ZUGFeRD E-Invoice from an Airtable Base: Build the JSON and Email the Hybrid PDF in Make with PDF4me

PDF4me Create a ZUGFeRD invoice is a Make module that turns structured invoice data into a hybrid PDF/A-3 e-invoice. Pointed at an Airtable base, it reads one row, converts it to EN 16931 XML, returns a file that is both readable and machine-parseable, and puts it back on the record.

Search for e-invoicing software and you get a vendor comparison: platforms, suites, per-document pricing. Search for whether Airtable can make invoices and you get a long thread explaining that it cannot. Between those two results sits a team that already runs on Airtable, has just been told their invoices must be machine-readable, and does not want to migrate their operations into an invoicing platform to satisfy a format requirement. This scenario is for them.

Why-Based Q&A​

What You'll Get​

Input: an Airtable row with the invoice number, the dates, a seller block, a buyer block, one line item and the totals, with Status set to New. Output: a ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 attached to that record, and an email to the buyer carrying the same file.

One row per invoice. Every column here becomes a key in the JSON the scenario builds.

The buyer sees a normal invoice. Their software sees the XML inside it.

What You Need​

The Scenario at a Glance​

1. Watch records (Airtable) picks up new rows in ZUGFeRD Requests.
2. Create a ZUGFeRD invoice (PDF4me) converts the JSON into a hybrid PDF.
3. Upload an attachment (Airtable) attaches it to the Document field on the same row.
4. Update a record (Airtable) writes the outcome back.
5. Send an email (Gmail) delivers the e-invoice to the buyer.

Complete scenario overview​

The same five-module shape as the Swiss QR scenario. Only the PDF4me module in the middle differs.

Step 1: How do you trigger a scenario from an Airtable row?​

Flow so far: nothing yet, this is the trigger.

A row marked ready is the request to issue an invoice.

1. Add Airtable > Watch records as the trigger.
2. Configure:
   • Base: PDF4me Live Automations
   • Table: ZUGFeRD Requests
   • Trigger field: Created
   • Label field: Title
   • Limit: 10
   • Formula: {Status}='New'

Watch records configuration​

Status is the switch. Nothing is issued until a person sets a row to New.

Step 2: How do you turn a row into a ZUGFeRD invoice?​

Flow so far: the Airtable trigger.

This is the module that produces the e-invoice. The settings decide the format; the JSON decides the content.

1. Add PDF4me > Create a ZUGFeRD invoice.
2. Configure the output:
   • File Name: ZUGFeRD_ plus the InvoiceNumber plus .pdf
   • Input Format: JSON
   • Output Mode: XML With PDF
   • ZUGFeRD Version: 2*
   • Conformance Level: EN16931
   • Render Invoice on PDF: Yes
3. Paste the invoice object into Invoice JSON Data and map the columns in:

{
  "InvoiceId": "{{1.InvoiceNumber}}",
  "TypeCode": "380",
  "InvoiceType": "RECHNUNG",
  "IssueDate": "{{formatDate(1.InvoiceDate; "YYYY-MM-DD")}}T00:00:00",
  "DeliveryDate": "{{formatDate(1.InvoiceDate; "YYYY-MM-DD")}}T00:00:00",
  "IsTest": false,
  "Seller": {
    "Name": "{{1.SellerName}}",
    "VatId": "{{1.SellerVATID}}",
    "Address": {
      "Street": "{{1.SellerStreet}}",
      "PostalCode": "{{1.SellerPostalCode}}",
      "City": "{{1.SellerCity}}",
      "Country": "{{1.SellerCountry}}"
    }
  },
  "Buyer": {
    "Name": "{{1.BuyerName}}",
    "Address": {
      "Street": "{{1.BuyerStreet}}",
      "PostalCode": "{{1.BuyerPostalCode}}",
      "City": "{{1.BuyerCity}}",
      "Country": "{{1.BuyerCountry}}"
    }
  },
  "LineItems": [
    {
      "ProductName": "{{1.ItemDescription}}",
      "Quantity": {{1.Quantity}},
      "UnitCode": "C62",
      "UnitPrice": {{1.UnitPrice}},
      "LineTotal": {{parseNumber(1.NetTotal; ".")}}
    }
  ],
  "Totals": {
    "Currency": "{{1.Currency}}",
    "LineTotal": {{parseNumber(1.NetTotal; ".")}},
    "TaxBasisTotal": {{parseNumber(1.NetTotal; ".")}},
    "TaxPercent": {{1.VATRate}},
    "TaxTotal": {{parseNumber(1.VATAmount; ".")}},
    "GrandTotal": {{parseNumber(1.GrossTotal; ".")}},
    "ChargeTotal": 0,
    "AllowanceTotal": 0
  },
  "Payment": {
    "Currency": "{{1.Currency}}",
    "PaymentReference": "{{1.InvoiceNumber}}",
    "DueDate": "{{formatDate(1.DueDate; "YYYY-MM-DD")}}T00:00:00"
  }
}

Three parts of that object are worth pausing on. TypeCode 380 is the code for a commercial invoice and is fixed, not derived from anything in the base. UnitCode C62 is the UN/ECE code for "one of something", which is what you want for hours or units of service. And the Payment block at the end carries PaymentReference, the text the buyer quotes when they pay, which here is simply the invoice number.

