German law requires businesses to be able to receive e-invoices from other businesses as of January 2025, with full sending requirements phasing in from 2027.
Before You Start: What You'll Need
E-invoicing requirements checklist
Your space:
Complete sender address (Setup » Invoice Settings » Invoice Sender Address)
Tax ID starting with "DE"
Each member:
USt-IdNr (VAT registration number) - a private Steuer-ID won't work
Address entered in the individual address fields (street, city, postal code, country)
Step 1: Add Your Space Details
Go to Setup » Invoice Settings » Invoice Sender Address and make sure your sender address is complete and your Tax ID is filled in. It must start with DE.
Step 2: Collect Member Details
Tax ID
E-invoices need both a seller and a recipient Tax ID, so each member needs their USt-IdNr in their profile. You can verify the correct format at ust-id-prufen.de.
💡 Pro tip: Go to Customize » Features » Sign-up to activate the Tax ID field in your sign-up form - that way new members are prompted to add it when they join.
Full Address
All address fields (street, city, etc.) need to be filled out in order for E-invoices to be generated. Members fill out these fields when signing up.
Generating E-Invoices
Automatically generated invoices
Nothing to do here. Once all required details are in place, Cobot automatically generates invoices in the correct e-invoice format going forward.
Manually generated invoices
Go to Manage » Invoices.
Click the Generate E-Invoice button next to the invoice.
Refresh the page - done.
⚠️ If the Generate E-invoices button is greyed out, a required detail is missing. The most common reasons:
Your space's Tax ID is missing
The member's USt-IdNr is missing
The member's address fields are incomplete
Once generated, the invoice shows an E-Invoice label and the format type (e.g., ZUGFeRD) on the right side of the invoice
What Your Members See
Nothing changes from their perspe
ctive. They'll still receive invoices the same way as before. The only difference is that the attached PDF now contains embedded machine-readable data alongside the visual layout.
Next Step
Generate more revenue via meeting room and desk bookings by non-members.
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