Debt enforcement and collection: when a customer still won't pay

Before you start debt enforcement

Debt enforcement is not a court case, but it sends a clear signal. It shows up in your customer's debt enforcement register, and the business relationship usually suffers. A quick check beforehand is worth it:

• Is the customer in default? Without an agreed payment date, the customer is only in default after a dunning notice (Art. 102 Swiss Code of Obligations (CO)). From then on, they owe 5% default interest per year (Art. 104 CO). There is no compound interest (Art. 105 para. 3 CO).
• Is there a dispute about your work? If the customer is unhappy with your work, they will very likely file an objection. A conversation or a settlement is then often faster than any proceedings.
• Can the customer pay at all? The debt enforcement office gives you an extract from the debt enforcement register (Betreibungsregisterauszug) if you can show a legitimate interest - an unpaid invoice, for example (Art. 8a Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA, SchKG)). It costs CHF 17, or CHF 18 if it is mailed to you (Art. 12a DEBA Fees Ordinance (GebV SchKG), in German). If it already lists many debt enforcement proceedings and certificates of loss, there is probably little to recover from this customer.
• Do you have all the paperwork? Quote, order confirmation, invoice, delivery note or work report, dunning notices, emails. The most valuable is a document the customer has signed - more on that below.

You may only charge dunning fees if they were agreed in advance, for example in your general terms and conditions or in the signed quote. How to send reminders that are friendly and effective is covered in the article From quote to paid invoice.

The request for debt enforcement

Where: The debt enforcement office at the customer's domicile is responsible. Legal entities and companies such as a GmbH or AG are pursued at their registered office as listed in the commercial register (Handelsregister). A sole proprietorship is pursued at the owner's domicile - even if it is entered in the commercial register (Art. 46 DEBA). You can look that up in the commercial register.

How: You file the request with the debt enforcement office in writing or orally (Art. 67 DEBA). The easiest way is online: the federal debt enforcement portal takes you to EasyGov, where you fill in the form. According to the federal SME portal, you then print it, sign it and send it to the office. With a qualified electronic signature, you can also submit it electronically.

What it must include (Art. 67 DEBA):

• your name and address - for a company, its name as entered in the commercial register,
• the customer's name and address,
• the amount in Swiss francs - and if you claim interest, the interest rate and the date from which it runs, for example "5% interest since May 5, 2026",
• the document on which the claim is based, with its date, for example "Invoice no. 2026-041 of March 3, 2026", or otherwise the grounds for the claim.

The office does not check whether your claim is justified. It serves the customer with a payment order (Zahlungsbefehl) (Art. 69 DEBA). Whether the claim actually exists is decided only by a court - if the customer fights it.

During the debt enforcement holidays - seven days before and after Easter and Christmas, and from July 15 to 31 - the office does not serve payment orders (Art. 56 DEBA). Expect some delay during these periods.

Payment order and objection

The payment order requires the customer to pay within 20 days, including the debt enforcement costs (Art. 69 DEBA). The customer then has three options:

1. Pay - either you or the debt enforcement office. Paying the office also settles the debt (Art. 12 DEBA).
2. Do nothing. You can then continue the debt enforcement.
3. File an objection - right when the payment order is served or within 10 days at the debt enforcement office (Art. 74 DEBA). No reasons are required (Art. 75 DEBA). If the customer disputes only part of the claim, they must state the amount; otherwise, the entire claim is considered disputed.

An objection stops the debt enforcement. It can only continue once a court sets the objection aside (Art. 79 DEBA). Be prepared for it: objections are easy to file, even for customers who have nothing against the claim itself.

Getting rid of the objection: dismissal or lawsuit

Which route is open to you depends on what you have in hand:

What is an acknowledgment of debt (Schuldanerkennung)? A document, signed by the customer, in which they acknowledge owing a specific amount. A signed contract can also qualify, for example a signed quote or order confirmation stating the price. Because you had to deliver something in return, the customer can argue that you did not perform or that your work was defective. If they make that credible, the court denies the dismissal. An invoice alone is not an acknowledgment of debt - after all, it carries only your signature.

Dismissal proceedings are a fast, summary procedure before the court at the place of debt enforcement (Art. 84 DEBA), with no conciliation attempt beforehand (Art. 198 Civil Procedure Code (CPC)). You file an application together with the payment order and the document. The court fee depends on the amount, for example CHF 50 to 300 for claims of CHF 1'000 to 10'000 (Art. 48 GebV SchKG, in German). The court may ask you to pay it in advance (Art. 98 CPC); if the customer loses, they must reimburse you (Art. 106 CPC).

After a provisional dismissal, the customer has 20 days to bring an action to have the claim declared unfounded (Aberkennungsklage). If they do not, the dismissal becomes definitive (Art. 83 DEBA).

Without an acknowledgment of debt, your only option is a lawsuit. It usually starts with a request for conciliation filed with the conciliation authority (Art. 197 CPC). For claims up to CHF 2'000, the conciliation authority can decide the case itself at your request (Art. 212 CPC); up to CHF 10'000, it can propose a judgment (Art. 210 CPC). If you win, you can use the judgment to request a definitive dismissal of the objection.

