PDF accessibility for energy suppliers
Annual invoices, billing plans, price sheets, contract documents: Accessful automatically corrects your PDF documents according to PDF/UA-2 and WCAG 2.2 - from the individual tariff sheet to the entire invoice run, without interfering with your billing systems.
The challenge
Energy suppliers produce customer documents in large quantities: annual and installment invoices are created automatically from the billing system - each one with individual consumption values, discounts and tables. No two documents are the same, but the underlying structure repeats itself from invoice to invoice.
This is exactly why manual post-processing fails: it ties up specialists per document and is neither time nor economically feasible for monthly recurring invoice and cover letter runs. Accessibility must fit into the existing process as an automated step.
At the same time, the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has been in force since June 28, 2025: energy supply contracts that are offered to consumers electronically must be accessible - including the documents that are provided; Contracts managed via customer portals can also be recorded. Municipally owned suppliers are often also subject to BITV 2.0. Accessful automates auditing and remediation – for the inventory and for each new invoice run.
Typical documents
- Annual and interim invoices
- Consumption bills and meter reading notifications
- Tariff overviews and price sheets
- Delivery and connection contracts
- Cover letter regarding price adjustments and contract changes
- Customer communication from output management
What Accessful does for energy suppliers
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Correct invoice runs in batches
Batch processing for thousands of documents in one run - entire invoice and cover letter runs are processed automatically, with live status in the web app.
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Connection to your billing system
The REST API automatically submits newly created invoices and letters for correction - webhooks report the result without you having to rebuild your billing processes.
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Invoice tables structured correctly
Consumption values, discounts and price components are in tables. Accessful adds tags and reading order so that screen readers display the values in the correct order.
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Results in seconds
auditing and remediation typically deliver a result in seconds - the layout and content of your invoices remain unchanged, only the structural level is added.
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Remediation guarantee
If a document remediated by Accessful is not recognized as accessible during an accessibility audit, we will remediate it free of charge - quickly, easily and at no additional cost.
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On-premises for consumption data
Operation completely in your infrastructure, air-gapped if desired and with your own AI models - consumption and contract data remain within your organisation.
Legal framework
- BFSG / European Accessibility Act
- The German Accessibility Strengthening Act implements the European Accessibility Act (EAA) into German law and has been in force since June 28, 2025. This includes, among other things, electronic commerce services for consumers - such as electricity, gas and heat supply contracts concluded online; Contracts managed via a customer portal can also be recorded. Documents that are part of this service, such as invoices, price sheets or contract documents, must be made accessible.
- EN 301 549, WCAG 2.2 and PDF/UA-2
- The technical benchmark is set by the European standard EN 301 549, WCAG 2.2 and the PDF standard PDF/UA-2. Accessful audits and remediates against exactly these standards and creates an audit-ready report for each document - as evidence for audits and internal controls.
- BITV 2.0 for municipal utilities
- Many municipal utilities and utilities are run by local authorities. If they are considered public bodies, BITV 2.0 also applies based on EU Directive 2016/2102: It obliges public bodies to also offer file formats such as PDF in an accessible manner - regardless of the BFSG.
Note: This content provides information about legal requirements, but does not replace legal advice.
Frequently asked questions about energy suppliers
Can Accessful handle complete invoice runs where each invoice contains individual values?
Yes. Each invoice is checked and corrected individually - regardless of which consumption values, discounts or tables it contains. Batch processing handles thousands of documents in one go, via the web app with drag-and-drop or automated via the API. The conditions for large volumes can be found at Pricing.
Do we need to change our billing or output management system?
No. Accessful starts after document generation: your system passes finished PDFs via the REST API, webhooks report the completion of processing, and the remediated document is automatically picked up. Templates, creation processes and systems remain unchanged. Details can be found at API & Integration.
Does the BFSG apply to every energy supplier?
No, the BFSG does not apply across the board. This includes services that are offered to consumers electronically - such as the online conclusion of delivery contracts or a customer portal. Pure business relationships with industrial and commercial customers are not included. BITV 2.0 can also apply to municipally owned suppliers. You can find a classification under BFSG and accessible PDFs; it does not replace legal advice.
Does the correction change amounts, consumption values or the appearance of the invoice?
No. Accessful only complements the structural layer: tags, reading order and alt text. Amounts, consumption values and layout remain unchanged - the corrected invoice looks exactly like the original.
How is consumption and customer data protected during processing?
Accessful processes documents in ISO/IEC-27001-certified data centers in Germany. If you don't want consumption and contract data to leave your organisation at all, you can operate Accessful entirely in your own infrastructure - air-gapped if desired and with your own AI models. More on this below On-Premises.
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