Z4-Meldung an Bundesbank in D365 for Finance

The Z4-Meldung “Zahlungen im Außenwirtschaftsverkehr (abbreviated “AWV”) is a financial report that German companies must submit to the Deutsche Bundesbank as part of their external sector statistics. Companies are usually required to submit this report on a monthly basis, depending on the volume of transactions.

All German companies that engage in cross-border financial activities (e.g., loans, deposits, securities transactions) with a value above a specific threshold (currently €12500 per transaction) are required to submit this report. The worst part of it: not only transactions with non-EU countries must be reported, but inbound and outbound payments to EU countries as well. This is a nightmare in the tightly integrated EU economy.

Luckily, payments related to trade in goods (such as exports or imports) are not reported in the Z4-Meldung. These transactions are typically covered under other reporting mechanisms, such as the Intrastat for trade within the EU. Instead, the Z4-Meldung focuses on financial transactions unrelated to the direct exchange of goods (e.g., loans, financial investments, and – most importantly – services).

The Z4 report has a simple XML structure following their proprietary “XMW” schema: XMW – Elektronisches Meldewesen im XML-Format. In the regular payment process, in- and outpayments are classified with a transaction type (BELEGART) of “1” or “2”, respectively. In every transaction the foreign country is listed (ISO2), along with the transaction description and the amount in tsd. Euros. The sub-type classifier “KENNZAHL” poses a significant challenge: there are ~1000 codes in total from “A” for airfare through “S” for services till “U” for the use of software. This list from hell is published here in an inconvenient Excel file: “Kennzahlenliste mit Belegarten”.

We are happy to share an Electronic Reporting configuration for the Z4 report in Dynamics 365 for Finance. Only the regular payment transactions (“DIKAPPOSTEN”) are supported, not shares or similar capital investments. To segregate payments by the highly detailed “KENNZAHL“, we suggest using the voucher prefix. For example, you may need to introduce different GL journal names for salary payments and commissions payments, both with distinct voucher number sequences. To avoid mistakes, we recommend separate payment methods, especially for goods and services, with every payment method to be processed in its own AP/AR payment journal.

Setup and use

Download the 3 configurations XMW_Model_Mapping_Format.zip and install them in the following order: XMW Deutsche Bundesbank model -> XMW Mapping -> Z4 (format).
Select the Z4 configuration and open Application specific parameters / Setup. You may Import a rudimentary setup from the ZIP file.
With this setup you match patterns in the voucher of the bank transaction to the “KENNZAHL” codes. In some cases, you may decide to start looking for keywords in the payment description instead. This will require a slight modification of the formula in model/Messages/Message/Transactions/$ClassifierEnum.
Set the status of the application specific parameters to Completed when ready.
Select the Z4 format in the Electronic reporting tree and hit Run.
The Firmennummer is the unique end-to-end ID issued by the Bundesbank at the registration. You may also set the Extranet-ID of the user, if known. The mandatory phone, e-mail and other contact information are extracted from the employee card of the current user (the user who is executing the report i.e. you).
With the Period date you select the reporting period (month). Try to exclude bank transactions with regards to the trade of goods with the filter of Records to include, for example by the voucher number, if possible. Again, try to separate payments of service, commissions etc. with distinct journals = voucher number.
Hit OK and execute the report.

Result

The resulting file may look like this:

				
					<LIEFERUNG-AWZEL xmlns="http://www.bundesbank.de/xmw/2003-01-01" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.bundesbank.de/xmw/2003-01-01/BbkXmwAwzel.xsd" version="1.0" erstellzeit="2024-09-27T08:30:33+02:00" stufe="Produktion" bereich="Statistik" dateireferenz="1">
    <ABSENDER>
        <FIRMENNR>00345678</FIRMENNR>
        <NAME>ER-Consult GmbH</NAME>
        <STRASSE>Franz Lehar-Gasse 18</STRASSE>
        <PLZ>7111</PLZ>
        <ORT>Parndorf</ORT>
        <LAND>AT</LAND>
        <KONTAKT>
            <ANREDE>Miss</ANREDE>
            <VORNAME>Julia</VORNAME>
            <ZUNAME>Funderburk</ZUNAME>
            <ABTEILUNG>Sales & Marketing</ABTEILUNG>
            <TELEFON>425-555-5053</TELEFON>
            <EMAIL>julia@contoso.com</EMAIL>
            <EXTRANET-ID>EXNTESTA</EXTRANET-ID>
        </KONTAKT>
    </ABSENDER>
    <KOMMENTAR>Und ich dachte, ich bleibe unter dem Radar...</KOMMENTAR>
    <MELDUNG erstellzeit="2024-09-27T08:30:34+02:00">
        <MELDEPFLICHTIGER>
            <FIRMENNR>00345678</FIRMENNR>
            <NAME>ER-Consult GmbH</NAME>
            <STRASSE>Franz Lehar-Gasse 18</STRASSE>
            <PLZ>7111</PLZ>
            <ORT>Parndorf</ORT>
            <LAND>AT</LAND>
            <KONTAKT>
                <ANREDE>Miss</ANREDE>
                <VORNAME>Julia</VORNAME>
                <ZUNAME>Funderburk</ZUNAME>
                <ABTEILUNG>Sales & Marketing</ABTEILUNG>
                <TELEFON>425-555-5053</TELEFON>
                <EMAIL>julia@contoso.com</EMAIL>
                <EXTRANET-ID>EXNTESTA</EXTRANET-ID>
            </KONTAKT>
        </MELDEPFLICHTIGER>
        <MELDETERMIN>2024-09</MELDETERMIN>
        <VDR_04>
            <DIKAPPOSTEN belegart="2" kennzahl="523" zahlungszweck="Provision 2024">
                <BETRAG land="CN" landname="China" betragsref="APPM000063">-18</BETRAG>
            </DIKAPPOSTEN>
        </VDR_04>
    </MELDUNG>
</LIEFERUNG-AWZEL>

