Overview

BillingEngine produces ZUGFeRD and XRechnung invoices compliant with EN 16931 and supports tax validation. Accepted quotes can be turned into invoices, while reminders cover several dunning levels. Together, those features suit businesses managing a steady billing cycle, especially when structured German e-invoices are a requirement.

Every plan includes an unlimited email inbox for incoming e-invoices, a useful distinction for businesses whose incoming volume exceeds their outgoing-document allowance. Receipt recognition extracts the amount, date, tax rate and supplier, then matches the receipt to an expense. Exports in DATEV, CSV, XLS, XML and PDF are included on every plan, and the pricing page also lists a REST API for customers, invoices and payments.

BillingEngine says data is encrypted in transit, held on servers in Germany and archived in a GoBD-compliant way. For AI receipt recognition, it says the document is sent encrypted to OpenAI, is not used to train AI models, and remains on its Frankfurt server. Priority email support is included as a plan feature, with requests often answered the same business day.

Key features

Structured invoicing and follow-up

ZUGFeRD and XRechnung support gives BillingEngine a clear use case for businesses working with German e-invoices. Quote conversion avoids re-entering accepted work as an invoice, and multi-level reminders help manage overdue payments. The value is practical rather than expansive: the product’s described strengths center on day-to-day invoicing and related records.

Receipt capture and data handoff

Automated extraction of four receipt fields and expense matching can reduce manual entry, while five export formats give users options for accounting handoff and record keeping. Those capabilities are available across plans, so the choice of tier is driven more by volume and seats than by losing core exports.

Pricing

BillingEngine has a free plan and paid plans starting at €6/mo (annual). The Free plan costs 0.00 EUR per free, is billed monthly, and allows one user, 3 invoices, 3 quotes and 3 receipts per month. Its unlimited incoming e-invoice inbox remains useful, but those low outgoing and receipt caps make it best for very occasional billing or initial use.

Basic costs 6.00 EUR per month, billed plus VAT. It raises each monthly allowance to 30 invoices, 30 quotes and 30 receipts, and permits two users. This is the more workable choice for a small operation with moderate monthly activity; its caps can still be restrictive for busier billing.

Premium costs 12.00 EUR per month, billed plus VAT, and includes unlimited invoices, quotes and receipts for up to five users. It is the sensible tier for businesses that have outgrown Basic’s quotas or need a larger team to share access. All plans retain the unlimited incoming e-invoice inbox and the listed export formats.

Platforms

BillingEngine is a cloud service available on the web and through an API. The API is listed for customers, invoices and payments, alongside DATEV data export.

Who it's for

BillingEngine is best suited to freelancers and small businesses that need German-compliant structured invoices, quotes, reminders and receipt records in one service. The Free plan suits a very light workload; Basic fits moderate activity and a two-person team; Premium is the clearest fit when document volume is unlimited or more than two users need access. Businesses that need more than five seats or capabilities beyond the described invoicing and accounting workflow should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros: ZUGFeRD and XRechnung support compliant with EN 16931, plus tax validation, addresses structured German e-invoicing needs.
Pros: An unlimited incoming e-invoice inbox on every plan is valuable even when outgoing invoices and receipts are capped.
Pros: DATEV, CSV, XLS, XML and PDF exports are included across plans, avoiding a tier upgrade just to hand off records.
Cons: Free is limited to three monthly invoices, quotes and receipts and one user, making it unsuitable for sustained business billing.
Cons: Basic still caps each document type at 30 per month, while Premium tops out at five users.
Cons: Paid pricing is stated as plus VAT, so the displayed monthly charge is not the full tax-inclusive cost.

Alternatives

Consider Billit if you want a free Peppol e-invoice option or a service spanning Android, iOS, web and API; its Free License is limited in functionality and to sales invoices, while the supplied paid-plan price is 690.00 EUR per mont.

B2Brouter may suit users who can work within a free allowance of 10 contacts, 24 transactions a year and one user, with API and web access. PeppolSoft is another free option, with a Buyer plan for receiving through its web portal and app, and ERP integration available upon request and subject to budget approval.

Arratech Peppol-as-a-Service is an alternative for buyers considering a paid service with a free trial. ONESOURCE Pagero is a free-plan alternative from Thomson Reuters, whose work includes compliance, tax and legal solutions.

phase4 is a free, open-source library for teams able to integrate it manually; it supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web and self-hosted environments. Tradeshift offers a free tier for up to 30 invoices per quarter, with its first 30 invoices free in every tier. Peppox may fit businesses seeking a paid plan with 1,000 invoices per month included for 29.00 EUR per month, then 0.89 EUR per invoice.

Browse Electronic Invoicing Software or Invoicing software for more options.

Verdict

BillingEngine is a strong fit for freelancers and small businesses that need compliant German e-invoices alongside quotes, reminders, receipt capture and broad export options. The unlimited incoming-invoice inbox and exports across all tiers strengthen the package, but the free and Basic caps are firm and Premium allows only five users. Choose it when that workflow and team size match; look elsewhere if your document volume, seat count or requirements exceed those boundaries.

	BillingEngine	zBilling.net
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	€6/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	No

BillingEngine vs zBilling.net

BillingEngine

zBilling.net