Subcontractor Invoice Template for Transport

Anyone driving as a subcontractor for a freight forwarder, courier company or parcel carrier in Germany issues an invoice at the end of the month – and keeps tripping over the same questions: with or without VAT, does § 13b apply, what is a Gutschrift, and which references does the customer want to see? This free template answers all four and is tailored to billing tours, days, stops and kilometres.

Rather not fill in anything by hand? The free invoice generator creates the invoice in your browser – as PDF and e-invoice, no sign-up required.

With or without VAT? The § 13b question

The most searched question first: § 13b UStG does not apply to transport services within Germany. The reverse-charge rule covers construction work, building cleaning, supplies of scrap and precious metals, mobile phones and a few other cases – carriage of goods is not on the list. A subcontracted driver working for a German forwarder therefore charges 19% VAT and pays it to the tax office. Sample invoices with “§ 13b” from the construction trade are not for you.

For invoices without VAT, distinguish these cases:

• Small business (§ 19 UStG, up to €25,000 prior-year revenue and €100,000 in the current year): no VAT shown, mandatory note “Kein Ausweis von Umsatzsteuer gemäß § 19 UStG”. You then cannot reclaim input VAT on diesel, repairs and vehicle leasing – for a van in full-time use that is often a disadvantage.
• Customer is a business in another EU country: the service is taxable in the customer's country (§ 3a (2) UStG). Invoice net, note “Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers”, state your VAT ID and theirs, and do not forget the EC sales list.
• Exports to a non-EU country: the exemption under § 4 No. 3 UStG generally requires you to supply the consignor or consignee of the goods directly. A subcontractor invoicing a forwarder generally does not qualify. Crossing the border and holding export evidence are not enough. For imports, transport costs must be included in the import taxable amount, with supporting evidence. See BMF, UStAE 4.3.4(3) and § 4 No. 3 UStG.

Select a tax notice only when your particular service meets the conditions.

Invoice or Gutschrift – who writes it?

Many forwarders and parcel carriers settle their subcontractors by self-billing (Gutschriftverfahren): at month end the customer prepares the statement of your tours itself and sends it to you as a “Gutschrift”. For tax purposes it is an invoice issued by the recipient of the service (§ 14 (2) sentence 2 UStG). Three rules apply:

• The procedure must be agreed in advance – in the subcontractor agreement or by informal arrangement.
• The document must carry the word “Gutschrift” and contain every mandatory detail of an invoice, including your tax number or VAT ID.
• You must check every Gutschrift. You owe the VAT shown – even if the customer calculated it wrongly. If you object, the Gutschrift loses its effect as an invoice.

If you are the customer yourself and work with subcontractors, use the self-billing template from the download box. It contains the tour list for reconciliation against your transport orders and proofs of delivery.

What the forwarder wants to see on your invoice

A subcontractor invoice is checked in the customer's accounts department against its own order data. If a reference is missing, it sits there. In addition to the mandatory details under § 14 UStG, therefore always include:

• your supplier or subcontractor number with the customer
• the customer's order, tour or shipment number on every line
• date, pickup and delivery location (at least postcode/town), vehicle and licence plate
• the agreed billing unit: day rate, stops, kilometres, pallets or hours
• waiting time beyond the free period and agreed surcharges as separate lines
• the service period (e.g. “01–31 Aug 2026”) instead of a single service date when you bill the month

A proof of delivery per shipment does not belong on the invoice, but the customer may request it. Drivers using the Maxmove driver app have it digitally with signature and photo in the order.

How to bill tours, days and stops

Bill exactly in the unit stated in the subcontractor agreement or rate sheet – the template has a column for unit and unit price:

Billing model	Line on the invoice	Example
Day rate	one line per working day with date and tour	“12 Aug 2026, tour K-07, 1 day × €280.00”
Per stop	number of stops × stop price per tour	“Tour 4412, 63 stops × €3.20”
Kilometres	distance driven per route plan or telematics	“Cologne–Dortmund–Cologne, 186 km × €1.05”
Hourly rate	hours worked with start and end	“08:00–16:30, 8.5 h × €34.00”

Waiting time, loading assistance, second delivery attempt, night and weekend surcharges always go on their own lines below. If you are allowed to pass on tolls and fuel, list them individually as well – both are part of your fee and carry 19% VAT. Check the rates with the transport cost calculator and the truck toll calculator.

Payment terms and discounts with the forwarder

Forwarders often work with 30 to 45 days payment terms; without an agreement it is 30 days after receipt of the invoice (§ 286 (3) BGB). As a subcontractor you should put the due date on the invoice as a fixed date and negotiate a shorter term in the contract, because diesel, leasing and insurance keep running monthly. Grant an early-payment discount only if it is in the contract – a customer may not simply deduct one.

Bogus self-employment: what the invoice reveals

The German pension insurance looks closely at transport subcontractors. The invoice alone decides nothing, but it is evidence: an entrepreneur has their own sequential invoice numbers, several customers, their own vehicle and bills per service. A driver who invoices the same amount to the same customer every month, bills by the hour, drives the customer's vehicle on the customer's roster looks like an employee – with back-payment liability for the customer. If you only want to work as a driver, employment is often the better choice; if you want to drive as a business, build up several customers – for instance via the Maxmove marketplace for drivers and carriers.

Subcontractor billing without paperwork

In the Maxmove TMS tour, stops, waiting time and proofs of delivery are already recorded in the order. You create customer invoices and, when needed, credit notes correcting existing invoices from it – as PDF or e-invoice, with sequential numbering and dispatch by e-mail. For single drivers and small operators it is free. Self-billing your own subcontractors is not currently supported in the fleet invoicing software; you can complete the separate self-billing template manually.