Frequently Asked Questions

After the first launch, a setup wizard walks you through the key steps: creating an account (email code or password), entering your company details (name, address, logo, bank account), and setting your invoicing preferences (numbering schemes, payment terms). After that you can write your first invoice right away.

Yes, a free Zahly account is required on first launch — it secures your automatic cloud backup and enables account recovery. After that one-time sign-up, you can use the app fully offline.

The standard login uses a 6-digit code sent to your email — you don't strictly need a password. If you did set one and forgot it, you can reset it via email at any time. As long as you have access to your registered email address, you can always get back into your account.

Zahly is designed as a local desktop app per device — there's no real-time sync between two devices yet. You can retrieve your finalized invoices from the cloud archive on any device via your Zahly account, but customers, quotes, drafts, and settings stay local to the device where you created them.

Your finalized invoices and incoming invoices are automatically backed up to the Zahly cloud archive and can be retrieved again after signing in on a new device. Customers, quotes, drafts, and settings, however, are stored locally only — so set up the optional backup folder during onboarding (iCloud Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox) to have that data backed up automatically too. Without that folder, it can't be recovered if you lose the device.

Customer data can be imported into the customer list via CSV. A full migration from another invoicing tool including document history isn't automated yet — you'll create new invoices in Zahly starting from your switch-over date.

Yes, via company profiles. The Free and Premium plans include one profile, the Business plan up to three — handy if you run two separate business units with their own numbering schemes and letterheads.

Invoices, quotes, delivery notes, and incoming records (expenses) — all in one fast, shared editor with line items, product autocomplete, and automatic total calculation. Multiple tax rates within a single document are also supported.

Yes — from a confirmed quote you can generate an invoice with the same line items in one click, without retyping anything.

Invoices in Zahly are never deleted, only cancelled ("storno") — this follows the GoBD requirement for immutability. Zahly automatically creates a proper cancellation document, while the original invoice remains fully intact for traceability.

Yes (Premium plan and above): recurring invoices are useful for subscription/retainer business models, and automatic payment reminders with dunning levels help with overdue payments.

Yes (Premium plan and above). You can capture records as PDF or as a ZUGFeRD/XRechnung e-invoice — vendor, number, date and amounts are read automatically so you don't have to type them in manually.

The Free plan allows up to 3 customers — Premium and Business have no limit.

The customer list is automatically sorted A–Z (company name first, then last name) and has a live search field at the top that filters by company, first, and last name — also available directly in the document editor's customer picker.

Yes — products/services you create appear via autocomplete in the document editor, including the stored price, unit, and tax rate.

Zahly comes with 3 ready-made layouts (Standard, Modern, Compact) that you can switch between with a live preview — no design experience needed. Add your logo and brand color in the company settings.

Only on the free plan is this subtle footer notice mandatory. From the Premium plan onward you can remove the branding entirely.

Yes, in stages: since 2025, every business in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. The obligation to send them is being phased in by company size through 2028 at the latest — smaller businesses (prior-year revenue up to €800,000) get more time. Zahly already creates the matching XML-embedded PDF in ZUGFeRD/Factur-X or XRechnung format today, so you're covered regardless of your exact deadline.

Open the finished, finalized invoice in the document editor. You'll find the buttons "E-invoice (ZUGFeRD)" and "E-invoice (XRechnung)" there. ZUGFeRD saves a normal, human-readable PDF with embedded structured XML (factur-x.xml) — the most common option for most business customers. XRechnung saves a plain .xml file, as required by many public sector clients. You can send either format directly to your customer or import it back into Zahly.

No configuration needed — you just choose between ZUGFeRD and XRechnung at export time, depending on what your customer needs. The recipient can read the embedded structured data with their own software, while with ZUGFeRD you still get a normal, human-readable PDF.

Yes. Just drag and drop a ZUGFeRD/Factur-X PDF or an XRechnung XML file into the incoming invoices area — Zahly automatically reads vendor, invoice number, date, and amounts from the embedded/structured XML. Photos/image files aren't supported, for accuracy reasons — only PDF and XML.

On the Business plan you can export a DATEV EXTF file (booking batch) for a fiscal year and hand it directly to your accountant — no manual spreadsheet wrangling required.

Your advisor number, client number, and chart of accounts (SKR03 or SKR04) as well as the matching revenue accounts for your tax cases — you get these from your accountant and enter them once in the Zahly settings.

SKR03 and SKR04. Your accountant can tell you which one applies to you.