Create a ZUGFeRD invoice configuration​

The field scrolls in the editor, so only part of the object is visible at once. The block above is the whole of it.

What each setting decides​

Step 3: How do you put the e-invoice back on the record?​

Flow so far: the trigger plus the PDF4me module.

1. Add Airtable > Upload an attachment.
2. Configure:
   • Base and Table: as in step 1
   • Record ID: the id from the trigger
   • Attachment field: Document
   • File: the output of PDF4me - Create a ZUGFeRD invoice
   • File name: ZUGFeRD_ plus the InvoiceNumber plus .pdf
   • Data: the Document output of module 2
   • Content type: PDF file

Upload an attachment configuration​

Content type is PDF file here. The Swiss QR sibling scenario uses PNG image in the same slot.

Step 4: How do you record the outcome on the row?​

Flow so far: everything through the attachment upload.

1. Add Airtable > Update a record.
2. Configure:
   • Base and Table: as in step 1
   • Record ID: the id from the trigger
   • Record: fill in only what you want written back, which is normally Status and an OutputLink

Update a record configuration​

Every column in the table appears here. The capture shows them empty and the panel scrolled, so set Status deliberately.

Step 5: How do you send the e-invoice to the buyer?​

Flow so far: everything through the record update.

An e-invoice sitting in a base has not been issued.

1. Add Gmail > Send an email.
2. Configure:
   • To: the Email column from the trigger
   • Subject: Your e-invoice plus the InvoiceNumber
   • Body type: Raw HTML
   • Content: a short HTML body naming the buyer, the invoice and the total
3. Add the attachment:
   • File: the PDF4me - Create a ZUGFeRD invoice output
   • File name: ZUGFeRD_ plus the InvoiceNumber plus .pdf
   • Data: the Document output of module 2

Send an email configuration​

The attachment comes from module 2, so Airtable is never read back for the file.

Run the Scenario and Verify​

1. Save the scenario and run it once.
2. Add a row to ZUGFeRD Requests with a seller, a buyer, one line item, both dates and Status New.
3. All five modules should report one operation each.
4. Open the row: the Document field should hold a PDF named after the invoice number.
5. Open the attachment. You should see a readable invoice page, and a ZUGFeRD validator should find EN 16931 XML inside the same file.
6. Check the buyer's inbox for the message and its attachment.

In the captured run, row RE-2026-0009 produced an invoice from Muster GmbH in Berlin with VAT ID DE123456789 to Test Kunde AG in Muenchen, ten units of Consulting at 100.50, and the email reported a total of 1195.95 EUR.

Common Variations You Can Add Without Rebuilding​

How this compares to the other ways of producing an e-invoice​

Each row describes the alternative. The last row is this scenario.

Common questions​

What is accounts payable automation?​

On the receiving side it means an invoice arrives, its fields are read without anyone keying them in, the figures are checked, and the result is posted or routed for approval. A hybrid e-invoice is what makes the reading step reliable, because the data is embedded rather than recovered from a picture of a page.

This scenario is the sending half of that arrangement. Producing a file the buyer's system can parse is what lets their accounts payable run unattended.

Can Airtable create invoices?​

Not compliant ones. Airtable can hold invoice data and lay it out in an interface or a printable view, but it cannot produce a PDF/A-3 carrying conformant EN 16931 XML, and that is what an e-invoicing mandate asks for.

The split this scenario uses is the practical one: Airtable is the record, PDF4me produces the artefact, and the artefact comes back to the record as an attachment.

How does accounts payable automation work?​

It works in three parts: intake, extraction and posting. Intake is getting documents into one place; extraction turns them into fields; posting writes those fields into the ledger, usually with a confidence or approval gate in front of it.

Hybrid e-invoices short-circuit the middle part. When the XML is already inside the file, extraction is parsing rather than recognition, which is why mandates keep pushing in that direction.

What is Airtable automation?​

Airtable ships its own automation builder for triggers and actions inside a base, and that covers plenty of internal work. It cannot call a document API and hand back a file for an attachment field, which is the step this scenario needs.

Make sits beside it for exactly that reason. The trigger still watches an Airtable table, but the middle of the scenario can reach services Airtable's own automations cannot.

Troubleshooting​

Next Steps​

A mandate usually arrives as a file format problem. It is really a question about where your invoice data already lives, and whether anything can read it.