E-Invoicing Obligation 2025: What Law Firms Need to Prepare for Now
March 27, 2025 · 3 min. read
On January 1, 2025, a new legal regulation comes into force that will change the daily operations of many law firms—consciously or unconsciously: the introduction and implementation of electronic invoicing in the B2B sector.
The upcoming changes affect not only large law firms with their own IT departments, but also small and medium-sized firms—regardless of input tax deduction rights.
What is an electronic invoice—and what will no longer be recognized in the future?
According to the new legal requirements, an electronic invoice is not a PDF sent via email, nor not scanned documents. What matters is that the invoice has an electronic structure that can be automatically processed.
This means:
- machine-readable format
- digital transmission
- standardized data structure
From 2027 onwards, the following formats will no longer be considered legally valid invoices:
- simple PDFs without structured data
- scanned paper invoices
- Word documents or image files
Who is affected by the new regulation?
The obligation applies toall companies based in Germanythat provide services to other companies—including law firms, notary offices, and professional partnerships.
Law firms that occasionally enter into contracts with companies or obtain services from commercial providers must also prepare for the new requirements—both forcreatingandprocessinginvoices.
Timeline Overview
? From January 1, 2025
All companies, including law firms, must be able to receive and process electronic invoicesto receive and process.
? Until the end of 2026 – transition period
Invoices may continue to be sent in paper form or as PDF – however,only with the express consent of the recipient.
? From January 1, 2027
Invoices to companies must be mandatorilycreated and transmitted electronically.
Special case:Companies with an annual turnover exceeding€800,000will likely be subjectfrom 2026to the obligation to issue electronic invoices.
What does this mean for daily law firm operations?
Many law firms already work digitally – whether through beA, DATEV export, or cloud-based law firm software. Nevertheless, the introduction of e-invoicing brings new requirements:
- Invoicing:Invoices must be transmitted electronically in a structured format going forward.
- Accounting:Incoming invoices – e.g., from external service providers – must be processed digitally and archived in an audit-proof manner.
- Communication:Collaboration with accounting and tax advisors becomes even more central.
The transition therefore affects not only accounting, but alsolaw firm management, assistants, and administrative processes.
What steps should law firms take now?
Review processes:
How are invoices currently created, sent, received, and processed?
Prepare technical infrastructure:
Is the law firm software ready for structured invoices? Are there interfaces to tax advisors?
Set up invoice address:
A central email address for receiving invoices simplifies organization – e.g.,invoices@lawfirmname.com
Inform staff:
Anyone in the law firm who works with invoices should be familiar with the new requirements – including archiving obligations.
Easy implementation – with a solution tailored to law firms
The good news: Implementation does not require complex IT systems or expensive software solutions. There are now providers that have specifically adapted to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises – and law firms as well.
One example isUriot– a platform that digitizes the entire invoicing process while remaining simple to use.
✔️ Send and receive structured invoices in compliance with legal requirements
✔️ Automatic archiving and forwarding to tax advisors
✔️ No technical expertise required
✔️ GDPR-compliant and easily integrated into daily law firm operations
For many law firms looking for apragmatic solution, this can be a sensible next step.
Conclusion: Get informed now, benefit later
Electronic invoicing is coming – regardless of whether you're ready or not. Those who address the legal requirements and organizational changes now can avoid unnecessary stress while modernizing internal processes.
It's worth creating clarity early on, analyzing your own law firm – and taking initial implementation steps if necessary.
