What goes on an invoice
If you are not registered for VAT, the law does not prescribe what an invoice must contain. Your client still needs to see who is charging what for which service, and be able to pay. If you are registered, Article 26 of the VAT Act requires certain details. The table shows both cases.
On till receipts up to CHF 400, the client's details can be left out, even with VAT (Article 57 of the VAT Ordinance). On an invoice with VAT they must be there.
| Detail | With VAT | Without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Your name or business name and town | Required | Usual |
| VAT number (CHE-… MWST/TVA/IVA) | Required | Not applicable |
| Client's name and town | Required | Usual |
| Date or period of the service | Required | Usual |
| Type, subject and extent of the service | Required | Usual |
| Amount | Required | Essential |
| VAT rate and VAT amount | Required; if prices include VAT, the rate is enough | Do not show |
| Invoice number and date | Usual | Usual |
| Payment terms and IBAN | Usual | Usual |
VAT: show it or not
You must register for VAT once your turnover from taxable services reaches CHF 100,000 a year. Below that you are exempt and do not show VAT on your invoices. If you show it anyway, you owe it to the Federal Tax Administration (Article 27 VAT Act).
The rates since 1 January 2024: 8.1% standard rate, 2.6% reduced rate (for example food and books) and 3.8% for accommodation. Some services are excluded from VAT, such as treatments by health professionals with a licence to practise and many kinds of education. If in doubt, ask the Federal Tax Administration.
In the template you enter prices without VAT; the preview adds the VAT.
Payment terms, reminders and default interest
10 to 30 days is usual. The template puts a fixed date on the invoice («Payable by») so your client knows when to pay. The client is only in default without a reminder if you agreed that date with them beforehand, for example in an order confirmation (Article 102(2) Code of Obligations). Otherwise you need to send a reminder first.
A client in default owes 5% interest a year (Article 104 Code of Obligations). For small amounts, many self-employed people skip this and send a friendly reminder.
Keeping invoices
Keep invoices and other accounting records for 10 years (Article 958f Code of Obligations), even if you only keep simple accounts. A PDF is fine as long as it stays unchanged and readable.
With a payment slip: the QR-bill
The orange and red payment slips were withdrawn in October 2022 and replaced by the payment part of the QR-bill. This template shows your IBAN so your client can pay by e-banking. It does not create a payment part with a Swiss QR Code.
How a QR-bill is built and when you need a QR-IBAN is explained in our QR-bill guide.
Invoices sent automatically after each appointment
If you invoice for appointments, Zitli does the template work for you. After the appointment, Zitli creates a Swiss QR-bill and sends it to your client. The money goes straight to your account, with no payment provider in between and no extra fees. Zitli only shows VAT if you are registered for it.
Or your clients pay at booking with TWINT or by card. Both are included in Zitli Pro.
Read next: Receipt template, Create a QR-bill, TWINT for the self-employed · Zitli pricing