Key points at a glance
- If your company is entered in the commercial register (Handelsregister), the registered name must appear in full and unchanged on invoices and business letters (Art. 954a of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO). You may add a logo and a short name.
- Your own domain, such as yourcompany.ch, makes you independent of your email provider and looks more professional than a free address.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC are three DNS records that prove your emails really come from you. Without them, your emails are more likely to end up in spam.
- To run your business software under your own address, a CNAME record on a subdomain is usually all you need.
A consistent look on all your documents
Quotes, invoices, payment reminders (Mahnungen), delivery notes and emails should all look alike: the same logo, the same colors, the same sender. That not only looks professional, it also helps your customers tell your real invoices from fake ones. Fraudsters like to send invoices in the name of well-known companies - a consistent, recognizable look is a first line of defense.
If your company is entered in the commercial register, you must use the registered name in full and unchanged in correspondence, on order forms and on invoices (Art. 954a CO). So "Muster Schreinerei GmbH" can't simply become "Schreinerei Muster". You may also use a logo, a short name or a trade name in addition.
If you offer goods or services online, the Unfair Competition Act (UCA) requires clear and complete information about your identity and contact address, including email (Art. 3 para. 1 let. s UCA) - the classic legal notice (Impressum) on your website.
Your own domain instead of a free address
"schreinerei.muster@gmail.com" works, but it looks less trustworthy than "info@muster-schreinerei.ch". Your own domain has a second advantage: it belongs to you. If you switch email providers, your address stays the same - on business cards, invoices and in your customers' address books.
You buy a .ch domain from a registrar, often bundled with an email package. Make sure the domain is registered in your company's name, not a web designer's or agency's, and that you have access to the DNS records yourself.
Emails that get delivered: SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Email is an old technology and easy to fake: anyone can enter any sender address. Three records in your domain's DNS help receiving servers tell genuine emails from forged ones:
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
| SPF | A TXT record lists the servers allowed to send on behalf of your domain, for example Microsoft 365 or your hosting provider. There is exactly one SPF record per domain. |
| DKIM | Your email provider digitally signs every outgoing email; you publish the matching public key in DNS. This makes it possible to verify that the email wasn't altered in transit. |
| DMARC | Specifies what should happen to emails that fail SPF and DKIM: nothing (p=none), move to spam (p=quarantine) or reject (p=reject). If you like, you receive reports on this. |
Major email providers such as Gmail now check these records strictly (see Google's email sender guidelines). Without them, your invoices are more likely to end up in spam - and it's easier for fraudsters to send emails in your name. A proven approach: set up SPF and DKIM, then start DMARC with p=none, monitor the reports for a few weeks and then tighten the policy to quarantine or reject. Important: every service that sends email in your name - newsletter tool, online shop, software - must be covered by SPF and DKIM.
Example: a painting business with its own domain
Andrea runs a small painting business and used to send emails from a free address. She registers malerei-andrea.ch, sets up the mailbox with her email provider and has SPF, DKIM and DMARC added - most providers display the values you need. She now sends her quotes and invoices from offerte@malerei-andrea.ch. Since then, they no longer end up in spam for customers with company mailboxes.
Your own address for your business software
Many online programs can run under your own address, for example office.yourcompany.ch. To do this, you create a CNAME record with your domain provider that points to the software provider's address. Why a prefix like "office."? Under the DNS rules, a CNAME can't be placed directly on the main domain (yourcompany.ch), because other records such as the email settings are already there. That's why a subdomain is the clean solution.
One detail that is often overlooked: passkeys are tied to the address where you set them up. If you change the address, you have to set them up again.
How it works in Easly
Easly shows up under your name - not Easly's:
- Name, logo and color: In the setup wizard and later in the settings, you set the app name, short name, logo, favicon and main color. They appear on the login page, in the navigation, in the browser tab and in the authenticator app; your logo appears on quotes, invoices and delivery notes.
- Emails from your own mailbox: Easly sends through Microsoft 365 or any mailbox with SMTP and IMAP. That way, your own domain's SPF, DKIM and DMARC records apply, and replies come straight to you.
- Templates and history: templates for each document type with placeholders such as customer name or tracking number; every email sent appears in the history with time, recipient and status, and is also kept as the original file.
- Your own domain: create a CNAME record such as office.yourcompany.ch pointing to your Easly address and enter the domain under "Subscription & account" - the HTTPS certificate is issued automatically. Your previous Easly address remains available too; afterward, you set up your passkeys again. If you want an address without a prefix, get in touch with us.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need SPF, DKIM and DMARC as a small business?
Yes. Invoices and payment reminders in particular need to get through. Without these three records, your emails are more likely to end up in spam, and it's easier for fraudsters to send emails in your name. Most email providers display the values you need.
Does the company name from the commercial register have to appear on every invoice?
If your company is entered in the commercial register, yes: in correspondence, on order forms and on invoices, you must state the registered name in full and unchanged (Art. 954a CO). You may also use a logo and a short name in addition.
Why does my own address need a prefix like "office."?
Because a CNAME record can't be placed directly on the main domain, where other records such as the email settings already exist. With a subdomain like office.yourcompany.ch, everything stays neatly separated.
Does Easly send emails in my name through its own servers?
No. Easly sends emails to your customers through your own mailbox - Microsoft 365 or a mailbox with SMTP. That way, your domain's records apply, and the emails really do come from you.
Information as of: see above. Sources: Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 954a CO), Unfair Competition Act (Art. 3 para. 1 let. s UCA); SPF, DKIM and DMARC are IETF technical standards (RFC 7208, RFC 6376, RFC 7489). This article is not a substitute for legal advice.