Electronic reporting blog series

ZUGFeRD 2.2 import for Dynamics 365 for Finance

ZUGFeRD (Zentraler User Guide des Forums elektronische Rechnung Deutschland) is an e-invoicing format combining a human-readable PDF/A-3 and an embedded XML file using the CII (Cross-Industry Invoice) syntax. The CII syntax may also be used in the xRechnung, which is a pure XML version of the German e-Invoice. From 2025, the ability to receive and process electronic invoices becomes mandatory for B2B transactions in Germany.

Microsoft’s current solution in Dynamics 365 for Finance provides support specifically for the UBL (Universal Business Language) format of the xRechnung: Import vendor electronic invoices – Finance | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn. It enables the import of vendor invoices received in this format, mapping them as pending vendor invoices in D365. The invoice may be uploaded directly into the system or placed in a SharePoint folder for unattended processing.

We are happy to announce the release of the CII (Cross-Industry Invoice) dialect of the xRechnung / ZUGFeRD electronic invoice. This solution is implemented via Electronic Reporting (ER) configurations, which means it does not require any customisations and can be easily installed across all active versions of D365. It sits on top of the standard Invoice model v280, Vendor Invoice Mapping to Destination v280.46, side by side with the configuration Vendor Invoice Import v280.7.

The functionality aligns with the standard Microsoft UBL import, utilizing the key data elements for processing and ensuring PO matching:

Header: Invoice ID, Invoice date, Due date, Vendor ID, Currency code, and a header-level note.
Lines: Line number, Item ID, Quantity, Sales unit of measure, Sales price, Discount (percentage discounts are converted to absolute values as the XML schema doesn’t support percentages), Price unit, Name, Description, and Line amount (excluding VAT).

The solution supports the ZUGFeRD 2.2/Factur-X 1.0 profile EN 16931, also known as the “COMFORT” profile (being also a subset of the EXTENDED profile), which meets all tax law requirements and must be accepted by customers unless explicitly denied.

Price

The solution is offered at a fixed fee per end customer / D365 tenant:

Version	Price	Deliverables	Notes
Light	€890	The Vendor invoice import CII Electronic Reporting configuration	This option does not require any X++ customisations or 3rd party software and can be installed and used right away.
Light+	€1200	Same as the Light version but with 5 hours of prepaid support and installation

Your can acquire the solution on the official Microsoft AppSource marketplace: ZUGFeRD CII import (microsoft.com)

Setup and use

Follow the steps outlined in the Microsoft’s guidance Import vendor electronic invoices – Finance | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn:
Import the same three configurations from Microsoft (Prerequisites).
Import the configuration Vendor invoice import CII.xml provided to you.
Open Accounts payable > Setup > Accounts payable parameters; on the Electronic documents tab, select the imported Vendor invoice import CII format.
Prepare the master data: make sure the vendors are stored with proper VAT numbers in Dynamics 365 for Finance.
Make sure that the vendor’s external item ID mapping exists. The Buyer Assigned ID (our item number) potentially sent by the vendor is neglected by the Microsoft’s mapping, and the conversion to the internal Item ID is always handled via the external item IDs. Under these conditions, the import works as expected and the PO lines may be matched.
Make sure that the units of measure are properly mapped to the UNECE Recommendation No. 20 list called “Codes for Units of Measure Used in International Trade”. E.q. the UNECE unit H87 must be mapped to either PCS or EA or STK.
Perform a test upload by using the function Accounts payable > Periodic tasks > Import vendor invoices. Beware: contrary to the UBL format, the CII (“COMFORT”) invoice does not include any line-by-line reference to the purchase order lines. Just the PO number is sent in the header. We assume that the numeration of the invoice lines mostly follows the PO lines numeration. If not, the standard mapping will fall back to the matching by the line purchase price.

