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Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about docs101 — invoicing, billing, features, and technical support.

Getting Started​

How do I get started with docs101?

Getting started is simple and free:

  1. Visit docs101.com and click Sign Up
  2. Create an account with your email address
  3. Complete your company profile (name, address, tax ID)
  4. Start creating invoices immediately with the Free plan (up to 3 invoices per month)

No credit card is required for the Free plan. Upgrade to the Professional plan anytime for up to 100 invoices per month.

Is there a free plan?

Yes! docs101 offers a Free plan that stays free forever — no catches, no hidden fees, no time limits. It's designed specifically for freelancers who need a reliable solution to write their own invoices. With up to 3 invoices per month, it covers everything a typical freelancer needs. You can create and manage unlimited customers.

The Free plan includes:

  • Up to 3 invoices per month
  • Unlimited customers
  • Unlimited invoice validations
  • Basic integrations (Clockify)
  • Community support

Your usage is always visible on the Dashboard and the Subscription page, including a progress bar and the date when your limit resets.

You're never locked in either: the Export feature lets you export all your data at any time and switch to another provider whenever you want. Compare all plans to see what paid plans offer.

Which countries are supported?

Our goal is to make docs101 the invoicing platform for all of Europe. Today, docs101 generates invoices in ZUGFeRD/Factur-X format (EN 16931-compliant) — and we are actively working on integrating additional national e-invoicing systems to cover every EU country.

Here is where things stand right now:

Fully compliant — docs101 meets all domestic B2B e-invoicing requirements:

  • Germany: ZUGFeRD is an accepted format for the mandatory B2B e-invoicing obligation (phased in 2025–2028)
  • France: Factur-X is an accepted format for the mandatory B2B e-invoicing obligation (phased in 2026–2027)

Works without restrictions — these countries have no B2B e-invoicing mandate, so PDF invoices are fully legal. docs101 exceeds the legal minimum by generating EN 16931-compliant invoices:

  • Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Netherlands, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark

On our roadmap — these countries have mandatory e-invoicing or tax reporting systems that docs101 does not yet integrate with. We are working on expanding support:

  • Italy (SDI), Romania (e-Factura), Poland (KSeF), Belgium, Croatia, Latvia, Spain
  • Greece (myDATA reporting), Hungary (real-time reporting to NAV)

B2G (invoices to government) is not supported. B2G requires dedicated e-invoicing channels (e.g., Peppol) across the entire EU.

Cross-border B2B invoices work everywhere — national e-invoicing mandates end at the country's border, so PDF is legal for intra-community transactions.

For the full details, see the Country Availability & E-Invoicing Requirements guide.

Customers​

Can I import customers from my previous invoicing tool?

Yes! docs101 uses AI-powered import to extract customer data from CSV, Excel (.xlsx), PDF, and PNG files. Unlike traditional tools that require manual column mapping, docs101's AI reads your file and intelligently identifies customer fields — regardless of language, column order, or format. You can even snap a photo of a business card and AI creates the customer for you.

If your previous tool (such as sevdesk, Lexoffice, or similar) offers a customer export as CSV or Excel, you can upload that file directly. To import, go to Customers and click the Import button (upload icon).

See the full guide: Import Customers.

Invoicing​

Can I send invoices in different languages?

Yes! docs101 supports multi-language invoices. The invoice language is determined by the language you set for each customer under Customer → General → Language. All invoice fields (terms, labels, etc.) are automatically generated in the customer's language.

Currently supported languages include English and German.

What invoice formats does docs101 support?

docs101 generates PDF invoices with optional ZUGFeRD/Factur-X compliance:

  • PDF: Standard invoice format for all invoices
  • ZUGFeRD/Factur-X: EU-compliant electronic invoice format with embedded XML data, validated against the EN 16931 standard

All generated invoices can be validated using the built-in PDF Validation Tool. Learn more about ZUGFeRD compliance.

How do I add a discount to my invoice?

docs101 supports line-item discounts:

  1. Add your invoice line items
  2. In the positions table, click the discount icon (tag icon) next to the position
  3. Choose a percentage or fixed amount discount and save
  4. The line total and invoice total update automatically

Discounts appear on the printed/PDF invoice for transparency. See the full guide on Discounts & Exemptions.

Can I customize the invoice layout?

Yes! docs101 offers flexible invoice customization through templates:

  1. Go to Templates in the main navigation
  2. Select an existing template or create a new one
  3. Customize the header, footer, CSS styling, and layout
  4. Use template variables to control which data appears where
  5. Save your template and apply it to new invoices

See the Template Customization Guide for details.

What are early-payment discounts (Skonto)?

