Cortena is a Fakturia alternative for teams that want AR in the same loop as payables, not a separate billing island.
Fakturia is a German subscription-management platform for recurring billing, dunning and DATEV-ready order-to-cash. Cortena starts from a different premise. You issue ZUGFeRD receivables from CRM and data sources, process payment advice, reconcile the bank, and run category-specific dunning next to payables. Here is a fair, factual comparison so you can decide which one fits.
Comparison written and reviewed October 2026. Where a Fakturia detail is not publicly documented, we mark it "varies" rather than guess.
What Fakturia does well.
We are not here to run Fakturia down. It is a serious subscription billing product for German recurring businesses. Credit where it is due.
Order-to-cash for Abo businesses
Contracts, recurring invoices, upgrades, cancellations and self-service sit in one billing-focused stack built for subscription companies.
Native ZUGFeRD, XRechnung and DATEV
E-invoice formats and DATEV export are first-class, including passive Rechnungsabgrenzung on the accounting path.
Automated Mahnwesen and payment providers
Dunning, SEPA and card providers, plus API and MCP hooks, cover the classic SaaS collection loop without inventing tooling from scratch.
If a dedicated subscription billing platform is your main need, Fakturia may be the right fit. The rest of this page is for teams that want AR inside the same controlled workspace as payables.
Subscription billing alone does not clear the books with payables.
Fakturia-class tools own the Abo commercial loop. Cortena is the finance operator: issue from CRM and feeders, clear cash with payment advice and bank lines, chase by customer class, and post booking-ready entries next to AP.
Subscriptions inside a full AR workspace.
Cortena subscriptions support recurring, one-time and usage lines, then enter the same AR workflow as one-off invoices. Issue becomes ZUGFeRD EN 16931. You approve before anything posts.
- Recurring, one-time and usage subscription lines
- ZUGFeRD EN 16931 on issue
- CRM and feeder-sourced customers and products
Subscription Pro monthly · period 1–31 Oct. Prepaid span covered. Draft entered AR workflow at subscription_invoice, readiness passed, ZUGFeRD pending on issue.
Payment advice and bank match beside payables.
Instead of stopping at billing events, Cortena processes payment advice, matches bank lines to open items, and runs category-specific dunning with the same control model as AP.
- Payment advice against open items
- Bank reconciliation and write-back
- Dunning by customer category or class
The honest comparison.
Row by row, on the dimensions that actually change your week. Cortena facts are what we ship today. Fakturia facts we keep to what is publicly documented, and mark the rest "varies".
Fakturia is a capable product and its exact behaviour depends on plan and configuration. Where we could not verify a detail from public sources, we wrote "varies" instead of inventing one. If any fact here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Who should pick which.
Fakturia is the better fit when
- Your primary need is a dedicated German subscription billing platform.
- Self-service portal, contract lifecycle and payment-provider billing are central.
- You do not need payables, payment advice and AR in the same operator workspace.
Cortena is the better fit when
- You want subscriptions inside AR next to payables, not a separate billing island.
- Payment advice, bank match and category dunning matter as much as recurring issue.
- You need ZUGFeRD on issue and booking-ready handoff to DATEV, Exact or Twinfield.
- You want free white-glove setup with one control model for AP and AR.
Moving from Fakturia takes about 15 days.
There is no ledger migration to dread. Your books stay where they are. We connect CRM and product data, recreate subscription schedules in Cortena, and run issue, payment advice and dunning alongside you until the loop earns your trust.
See multi-entity onboarding- 1Connect and map, day 1Link CRM or billing sources and map customers, products and plans. No project team required.
- 2Bill and clear side by sideCortena runs subscription drafts into the AR workflow, issues ZUGFeRD, and matches payment advice with you reviewing exceptions.
- 3Go live in 15 daysCategory dunning and booking-ready export run on your rules into DATEV, Exact Online or Twinfield.
Questions people ask before switching.
Yes, for teams that want subscription AR inside the same operator as payables. Fakturia remains strong as a dedicated German billing platform. Cortena issues ZUGFeRD receivables, clears cash with payment advice and bank match, and posts booking-ready entries next to AP.
Cortena focuses on finance operations: issue, clear, chase and post. A full customer self-service portal for upgrades and cancellations is a Fakturia strength. If that portal is your primary need, Fakturia may fit better.
Yes. Cortena subscriptions support recurring, one-time and usage lines, with scheduled billing into the AR workflow and ZUGFeRD on issue.
Cortena hands booking-ready receivables into DATEV, Exact Online or Twinfield on the same controlled path as payables. Fakturia offers native DATEV export including Rechnungsabgrenzung paths. Cortena works GoBD-aligned.
We have tried hard to keep it fair. We credit what Fakturia does well and, where a detail is not publicly documented, we mark it "varies" rather than invent a fact. If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
See the difference on your own subscriptions.
Book a demo and bring a week of real AR. We will walk subscription issue, ZUGFeRD, payment advice and category dunning so you can compare for yourself.