Writing an Invoice in Switzerland: The Complete Guide (2026)

Anyone who provides goods or services in Switzerland will sooner or later issue an invoice. An incorrect invoice leads to questions from the recipient, blocks input VAT deductions and, in the worst case, ends up on the “not deductible” pile during a VAT audit. This guide covers everything: from the legally required information and the QR invoice as the Swiss standard to what happens when nobody pays.

Mandatory information on Swiss invoices

A clear and precise invoice is the key to minimising payment delays. To make sure your invoices can be processed correctly and paid by every recipient, it is important to include all the mandatory elements of an invoice.

If elements are missing, recipients can run into problems during a VAT inspection or an audit, which is why invoices that do not clearly list all the minimum elements are often not accepted.

Minimum elements on Swiss invoices

If one of these elements is missing, the recipient cannot claim an input VAT deduction, and a VAT inspection will object to the invoice. In practice, this means the invoice comes back and has to be corrected. That is why it pays to get the mandatory information right from the start.

These minimum elements are required on invoices under Art. 26 of the Federal Act on Value Added Tax.

Use our free tool to create a simple Swiss QR invoice that takes all this mandatory information into account and makes your job much easier.

Company name on invoices

If you are self-employed as an individual and have not founded a GmbH, AG or general partnership, your legal name must appear on the invoice, even if you trade under a business name (such as “Studio11”). In that case, both appear on the invoice: “Studio11 – Anna Holzberg”.

Date of delivery or service

The date of performance is mandatory if it differs from the invoice date. It shows when the service was provided or the goods were delivered. If this information is missing, the recipient may not be able to assign the expense to the correct period, which causes problems during an audit.

VAT number

If your company is subject to VAT, the VAT number belongs clearly visible on the invoice. You received it from the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) when you registered, in the format:

CHE-123.456.789 VAT

The VAT number allows the recipient to claim the input VAT deduction correctly and simplifies the accounting process on both sides.

Recommended additional information

Beyond the legal requirements, the following details are almost as important in practice, because they avoid questions and speed up payment:

• A uniquely identifiable invoice number (e.g. sequential and year-based: 2026-001)
• Clearly itemised invoice lines with unit prices
• Payment terms (payment deadline, any early-payment discount)
• IBAN or QR-IBAN for payment

Invoice with or without VAT

Under Art. 10 VAT Act, VAT liability applies from worldwide annual turnover of CHF 100,000. Businesses below this threshold can register voluntarily, but they do not have to.

If you are subject to VAT, you show the applicable tax rate separately on the invoice: 8.1% (standard rate), 2.6% (reduced rate) or 3.8% (special rate for accommodation). The current rates have applied since 1 January 2024.

If you use the net tax rate method, you still show the regular VAT rate on the invoice, not your net tax rate. This confuses many people, but the rule is clear. You can find an overview of the current VAT rates in our VAT guide.

If you are not subject to VAT, it is a good idea to add a note to the invoice, for example: “Without VAT – business exempt from VAT (turnover below CHF 100,000)”. This prevents recipients from accidentally claiming an input VAT deduction.

If you use modern invoicing software such as Infinity, you do not need to worry about this: addresses are automatically stored in structured form in the QR code. With manual solutions or older tools, it is worth checking.

Create a QR invoice for free

For individual QR invoices, some banks offer a QR payment part generator directly in their e-banking. Alternatively, you can use websites such as qr-rechnung.net to create a single QR payment part. Make sure you also include a complete invoice with all the legally required information.

If you issue invoices regularly, invoicing software is worth it. Customer details, products and recurring invoices can be saved and reused instead of starting from scratch every time.

With Infinity, you can create, send and manage invoices including the QR payment part directly. You can try Infinity free for 14 days.

You can find the complete guide to the QR invoice – including QR-IBAN vs. regular IBAN, the three reference types and the 2026 structured address requirement – here: Create a QR invoice in Switzerland.