Early-payment discounts (Skonto) let you offer customers a reduced invoice amount if they pay before the regular due date. You can configure up to three discount tiers on any "Days after invoice" payment term — for example, 3% off if paid within 7 days, 2% within 14 days, or 1% within 21 days. docs101 automatically calculates the concrete discount amounts and deadlines for each invoice.

See the full guide: Payment Terms > Early-Payment Discounts.

Can I create an invoice for a payment I already received?

Yes! Use the "Already Paid" payment term when creating an invoice. Select the payment method (e.g., Credit Card), choose "Already Paid" as the payment term, and enter the date the payment was received. The invoice is finalized directly as "Paid" and you can send it to your customer as a receipt.

This is useful for SaaS subscriptions paid via Stripe, credit card purchases, or any situation where payment was received before invoicing.

See Payment Terms Guide and Create & Send Invoice for details.

Can I resend an invoice that was already sent or paid?

Yes. You can resend invoices from any status except Draft and Canceled. If a customer did not receive the original email or needs a copy, open the invoice and click "Resend". The invoice status is not affected by resending.

See Create & Send Invoice for details.

Compliance​

Is docs101 ZUGFeRD compliant?

Yes! docs101 fully supports ZUGFeRD/Factur-X electronic invoicing:

  • Invoices include embedded XML data conforming to the ZUGFeRD standard
  • Generated invoices are validated against the EN 16931 standard using KOSiT validation
  • PDF/A compliance is checked automatically

You can also use the free PDF Validation Tool to verify any ZUGFeRD/Factur-X PDF — no account required.

Learn more about ZUGFeRD and how it works.

Do I need ZUGFeRD for my invoices?

It depends on where your business is based and who you invoice:

  • Germany: Since January 2025, all businesses must be able to receive e-invoices. From January 2027, businesses with over EUR 800,000 annual turnover must issue e-invoices. From January 2028, the obligation applies to all businesses. ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are both accepted formats.
  • France: From September 2026, all companies must be able to receive e-invoices; large and medium enterprises must start issuing them. By September 2027, this extends to all businesses including micro-enterprises. Factur-X is an accepted format.
  • Many other EU countries (Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Netherlands, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Scandinavia): No B2B e-invoicing mandate exists. A PDF is legally sufficient — but ZUGFeRD gives your customers the benefit of automated processing.
  • Countries with national mandates (Italy, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Croatia, Latvia, Spain): These require their own national e-invoicing systems (e.g., SDI, KSeF, e-Factura). ZUGFeRD alone is not sufficient there.
  • Cross-border B2B: National e-invoicing mandates end at the border. For intra-community invoices, PDF is legal regardless of the recipient's country.

The EU's ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) initiative will make EN 16931-compliant e-invoicing (the standard behind ZUGFeRD) mandatory for cross-border B2B across all member states, expected around 2030.

Bottom line: docs101 generates ZUGFeRD/Factur-X invoices automatically on every invoice. You are compliant in Germany and France, you exceed requirements in countries without mandates, and you are already using the format that ViDA will require EU-wide.

See the Country Availability guide for the full breakdown.

How does the VAT ID validation work?

docs101 validates EU VAT IDs automatically through the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) service — no manual button needed:

  1. When you open a customer's detail page or select a customer on an invoice, docs101 checks whether a cached VIES result exists
  2. If no valid cache is available, a background VIES query is triggered automatically
  3. Valid results are cached for 30 days, invalid results for 24 hours
  4. If VIES is unavailable, docs101 retries automatically in the background until a response is received
  5. When you finalize an invoice with an invalid VAT ID, you must explicitly confirm that you want to proceed

Learn more about VAT ID Validation and VIES.

Can I finalize an invoice if the VAT ID is invalid?

Yes, but you must explicitly confirm it. When the customer's VAT ID is invalid, the Confirm & Finalize button is disabled until you activate the confirmation checkbox: "I confirm that I want to finalize this invoice despite the invalid VAT ID." This confirmation is logged in the Audit Log for compliance purposes. Note that reverse charge (0% VAT) cannot be applied with an invalid VAT ID — standard VAT rates will apply.

What happens if the VIES service is down?

docs101 handles VIES downtime automatically. When the EU VIES service is temporarily unavailable, a background retry job is created that attempts validation with increasing delays (starting at 1 minute, up to 60 minutes between attempts). The VAT status card shows a "Retry" state with a spinner. Once VIES responds, the status updates automatically — no manual action needed. You can still finalize invoices while the check is pending; an informational note will appear in the finalization checklist.

What is reverse charge and when do I use it?

