PDF/A compliance for e-invoices (letterpaper, logo, font, signature)

For e-invoices, the finished invoice must comply with the PDF/A format. easybill checks this when you upload your layout elements and shows the notice „Achtung: Briefpapier nicht für E-Rechnungen geeignet." („Warning: letterpaper not suitable for e-invoices.") if a file is not suitable. This article shows you how to check a letterpaper you have already uploaded, what to look out for with letterpaper, logo, fonts and signature, and how to create a PDF/A-compliant file:

• What exactly easybill checks
• How to check your existing letterpaper
  • Before you start: clicking changes your layout selection
  • Result 1: No warning triangle – the letterpaper is suitable
  • Result 2: Yellow warning triangle – the letterpaper is not suitable
  • Result 3: Blue notice – the check was not possible
• What to consider for letterpaper
• What to consider for the logo
• What to consider for custom fonts
• What to consider for the signature
• How to create a PDF/A file
• If the notice still appears
   

What exactly easybill checks

easybill does not check the uploaded file on its own. Instead, it checks a sample invoice generated with that file – including all other layout elements of your account (logo, custom fonts, signature).

• The check result in easybill is always the decisive one
• An external PDF/A check of the individual file (e.g. in Adobe Acrobat) can produce a different result – in both directions
• If the notice appears, your letterpaper is still saved. You can continue to create regular PDF invoices – only e-invoices are not possible with this layout

Comparable notices are also planned for the upload of logo, custom fonts and signature.
 

How to check your existing letterpaper

You already have your own letterpaper in place and want to know whether e-invoices are possible with it? easybill checks every letterpaper for PDF/A compliance – but the check only starts when you select the letterpaper in your layout settings.

Before you start: clicking changes your layout selection

Clicking does not only start the check – it also selects that letterpaper for the layout you have open (shown by the green check mark). If you check several letterpaper one after another, the last one you clicked ends up being the selected one.

How to keep your original setup:

1. Before you start, note which letterpaper carries the green check mark.
2. Then check your letterpaper as described below.
3. At the end, click your original letterpaper again so that it carries the green check mark.
4. Only then click Speichern (Save).

💡 Tip: As long as you do not save, your layout remains unchanged. If in doubt, leave the page without saving.

Step by step

1. In the main menu on the left, click Settings > Layout.
2. Open the layout you want to check (e.g. Standard Layout (deutsch)).
3. Switch to the Stationery tab.
4. In the list, click the letterpaper you want to check. Only now does the check start.
5. The result appears directly on the Preview of the letterpaper.
6. Repeat step 4 for every other letterpaper you want to check.

Result 1: No warning triangle – the letterpaper is suitable

If no warning triangle appears on the preview image after you click, your letterpaper is suitable for e-invoices. Nothing else to do.

The check result in easybill is always the decisive one. An external PDF/A check of the individual file (e.g. in Adobe Acrobat) can produce a different result – in both directions.

Result 2: Yellow warning triangle – the letterpaper is not suitable

A yellow warning triangle appears on the preview image, together with the notice:

What this means:

• Your letterpaper is still saved.
• You can continue to create regular PDF invoices as usual.
• E-invoices are not possible with this letterpaper.

What you can do:

The causes and how to adjust your letterpaper are described below under What to consider for letterpaper and If the notice still appears.

Result 3: Blue notice – the check was not possible

In this case no warning triangle appears. Instead you see a blue notice:

This is not an all-clear. It simply means that it is unknown whether your letterpaper is suitable – do not treat it as a checked, compliant letterpaper.

There are two possible causes:

1. A temporary problem on our side: try again later and click the letterpaper once more.
2. The notice remains after several attempts: then the cause is usually the letterpaper itself – for example password protection, editing restrictions or a damaged file. In this case, proceed exactly as for „not suitable" and check your letterpaper against the sections below.

What to consider for letterpaper

Your letterpaper does not need to be in PDF/A format itself. A standard PDF is sufficient. easybill automatically generates the e-invoice in PDF/A format and embeds your letterpaper in the process. What matters, therefore, is not the file format but its content: it must not contain anything that would prevent this conversion.

💡 Tip: If you save the file as PDF/A when exporting it, many of the following requirements will be corrected automatically. This is the easiest approach, although it is not required.

Please make sure that your file meets the following requirements:

• Fonts: All fonts used must be fully embedded in the file
• Transparency: Do not use transparent areas, drop shadows or gradients with transparency
• No password protection: The file must not be encrypted or restricted for editing
• Colours: Use clearly defined colour spaces (RGB with an embedded colour profile). Avoid mixed or undefined colour profiles
• No active content: No form fields, references to external files, JavaScript, video or audio elements
• File size: maximum 1.5 MB
• Pages: one page – or two pages if the second page should apply to all subsequent pages
   

What to consider for the logo

• No transparency: Use a JPG with a matching (usually white) background instead of a transparent PNG
• Colour space: Use RGB, not CMYK
• Resolution: High enough for print (approx. 300 dpi at the actual size), but as small as possible in file size
• No vector files with effects: Gradients, shadows and transparency from graphics programs are a common source of errors
   

What to consider for custom fonts

• Embedding permission: The font licence must allow the font to be embedded. Fonts with embedding restrictions („restricted" / „no embedding") result in a non-compliant invoice
• Format: Upload the font styles in .ttf format
• Completeness: Provide all four styles – regular, italic, bold and bold italic

💡 Tip: If in doubt, test with an easybill standard font to rule your own font in or out as the cause.

What to consider for the signature

This refers to the signature image printed on your documents – not a digital signature of the PDF file.

• No transparency: Use JPG instead of a transparent PNG
• Colour space: RGB, ideally greyscale for a black signature
• Cropping: Crop the image tightly so that it stays small and is placed cleanly
   

Exporting your letterpaper as PDF/A (optional)

This step is not mandatory, but it can often be helpful: When exporting the file as PDF/A, many programs automatically resolve the issues mentioned above.

In most programs, you can select PDF/A directly when saving or exporting the file:

Important: Some methods do not produce a PDF/A – for example „Print to PDF", macOS Preview or the PDF download from Canva and Google Docs. In these cases, additionally open the file in Acrobat Pro or LibreOffice and save it as PDF/A there.
 

If the notice still appears

Proceed step by step to narrow down the cause:

1. Re-export your letterpaper and select PDF/A as the file format. This will automatically resolve many of the issues mentioned above
2. Replace the logo with a JPG without transparency
3. Temporarily switch your custom font to an easybill standard font
4. Temporarily remove the signature
5. Save after each change and check whether the notice still appears

If the notice persists, ask the agency or person who created your letterpaper to export it again – explicitly referring to PDF/A. Alternatively, a simple, newly built letterpaper without effects will help.
 

Related articles

• PDF/A-Konformität für E-Rechnungen (Briefpapier, Logo, Schrift, Signatur) – German version
• Briefpapier hochladen und hinterlegen
• Firmen-Logo hochladen und anpassen
• Eigene Schriften importieren
• Layout anpassen / neu anlegen
• E-Rechnungen in easybill (ZUGFeRD/XRechnung)

Currently, the articles are only available in German.