Useful links

End user license agreement: ZUGfERD_Import_EULA
You may download sample invoices here: ZUGFeRD 2.3 | Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland (ferd-net.de). To extract an XML attachment suitable for the import, you may use Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.
A rich interactive ZUGFeRD schema navigator is hosted here: EN 16931 – FacturX 1.03 – ZUGFeRD 2.0.1 – COMFORT (gefeg.com)

E-invoice and configurable business documents blog series

Austrian Peppol-UBL e-invoice

Austrian Peppol-UBL e-invoice

…in its version 304.13.25 does not work out of the box in Dynamics 365 for Finance, unfortunately. First and foremost, the public entity’s order number (the Customer requisition at the sales header order or in the project contract funding source details) is a must! As you specify the Customer requisition, a reference to the PO line number reference becomes mandatory, too. Yet this invoice line-level field is either malformed or missing. Moreover, Austria always requires an email address of the supplier (us) which is disabled or not working in all 4 standard ER formats. This can be the default e-mail address of the company in the legal entity settings.

As a good start, I recommend the excellent blog series E-Invoice in D365FO for Norway – Part 1 (Intro) – DynFOTech

The core configuration includes specifying the Endpoint ID of the supplier (ours) under Bank account / Routing number in the legal entity parameters, and providing the conversion of the units of measure into the UN standard, see the blog above. For every unit of measure there must be an own Code ‘axis’ to compensate for the well known design flaw in the external code values cardinality in Dynamics 365 for SCM:

Then, to finally make it work, you have to extend all 4 standard electronic formats from Microsoft and make at least the following changes:

Format changes

Issue/Deficiency	Path	Peppol Sales invoice	Peppol Project Invoice	Peppol Sales Credit Note	Peppol Project Credit Note
Mandatory Seller/ElectronicMail	cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cbc:ElectronicMail must be enabled all the way down, and mapped like this:	IF(Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyContact.ElectronicMail<>"", Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyContact.ElectronicMail, Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.Email)	IF(ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.Contact.ElectronicMail<>"", ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.Contact.ElectronicMail, ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.Email)	IF(Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyContact.ElectronicMail<>"", Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyContact.ElectronicMail, Invoice.InvoiceBase .CompanyInfo.Email)	IF(ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.Contact.ElectronicMail<>"", ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.Contact.ElectronicMail, ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.EMail)
Wrong OrderLineRef.ID, namely taken from ProjTransId = alphanumeric instead of numeric	Every of the five cac:InvoiceLine/cac:OrderLineReference/cbc:LineID must be unique and therefore enumerated. In the the Project Credit note the tags are missing completely and need to be added from scratch (5x)		('$ATLineNumberCollection'.Collect(1) + '$ATLineNumberCollection'.Sum(false))-1		('$ATLineNumberCollection'.Collect(1) + '$ATLineNumberCollection'.Sum(false))-1
Missing PaymentMeans, i.e. our (beneficiary) bank account	cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PayeeFinancialAccount/cbc:ID, schemeID and .../cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch/cbc:ID must be enabled all the way down and mapped		ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.BankAccount.IBAN ProjectInvoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.BankAccount.SWIFT
Missing OrderReference (their PO number)	cac:OrderReference/cbc:ID must be enabled			Invoice.PurchaseOrder
Missing or wrongly formatted line quantity; the sign is properly displayed in Denmark only 🙂	cac:CreditNoteLine/cbc:CreditedQuantity must be enabled			IF(OR(Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.PostalAddress.Country="DK", Invoice.InvoiceBase.CompanyInfo.PostalAddress.Country="AT"), -(@.LineBase.Quantity), @.LineBase.Quantity)	-(@.LineBase.Quantity)
The ActualDeliveryDate ("Leistungsdatum") refers to the date or the corrected invoice. The data is not really known and not properly mapped, here is a stub:	cac:Delivery/cbc:ActualDeliveryDate is completely missing and needs to be added first			Invoice.InvoiceBase. ShipmentDate	ProjectInvoice. InvoiceBase.VATRegisterDate
The root node bears no name, hence the format cannot be assigned a destination	Call the root node "XMLHeader", for example			X	X

With regards to the collection $ATLineNumberCollection for the enumeration of invoice lines, refer to respective blog below.

Useful links

Format erklären – e-Rechnung.gv.at (erechnung.gv.at)

Test-Upload – e-Rechnung.gv.at (erechnung.gv.at)

Yearly Archives: 2024

Z4-Meldung an Bundesbank in D365 for Finance

Z4-Meldung an Bundesbank in D365 for Finance

Setup and use

Result

Electronic reporting blog series

ZUGFeRD 2.2 import for Dynamics 365 for Finance

ZUGFeRD 2.2 import for Dynamics 365 for Finance

Setup and use

Useful links

E-invoice and configurable business documents blog series

Austrian Peppol-UBL e-invoice

Austrian Peppol-UBL e-invoice

Format changes

Useful links

E-invoice and configurable business documents blog series