Reverse Charge is an EU VAT mechanism:

  • What it is: The buyer (not the seller) accounts for the VAT
  • When it applies: B2B transactions between businesses in different EU member states
  • How docs101 handles it: When a customer has a valid EU VAT ID from another country, reverse charge can be applied to the invoice
  • On the invoice: A reverse charge notice appears instead of VAT being charged

Example: You're a freelancer in Germany invoicing a company in France. Their valid French VAT ID qualifies the transaction for reverse charge, so you invoice without VAT.

Learn more about Reverse Charge.

Where can I find and download the Data Processing Agreement (DPA)?

The DPA is part of your service agreement — you agreed to it when you created your account. You can read the full text at docs101.com/dpa. To download a personalized PDF with your company details, go to Settings > Legal and click Generate & Download DPA. You'll need to complete your company details (company name, address, managing director, and email) under Business Settings > Details first. See our DPA guide for details.

Technical​

How is my data stored and secured?

docs101 takes security seriously:

  • Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
  • Authentication: Single sign-on via Keycloak with secure session management
  • Sensitive Data: API keys and credentials are stored encrypted
  • Infrastructure: Hosted in EU data centers
  • GDPR: Fully GDPR compliant

See Account Security for more details.

Can I export my data?

Yes. docs101 provides a Package Export feature:

  1. Go to Exports in the main navigation
  2. Select a date range
  3. The system generates a ZIP file containing:
    • All invoice PDFs from the selected period
    • A general ledger CSV file (accounting data)
    • A customer/vendor list CSV file

This export is designed for handing off to your accountant. See Accounting Export for details.

Which browsers are supported?

docs101 works on all modern browsers:

  • Chrome (latest 2 versions)
  • Firefox (latest 2 versions)
  • Safari (latest 2 versions)
  • Edge (latest 2 versions)

For the best experience, keep your browser updated.

Billing​

How do I upgrade my plan?

Upgrading is quick:

  1. Go to Administration and open the Subscription section
  2. Click Upgrade
  3. Choose your billing cycle: Monthly or Yearly
  4. You're redirected to Stripe's secure checkout
  5. Enter your payment details and confirm

Your new plan is active immediately. Learn more about plans and pricing.

Can I cancel my subscription anytime?

Yes, you can cancel anytime:

  1. Go to Account > Subscription
  2. Click Cancel Subscription
  3. Confirm the cancellation
  4. Your account reverts to the Free plan after your billing period ends
  5. You keep full access until then

Learn more about Subscription & Billing.

What payment methods are accepted?

docs101 uses Stripe for secure payment processing. All common payment methods such as credit card are typically available. The exact options may vary depending on your location.

VAT & Tax Treatments​

Can I use multiple different VAT exemption reasons on a single invoice?

No. The system supports exactly one exemption reason per VAT category code per invoice. All exempt positions on one invoice share the same exemption reason and are grouped into a single breakdown row. This scenario — mixing genuinely different exempt reasons on a single invoice — is extremely rare in practice.

Why can't I select a tax treatment when the "Kleinunternehmer" toggle is active?

The Kleinunternehmerregelung (§ 19 UStG) is a seller-level attribute, not a per-position choice. When the small business exemption is enabled on your company, all positions on all invoices are automatically assigned the "Small business" treatment (0% VAT, category E). The dropdown is locked because mixing small business positions with regular VAT positions on the same invoice is not permitted. To use a different tax treatment, turn off the company-level toggle first.

Can I combine "Not subject to VAT" with other tax treatments on the same invoice?

Yes. "Not subject to VAT" (VAT code O) can be freely combined with any other tax treatment on the same invoice. For example, a software license for a Swiss customer (Out of Scope) and a domestic book delivery (7% VAT) can appear on the same invoice. The breakdown will show separate rows for each. Note: this is not the case for the "Small business" treatment — see above.

My invoice has only one tax rate. Will the VAT Breakdown still appear?

Yes. The breakdown is always generated, even with a single tax rate. It will show one row (e.g., "Net (19% VAT)") with the cumulated amounts. This keeps the display consistent for single-rate and multi-rate invoices.

DATEV Export​

What is the DATEV export?

The DATEV export generates files in the EXTF format that your German tax advisor can import directly into DATEV software. It includes booking entries (Buchungsstapel), customer master data (Debitoren-Stammdaten), and invoice PDFs with metadata. This eliminates manual data entry and reduces errors. See our DATEV Export guide for setup instructions.

Why is the DATEV tab not visible?

The DATEV export tab only appears for companies registered in Germany (country code DE). Check your company settings under Administration to verify your country code is set correctly.

What happens when my export spans multiple years?

DATEV requires all bookings in one file to belong to the same fiscal year. When your date range crosses a year boundary (e.g., December 2024 to January 2025), docs101 automatically splits the export into separate ZIP files --- one per year. You'll see individual download links for each part.

Still Have Questions?​

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