Zahly meets the technical GoBD requirements for immutability and traceability: immutable archiving, cancellation instead of deletion, automatic 8-year retention. A formal certification under IDW PS 880 is not currently in place.

Your invoice and customer data primarily lives locally on your own computer. Records are additionally backed up automatically, AES-256-GCM encrypted, and immutably archived in our cloud — hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Nuremberg, Germany. Credentials are stored encrypted in your device's system keychain.

Your finalized invoices and incoming invoices are automatically archived in the Zahly cloud — just sign in with your account on the new device and they're available right away. Customers, quotes, drafts, and settings, however, are stored locally only on the old device; the easiest way to bring them over is via the backup folder (iCloud Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox) if you set one up — see "What happens if my computer breaks or gets lost?" above.

You can sign in with a password or a passwordless email code, and additionally set a recovery email address — if you lose access to your login email, it helps you recover your account.

Yes, both directly in the app under Profile → Account & Security: full data export (GDPR Art. 20) and account deletion (GDPR Art. 17). Already archived records remain in place for legal reasons until the retention period expires.

Free (€0, with limits), Premium (€7.99/month or €6.49/month billed yearly), and Business (€18.99/month or €14.99/month billed yearly). All prices include VAT. See the pricing section for details.

Paddle, as our "Merchant of Record". This means the purchase contract for a subscription is formed between you and Paddle, who issues the invoice and automatically handles worldwide sales-tax compliance — an extra trust signal, especially for customers abroad.

Yes, your subscription can be cancelled or changed at any time — there is no minimum term beyond your chosen billing cycle (monthly/yearly).

In 9 languages: German, English, Spanish, Turkish, French, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, and Arabic — handy if you have customers abroad.

Yes, including exchange rate handling for invoices in a foreign currency.

For macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows as a native desktop app. There is currently no mobile app for iOS/Android.

No. Zahly runs entirely locally — writing invoices, creating quotes, generating PDFs all work fully offline. An internet connection is only needed for account onboarding and the automatic cloud backup of your records.

Yes — after installation, the app updates itself in the background, so you never have to manually reinstall anything.

Not currently — Zahly is designed for a single user/device at a time; simultaneous multi-user access to the same account isn't supported.

No, not currently. You store your bank details for display on invoices, but automatic bank reconciliation isn't part of Zahly at this time.

Via the Help menu in the top right of the app → "Contact support". Choose the right category (question, bug, feature request) and briefly describe what's going on — for bugs, it really helps to attach the error log via the checkbox.

Feel free to reach out directly — either via the Help menu in the app or by email at support@zahly-app.com.

Zahly Scan is a free companion app for your phone. You photograph paper receipts with it, and they arrive in Zahly on your computer as incoming invoices. It is explicitly an add-on — without Zahly on your computer it serves no purpose. It is not required either: you can still enter receipts directly in Zahly.

1. Open the app and sign in with your Zahly account.

2. If you run several company profiles, first choose which one the receipt belongs to.

3. Put the receipt flat on a calm surface and hold the camera above it. The edges are detected and straightened automatically — no cropping needed.

4. If the receipt has several pages, add them one after another to the same scan. They are merged into a single PDF.

5. Check the result and send. With no connection, the receipt waits on your phone and goes out automatically later.

6. On your computer the receipt appears in Zahly under incoming invoices — with the PDF attached and the values pre-filled. You check, complete and save.

Nothing. The app is free and contains no purchases. It belongs to your Zahly account, whichever plan you are on.

Zahly Scan is available free on the App Store: Zahly Scan on the App Store. An Android version is planned but not released yet.

Not for the text recognition. Supplier, amount, date and invoice number are read out directly on the device — the receipt is not sent anywhere to do that. What is transmitted afterwards is only what needs to arrive in Zahly: the finished PDF and the extracted values, to your own Zahly account.

Nothing is lost. The receipt is stored on your phone and transferred automatically as soon as you are back online. If you prefer, you can set transfers to happen over Wi-Fi only — handy abroad or on a tight data plan.

Because that is the better choice for receipts. The PDF is reduced in size and saved in black and white with strong contrast: considerably smaller than a colour photo and easier to read, because paper tone and shadows drop away.

You decide while scanning. If your Zahly account holds several company profiles, the app asks which one the receipt belongs to before sending.

The extracted values are a suggestion, not a finished entry — which is why the receipt arrives in Zahly for review. Simply correct supplier, amount, date or invoice number on your computer before you save. The attached PDF stays untouched.

With your existing Zahly account — either using a code we send to your email, or with your password. You do not need a separate account for the app.