ZUGFeRD eInvoices for Creatio
Thank you for using our “ZUGFeRD eInvoices for Creatio” add-on. In this document, we will explain the basic configuration and usage of the application.
First of all, the add-on will create a new section in Creatio. This section is designed for storing ZUGFeRD eInvoices records and generating PDF/XML files. A sample template and a test record are included in the demo data of installation package. However, the following paragraphs provide a more detailed explanation of configuration and integration options.
Prerequisites
Word to PDF Converter
Our application requires a separate Creatio plugin to convert Word (DOCX) reports into PDF files. This ensures that the defined Word layout is automatically rendered as a PDF, which can then be embedded into the ZUGFeRD eInvoice. For example, you can use the following add-on:
System Settings
Word Report/Printable selection
The following paragraph describes how you can upload your own Word template as an invoice document. However, the installation package already includes a generic example.
Within the system settings, a new option is available: "ZUGFeRD report template". Here, a so-called printable (also known as Word Report) must be specified, which contains the PDF template and defines the visual layout based on your design. Creatio’s standard templating system is used for this purpose.
In the Default Values field, you must select a newly created printable document that is based on the new ZUGFeRD section:
As mentioned before, the ZUGFeRD section is structured similarly to Creatio’s native Invoice section. In addition to attributes and information stored directly within a ZUGFeRD record (or an Invoice record, respectively), there is a subordinate or linked object called "ZUGFeRD Invoice Product", which is derived from the existing standard object "Product in Invoice".
If you need further information on creating Word reports/printables, you can find it in the Creatio Academy.
First ZUGFeRD Document Generation
You are now ready to perform an initial test of the add-on. During installation, a demo record was automatically created for this purpose. This record already meets all necessary requirements and generates a compliant ZUGFeRD PDF, including the embedded XML.
To proceed, open the "Demo record" within the "ZUGFeRD" section.
On the form page, you will find several pre-filled fields typical for a ZUGFeRD invoice. These serve as the basis for generating the document.
To start the document generation, click the "Generate ZUGFeRD" button:
A new file should now be visible in the Attachments area. Download it to your device as usual by clicking on the document name:
Now open the file using a PDF viewer (e.g., Acrobat Reader). Depending on the application you use, the embedded XML may be located in different places:
This completes the basic functionality test. The add-on has been installed correctly and in full.
Next Steps
You can now begin integrating the add-on into your workflows. While it is possible to create ZUGFeRD records manually and generate PDFs as shown above, it is generally recommended to automate the process using business processes.
Automatic Creation of ZUGFeRD Records
As the developers of this add-on, we have deliberately chosen not to include automatic ZUGFeRD record generation directly from Creatio’s native Invoice section. This is due to the wide range of possible configurations within Creatio, making it impossible to define a universal method for creating ZUGFeRD records.
One possible implementation scenario:
Define a specific stage at which an Invoice record should be converted into a ZUGFeRD record. Then, create a business process that is triggered by the stage change to generate the respective ZUGFeRD record.
Alternatively, a simple button in the Invoice section can be used to launch the corresponding business process.
We would fruther recommend using a lookup and a detail to represent the relationship between the ZUGFeRD record and the source record.
However, mapping the fields and product data remains an environment- and project-specific task for the reasons mentioned above. We recommend using the EN16931 (Comfort) specification from the official ZUGFeRD documentation to perform a proper mapping between Invoice and ZUGFeRD eInvoice records.
Automatic PDF Generation
Once ZUGFeRD records have been created - either manually or through automation - they can be converted into a PDF by triggering a process included in the add-on. To do this, simply call the "Generate ZUGFeRD Report Process". This subprocess can also be directly embedded into the workflow that created the ZUGFeRD record initially.
This process requires the ID of the desired ZUGFeRD record as an input parameter. The corresponding PDF document will then be generated for that record and can, for example, be copied to an invoice or embedded into an email.
Error handling/Validation During PDF Generation
While executing the process mentioned above to generate a ZUGFeRD PDF, various validation errors may occur. As part of the generation, several business rules - defined by the ZUGFeRD standard - are checked.
If the stored attributes of a ZUGFeRD record do not meet these rules, the generation will fail with an error.
The corresponding error messages can be found:
Directly on the ZUGFeRD record itself, at the bottom of the page within the Build log area :
Build log showing unmet business rules and their corresponding error messagesAn additional message is shown in the System messages notification center:
Notification center messageIn the Process Log
Process log error messagesUsing the “CreZUGFeRDLog”-Logger output. This log can be found either via CLIO or Telemetry log for Creatio | Creatio Marketplace:
CreZUGFeRDLog
Typically, these error messages refer to specific fields and dependencies. To make troubleshooting easier, the fields in the ZUGFeRD section include tooltips that provide additional guidance:
This helps identify the link between an error message and its root cause — especially useful during the initial development of a process for generating ZUGFeRD records.
A list of all validations and their contexts can be found in the official ZUGFeRD documentation.