of delivery if you sell to another business for its business or to a legal entity. For normal sales of goods to private customers, there is no invoicing obligation.

In practice, you still send every customer an invoice. Customers expect one for warranty and returns, business customers also buy in B2C stores, and a consistent invoice per order makes your accounting easier. For tax purposes, the following also applies: every sale needs a record, whether or not an invoice is mandatory.

Required details on the invoice

A complete invoice under § 14 (4) UStG contains:

Two simplifications are important for stores. Small-amount invoices (Kleinbetragsrechnungen) up to €250 gross require fewer details: the seller's name and address, the date, quantity and type of goods, the gross amount and tax rate (or a note on a tax exemption). The customer and the invoice number don't have to be on it (§ 33 UStDV (German)). As a small business under the small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung, § 19 UStG), you don't show VAT and include a note on the tax exemption. How to set up Shopify for this is covered in the article setting up taxes in Shopify. If you sell to businesses in other EU countries, the VAT IDs of both parties and a note on the tax-exempt intra-Community supply are added.

What Shopify can do on its own

Shopify has no built-in invoicing module for Germany, but it has three built-in tools:

• Print an order summary: according to the Shopify Help Center, you can print a simple summary of each order without an app.
• Shopify Order Printer: an app by Shopify that lets you print invoices, packing slips and pick lists. You customize the templates with HTML, CSS and Liquid.
• Order document templates: Shopify is gradually rolling out document templates for invoices, packing slips and pick lists directly in the admin under "Settings > Shipping and delivery". The feature is in early access and not yet visible in every store.

With these, you can print proper documents. In our assessment, what these print templates don't replace: your own invoice number range, a tamper-proof archive, automatic correction invoices for refunds and e-invoice formats. For a few orders a month that is enough. As soon as orders come in regularly, a proper invoicing tool is worth it.

You also edit the packing slip through these templates with Liquid code. If you want your company logo, a returns note or a thank-you card in the parcel, you will find ideas in the article branding with packaging, invoice and inserts.

Shopify invoices: apps and accounting tools compared

There are two ways: an invoicing app directly in Shopify, or a connection to your accounting software that creates the invoices there. Prices according to the App Store listing, as of October 2026, billed in USD:

Which solution fits depends mainly on who does your bookkeeping. If your tax advisor works with DATEV, ask them beforehand in what form they want invoices and payment data. That saves duplicate work later.

E-invoicing: what applies from 2025, 2027 and 2028

An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured electronic format that can be processed by machine, such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. A normal PDF is not an e-invoice. According to the DIHK (German), the following applies to invoices between domestic businesses:

Small-amount invoices up to €250 and invoices from small businesses under § 19 UStG are exempt. Sales to private customers are not affected. So for a typical B2C store, little changes. But if you regularly sell to businesses, for example via Shopify B2B or to resellers, you will need a tool that generates e-invoices by 2027 or 2028 at the latest. A proposal to postpone the obligation for larger businesses to 2028 has not been adopted so far.

Cancellations, refunds, partial returns

You never change or delete an invoice once it has been issued. If you cancel an order or refund it fully or partially, you create a correction or cancellation invoice that refers to the original invoice. Good invoicing tools do this automatically as soon as you trigger a refund in Shopify. Watch your terminology when dealing with customers: under German VAT law, "Gutschrift" (credit note) actually means a self-billed invoice issued by the buyer. Many tools still call their correction documents that. How to cancel and refund orders in Shopify is explained in the article editing orders in Shopify.

Accounting: payouts, fees, customer accounts

The most common source of errors is not the invoice but the payout. Shopify Payments doesn't transfer your revenue to you, but your revenue minus fees and refunds, bundled over several days. If you only book the incoming payment, neither revenue nor costs are correct. The right way:

1. Book each invoice as revenue (gross, with VAT).
2. Book the fees from Shopify Payments, PayPal and Klarna separately as costs. You will find the breakdown per payout in the admin under payouts.
3. Reconcile the payout in your bank account with the individual orders.

Why payouts are sometimes delayed or bundled is explained in the article Shopify payouts. Your expenses also belong in your accounting: Shopify subscription, apps, theme, domain, advertising and purchasing of goods. You will find the invoices for your subscription and apps in the Shopify admin under billing. Download them monthly.

Collective customer account or individual customer number?

With many private customers making one-off purchases, tax advisors often work with a collective customer account (Sammeldebitor) or with collective accounts per payment method. Business customers paying by invoice are more likely to get their own customer account (Debitorenkonto) so that open items remain traceable. Whether your Shopify customer number should also serve as the customer account number depends on your accounting software and your tax advisor. This is a matter of agreement, not a legal requirement.

Receipts for in-store sales

If you also sell in person, separate rules apply to cash register receipts. More on this in the article Shopify POS and multichannel.

Record retention and GoBD

Invoices are accounting records. Under § 147 (3) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) (German), they are now subject to a retention period of eight years. You keep books, records and annual financial statements for ten years. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the record was created.

The GoBD (German principles for the proper keeping of books and records in electronic form) also require your records to be archived completely, unalterably and readable at any time. For your store, this means:

• Keep digital invoices digitally, and e-invoices in their original format (e.g. the XML file), not just as a printout.
• Don't store them only in Shopify or in an app you will cancel at some point. Export regularly or use accounting software with an archive.
• Create a short process documentation: which tool creates the invoice, where it ends up, who books it.

FAQ

Can Shopify automatically send invoices to customers?

Not with the built-in tools alone. Shopify sends order and shipping confirmations, and with Shopify Order Printer or the new document templates you can print invoices. For automatically created invoices as a PDF attachment or a download link, you need an app such as Sufio or a connection to Lexware Office or sevdesk that generates and sends the invoice for every order.

Can I use the Shopify order number as the invoice number?

In principle, yes. The invoice number must be unique and sequential, and the order number usually meets this. Problems arise with cancellations, drafts and multiple stores, because numbers then occur twice or correction documents are missing. Your own number range in the invoicing tool is therefore the cleaner solution. Agree the numbering logic with your tax advisor.

Do I have to issue e-invoices as a small business (Kleinunternehmer)?

No. Small businesses under § 19 UStG are exempt from the obligation to issue e-invoices. You still have to be able to receive them if suppliers send them to you. An email inbox is sufficient for that. Keep received e-invoices in their original format, not just as a printed PDF.

How do I get receipts for sales without using Shopify POS?

For online orders, you create the record via an invoicing app or your accounting software. Every order automatically gets an invoice that you send to the customer and archive. You only need Shopify POS for in-person sales. For your accounting, you also export the order and payout reports from the Shopify admin.

Do I need accounting software or is a tax advisor enough?

Either works. With few orders and the small business rule, an invoicing app plus a tidy filing system that you hand over to your tax advisor is often enough. With standard VAT taxation, many orders or several payment methods, accounting software with a Shopify connection saves a lot of reconciliation work. What matters is that revenue, fees and payouts are booked separately and traceably.

How do I customize the packing slip in Shopify?

You customize packing slips through templates with Liquid code, either in Shopify Order Printer or, if already available in your store, via the new document templates under "Settings > Shipping and delivery". There you change the logo, text and displayed fields. For larger changes, Shopify recommends basic knowledge of HTML and Liquid or help from a developer.

Last updated: October 2026. App prices according to the Shopify App Store, as of October 2026. This article is not legal or tax advice. Clarify number ranges, chart of accounts and e-invoicing with your tax advisor.