Cortena is an InvoiceFetcher alternative for teams that need coding, not just another portal downloader.
InvoiceFetcher specialises in pulling invoices from online portals and forwarding them into DATEV and other bookkeeping tools. Cortena.ai starts further down the process. You brief an agent the way you would brief a bookkeeper, and it codes every field with a reason you can read. Here is a fair, factual comparison so you can decide which one fits.
Comparison written and reviewed October 2026. Where an InvoiceFetcher detail is not publicly documented, we mark it "varies" rather than guess.
What InvoiceFetcher does well.
We are not here to run InvoiceFetcher down. Narrow tools that do one job cleanly deserve credit.
Focused portal collection
The product is built around fetching invoices from supplier portals on a schedule. That focus keeps the job simple for teams with many logins.
DATEV Belegbilderservice handoff
Documents can land in DATEV Unternehmen online via Belegbilderservice paths tax advisors already understand.
Accessible pricing for collection-only needs
Entry plans are oriented at teams that mainly need portal fetch, without buying a full AP suite.
If portal download is your only bottleneck and coding already works in DATEV, InvoiceFetcher may be enough. The rest of this page is for teams who want the coding itself done with readable reasons.
A downloader does not code your books.
InvoiceFetcher-class tools stop at collection and forward. Coding, cost centres and BU keys still land on your team or your Steuerberater. Cortena is agent-first. You instruct it once, in plain language, and it does the coding with a reason on every field.
Explainable AI on every field, not a black-box guess.
Cortena codes the GL account, cost centre and BU key, and shows why it chose each one: the precedent it followed, the rule it matched, the line it read. Your team reviews reasoning, not a bare suggestion.
- Account, cost centre and BU code coded per line
- A plain-language reason attached to every field
- Precedent learning from your own corrections
Recurring server hosting from Hetzner Online GmbH. Last 6 invoices booked to 6837 (IT services), cost centre 4200. Reverse-charge not applicable, German VAT 19 %.
You brief it like a bookkeeper, not a fetch schedule.
Instead of stopping at portal download, you write guidelines in plain language. Cortena follows the briefing, applies judgement on edge cases, and asks when it is not sure.
- Guidelines in plain language, not rule trees
- Judgement on edge cases, questions when unsure
- One briefing that improves as your books do
The honest comparison.
Row by row, on the dimensions that actually change your week. Cortena facts are what we ship today. InvoiceFetcher facts we keep to what is publicly documented, and mark the rest "varies".
InvoiceFetcher is a capable collector and its exact behaviour depends on connected portals and plan. 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.
InvoiceFetcher is the better fit when
- Your only pain is downloading invoices from supplier portals.
- Coding and posting already work well in DATEV with your Steuerberater.
- You want a narrow, low-cost collector rather than an AP agent.
Cortena is the better fit when
- You want coding done for you, with a reason on every field.
- Email and e-invoice intake matter more than portal scraping.
- You run several entities and want workflows to inherit.
- You want free white-glove setup and the official DATEV service.
Moving from InvoiceFetcher takes about 15 days.
There is no ledger migration to dread. Your books stay in DATEV and your accountant keeps their tool. We connect your invoice inbox, learn your accounts and rules from your history, and run alongside you until the coding earns your trust. Keep portal fetch if you still need it for stubborn suppliers.
See multi-entity onboarding- 1Connect and brief, day 1Point your invoice inbox at Cortena and write your first briefing. No migration, no project team.
- 2Learn from your historyCortena studies past codings and your chart of accounts, then codes new invoices side by side with you.
- 3Go live in 15 daysOnce the coding is right, you review by exception and export booking-ready batches straight to DATEV.
Questions people ask before switching.
Yes, for teams whose bottleneck is coding and approvals, not only collecting portal PDFs. InvoiceFetcher remains a focused collector. Cortena is an agent that codes every field with an explainable reason and posts booking-ready entries to DATEV.
Cortena uses the official DATEV Rechnungsdatenservice 1.0 to send booking-ready entries into DATEV Unternehmen online, with the source document attached. InvoiceFetcher typically hands document images via Belegbilderservice. The archive stays in DATEV, and Cortena works GoBD-aligned.
No. There is no ledger migration. Your books stay where they are, your accountant keeps their tool, and Cortena connects to your invoice inbox and learns from your history. Most teams are live in about 15 days with free white-glove setup.
Cortena is built for multi-entity work. Workflows and briefings inherit across Mandanten, and a root mailbox can route invoices to the right entity automatically.
Some teams keep a collector for stubborn portals while moving coding and approvals to Cortena. If that hybrid helps, we will map it in onboarding rather than force a rip-and-replace.
See the difference on your own invoices.
Book a demo and bring a week of real supplier invoices. We will code them live, reason on every field, so you can compare for yourself.