Invoicing in Switzerland: QR-bill, eBill and electronic invoices to the federal administration

Why Swiss invoicing is different

Many companies expanding into Switzerland assume invoicing works as in the EU. Switzerland is not bound by EU VAT directives or EU e-invoicing mandates, and it has not introduced a general obligation for businesses to exchange structured electronic invoices with each other.

At the same time, Swiss payment and billing practice is unusually standardised. Customers expect to pay invoices by scanning a QR code in their banking app or by approving an eBill, and accounts departments expect structured payment references that allow automatic reconciliation. A billing system that produces only a PDF with an IBAN often feels out of place.

The QR-bill

The QR-bill was introduced on 30 June 2020 by the Swiss financial centre to replace the traditional orange and red inpayment slips. After a transition period, the old payment slips were discontinued on 30 September 2022, so the QR-bill is now the standard way to request payment by bank transfer on an invoice.

A QR-bill has a payment part and a receipt, printed on paper as a perforated section or included in a PDF. The payment part contains the Swiss QR Code, which holds the payment information in a standardised format, and the same information in readable text. Payers scan the code with a banking app or payment software, which pre-fills the transfer.

Account

An IBAN or a special QR-IBAN of the payee.

Reference

With a QR-IBAN, a QR reference is used; with a normal IBAN, a structured creditor reference or no reference.

Currency

Swiss francs or euros.

Addresses

Payee and, optionally, payer details, with banks moving to structured address formats.

Additional information

Unstructured messages and structured billing information that accounting systems can read.

Reconciliation and references

The main benefit of the QR-bill for businesses is automated reconciliation. A QR reference or creditor reference links an incoming payment to a specific invoice, so accounting software can mark invoices as paid without manual matching. That depends on billing systems generating unique references and banks reporting them back in account statements.

Swiss banks use ISO 20022 messages for payment and account reporting. Billing and accounting systems should import camt statements and match payments using the references rather than relying on names or amounts.

Specifications for the QR-bill are maintained by SIX, and they are updated over time, for example regarding address formats. Software providers and in-house billing systems should follow the current implementation guidelines rather than an old template.

eBill

eBill is a Swiss system that delivers invoices directly into customers’ online banking, where they can be checked and approved for payment with a few clicks. It is operated as part of the Swiss financial infrastructure and supported by most Swiss banks.

For businesses billing many private customers, such as utilities, insurers, telecom providers and subscription services, eBill can reduce paper and postage, speed up payment and lower the number of late payments. Customers register for eBill with the biller through their banking app, and the biller sends invoice data through a network partner or directly.

eBill complements rather than replaces the QR-bill. Customers who do not use eBill still receive invoices by post or email, typically with a QR-bill payment part.

E-invoices to the federal administration

Suppliers to the Swiss federal administration are required to submit electronic invoices for contracts with a value of 5,000 Swiss francs or more, a rule in place since 1 January 2016. Invoices can be sent through e-invoicing service providers or via the federal administration’s supplier portal, in accepted structured formats.

Some cantons and municipalities also accept or encourage electronic invoices. Companies bidding for public contracts should check invoicing requirements in tender documents and set up the channel before the first invoice is due.

VAT and business requirements

Swiss VAT law sets the information an invoice must contain for input tax purposes, including the names and addresses of supplier and recipient, the supplier’s VAT number, the date or period of supply, a description of the supply, the consideration and the applicable VAT rate and amount. Swiss VAT rates differ from EU rates, and they changed at the start of 2024, so billing systems configured for other countries must be set up specifically.

Electronic invoices and scanned documents can be accepted for VAT purposes when their integrity and authenticity are ensured, and business records generally must be kept for ten years.

What billing systems need

For companies invoicing Swiss customers, a billing setup should generate QR-bills with correct account and reference data, create unique references for each invoice, support Swiss francs and euros where needed, apply Swiss VAT rules, import bank statements for automatic matching, and optionally connect to eBill for private customers and e-invoicing channels for public sector customers.

Many international billing and subscription platforms support QR-bills through extensions or partners. Test real invoices with Swiss banking apps before launch, because scanning failures and incorrect references create payment delays and manual work. This article is a general overview and not tax advice.

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