What is the process documentation (Verfahrensdokumentation)?

A written description of how invoices are created, checked, posted and archived. The GoBD require it so an auditor can follow the process. It itself must be kept for 10 years.

Glossary · Updated June 2026

GoBD and e-invoices: audit-proof archiving

Q: Can I print an e-invoice and file it on paper?

No, that does not satisfy the GoBD. An e-invoice must be kept in its original, structured format, digitally and audit-proof. The printout is only a view, not the original that has to be retained.

Q: How long do I have to keep e-invoices?

Since the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act, accounting documents, which include invoices, must be kept for 8 years instead of the former 10, effective 1.1.2025. Annual financial statements, inventories and the process documentation stay at 10 years, pure business correspondence at 6 years.

Q: What does immutability mean?

An archived e-invoice must not be changeable unnoticed afterwards. The archive system has to keep the file in its original state and log any changes. This applies to the structured XML, not just a PDF view.

Q: Is Vera an audit-proof archive?

No. Vera produces the e-invoice in the compliant format. Audit-proof archiving over the retention period is the job of your archive or DMS system. The key point is to archive the original XML file, not just a PDF view.

Printing an e-invoice and putting it in a folder is no longer enough. The German GoBD require you to keep the invoice in its original, structured format, digitally and unchangeably. The original that has to be retained is the XML, not the printout.

TL;DR

Archive e-invoices digitally and audit-proof, in the original XML format, not as a printout. Immutability, completeness and machine readability are mandatory. Retention periods: accounting documents including invoices 8 years (since BEG IV, effective 1.1.2025), annual statements and process documentation 10 years, business correspondence 6 years. Vera produces the compliant format; your archive system handles the archiving.

What the GoBD require

The GoBD, the German principles for the proper keeping and retention of books and records in electronic form, govern how tax-relevant documents are handled digitally. For e-invoices that means: keep them complete, correct, timely, ordered and unchangeable, and machine-readable. A filed printout does not meet this, because the structured data is lost.

Retention periods

Document	Period	Note
Invoices (accounting documents)	8 years	since BEG IV, effective 1.1.2025, previously 10 years
Annual statements, inventories	10 years	unchanged
Process documentation	10 years	part of the organisational records
Business correspondence	6 years	pure correspondence without a voucher function

Note: The shortening of the document period to 8 years under the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act applies retroactively to documents whose old 10-year period had not expired by 1.1.2025. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created.

Immutability and original format

Immutability means an archived e-invoice must not be changeable unnoticed. The archive system has to keep the file in its original state and log any change. The decisive point is that the structured original is archived, that is the XML or the hybrid PDF with embedded XML. A separately produced PDF view without the data is not enough.

Where Vera stops and your archive starts

Note: Vera produces the e-invoice in the compliant, original format. Vera is not itself an audit-proof archive system. Retention over the legal period, immutability and the process documentation sit with your archive or DMS system. Always archive the original XML file.

FAQ

Can I print an e-invoice and file it on paper?

No. The e-invoice must be kept in its original, structured format, digitally and audit-proof. The printout is only a view.

How long do I have to keep e-invoices?

Accounting documents including invoices 8 years (since BEG IV, 1.1.2025), annual statements and process documentation 10 years, business correspondence 6 years.

What does immutability mean?

The archived file must not be changeable unnoticed. The system keeps it in its original state and logs changes, applied to the XML.

What is the process documentation?

A written description of how invoices are created, checked, posted and archived. It must be kept for 10 years.

Is Vera an audit-proof archive?

No. Vera produces the compliant format, audit-proof archiving sits with your archive or DMS system. Archive the original XML file.

The compliant original from the browser

Vera produces the e-invoice in the original EN 16931 format, validated before download. Audit-proof retention is handled in your archive system.

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