From quote to invoice

The typical process often starts with a quote rather than an invoice. Under Swiss law (Code of Obligations, Art. 3 and Art. 7), a quote is a binding offer: as soon as the customer accepts it, the contract is concluded.

A clean workflow looks like this: create the quote, wait for the customer’s confirmation, provide the service, issue the invoice. If you map this process in software, you can convert the quote into a QR invoice with one click without entering the data again – this is how it works, for example, in Infinity with the visual editor.

More on this in our dedicated guide: Writing a quote in Switzerland – required elements, validity & template.

Payment deadlines and payment terms

Swiss law does not prescribe a specific payment deadline. You can set it at your own discretion. The most common deadlines in practice:

• 30 days – the Swiss standard, especially in B2B business
• 14 days – common among freelancers and for smaller jobs
• 10 days – when quick payment is wanted

Depending on the industry, expect 10 to 30% of all invoices not to be paid on time. So issue invoices early – ideally immediately after providing the service – and consider down payments (advance invoices) for larger projects to protect your cash flow.

Early-payment discount as an incentive to pay quickly

An early-payment discount is a price reduction for paying early. For example: “2% discount if paid within 10 days, net 30 days.” This creates an incentive without shortening the standard deadline. State the conditions clearly on the invoice to avoid misunderstandings.

What to do about unpaid invoices

If an invoice remains unpaid after the payment deadline, you generally have the right in Switzerland to start debt enforcement against the customer directly – without sending a reminder first. In practice, however, a staged approach is advisable before it comes to debt enforcement proceedings:

• Payment reminder – friendly, shortly after the deadline
• First reminder – firmer in tone, with a new deadline (e.g. 10 days)
• Second reminder – mention of any default interest and the upcoming debt enforcement proceedings

Under Art. 104 of the Code of Obligations, you may charge default interest of 5% per year. A higher rate is only permitted if it has been agreed contractually (e.g. in your terms and conditions).

If payment still does not arrive after the second reminder, you can file a debt enforcement request with the responsible debt enforcement office. The Swiss SME Portal explains the exact process.

More on this in our dedicated guide: Writing a payment reminder in Switzerland – deadlines, template & debt collection.

Special cases in invoicing

Not every invoice follows the standard pattern. Some special cases come up regularly in practice:

• Pro forma invoice – an invoice without a request for payment, e.g. for customs purposes or as advance notice. It is not a tax-relevant document.
• Advance invoice (down payment) – issued for larger projects before the final invoice. VAT is shown proportionally on the advance invoice.
• Credit note – corrects an invoice already issued, fully or partially. Important: the original invoice number must be referenced.
• Cancellation invoice – fully reverses an incorrect invoice before a new one is issued.

More on this in our dedicated guide: Pro forma invoice, advance invoice & credit note – special cases explained.

Digital archiving and retention requirements

In Switzerland, business records – including invoices – must be kept for at least ten years under Art. 958f of the Code of Obligations. The period begins at the end of the financial year in which the invoice was issued.

Digital and paper records are generally considered equivalent as long as the accounts are kept properly. This means you can archive invoices digitally and do without physical copies, provided the documents can be retrieved at any time and are stored unaltered.

Invoicing software with built-in document storage – such as Infinity – takes care of this automatically: every invoice you create or receive is stored and remains accessible throughout the entire statutory retention period.

Writing invoices with the right tool

Creating invoices manually in Word or Excel works – but it does not scale. If you issue invoices regularly, you benefit from invoicing software that creates standards-compliant QR invoices, calculates the VAT automatically, manages customer master data and posts every receivable directly to the accounts.

With Infinity, you create QR invoices and quotes in a visual editor, send them by email or link and see at a glance which receivables are open, paid or overdue. The accounting runs alongside – including AI-supported booking suggestions through Live Accounting.

More on this in our dedicated guide: Invoicing software in Switzerland – the best tools for SMEs compared.

Try Infinity free for 14 days – unlimited quotes and invoices, no credit card required.

Frequently asked questions