Tip: For larger jobs, ask the customer to sign and return the quote or order confirmation. It costs you nothing and makes a later dismissal of the objection much easier.

Continuation: seizure or bankruptcy

If no objection was filed or the objection has been set aside, you file the request to continue (Fortsetzungsbegehren) - no earlier than 20 days and no later than one year after the payment order was served. Time spent on court proceedings over the objection does not count (Art. 88 DEBA). What happens next depends on the type of debtor; the debt enforcement office decides:

• Seizure (Pfändung) - for private individuals and sole proprietorships not entered in the commercial register. The office seizes as many assets or as much of the debtor's wages as needed to cover your claim (Art. 89 DEBA). To have seized items or wages turned into money, you file a request for realization (Verwertungsbegehren) - for movable property and claims, no earlier than one month and no later than one year after the seizure (Art. 116 DEBA).
• Bankruptcy - for debtors entered in the commercial register, such as a GmbH, an AG or the owner of a registered sole proprietorship (Art. 39 DEBA). The office serves a notice of impending bankruptcy (Konkursandrohung). After 20 days, you can petition the bankruptcy court to open bankruptcy proceedings, at the latest 15 months after the payment order was served (Art. 166 DEBA). Whoever files the petition is liable for the initial costs of the proceedings, and the court may require an advance (Art. 169 DEBA).

Think carefully before taking the step to bankruptcy: in bankruptcy, all creditors are paid from the debtor's assets, not just you - and you are liable for the initial bankruptcy costs. For the customer, even the notice of impending bankruptcy is a serious warning sign.

The certificate of loss

If the seized assets are not enough, you receive a certificate of loss (Verlustschein) for the uncovered amount (Art. 149 DEBA). It is not worthless:

• It counts as an acknowledgment of debt - in new debt enforcement proceedings, you can use it to request a provisional dismissal of the objection.
• Within six months, you can continue the debt enforcement without a new payment order.
• The claim does not become time-barred until 20 years after the certificate is issued (Art. 149a DEBA). However, the customer no longer owes interest on it.

Keep your certificates of loss and check now and then whether the debtor's situation has improved. A certificate of loss from bankruptcy proceedings only allows new debt enforcement if the debtor has acquired new assets (Art. 265 DEBA).

What does debt enforcement cost?

The debt enforcement offices charge the same fees throughout Switzerland. They are set out in the DEBA Fees Ordinance (GebV SchKG) and depend on the amount of the claim:

On top of this come expenses such as postage (Art. 13 GebV SchKG) and CHF 7 for each attempt to serve the payment order. A seizure that takes longer than an hour costs more.

Who pays? The debtor bears the debt enforcement costs. However, you have to advance them and may deduct them first from any payments the debtor makes (Art. 68 DEBA). If nothing comes in, you are left with them. Court costs for dismissal proceedings or a lawsuit come on top.

Limitation periods: don't wait too long

Most claims become time-barred after 10 years (Art. 127 CO). According to Art. 128 CO, the following claims, among others, become time-barred after just 5 years:

• rent, lease and interest on capital, and other periodic payments,
• claims for the supply of food, for board and lodging and for innkeepers' bills,
• claims for craftsmen's work, retail sales of goods, medical care, professional services of lawyers and notaries, and claims of employees arising from the employment relationship.

The period starts when the claim falls due (Art. 130 CO). If you are unsure whether your claim falls under the 5-year rule, play it safe and assume it does.

Debt enforcement interrupts the limitation period (Art. 135 no. 2 CO), as does an acknowledgment by the customer, such as a partial payment (no. 1). The period then starts over - in debt enforcement, with every step of the proceedings (Art. 138 para. 2 CO). Once a judgment has established the claim, the 10-year period always applies from then on (Art. 137 CO). If a claim is about to become time-barred, you can interrupt the limitation period by starting debt enforcement - even if you do not pursue the proceedings right away.

Collection agency: yes or no?

You can handle the debt enforcement yourself or hire someone to do it. Anyone with legal capacity may represent you, including on a professional basis (Art. 27 DEBA).

Arguments for a collection agency: It takes the paperwork and deadline tracking off your hands, knows the procedures and pays off if you have many small claims. Some agencies also buy claims outright.

Arguments against: The agency costs you money - and your customer usually does not have to reimburse those costs:

• The costs of representation before the debt enforcement office may not be charged to the debtor (Art. 27 para. 2 DEBA).
• A creditor can only claim collection fees as damages for late payment (Art. 106 CO). The Federal Council has stated that this is only possible if, in the individual case, a loss has occurred that exceeds the default interest and can be specifically proven. Your own time is generally not a loss; the costs of a collection agency can be recovered only in exceptional cases (statement on motion 23.3554, in German).
• An agency that threatens customers with flat-rate surcharges can damage your reputation - the customer associates its methods with your name.

For a handful of unpaid invoices a year, you can easily handle debt enforcement yourself. Read a collection agency's contract carefully: what does it cost you if nothing is recovered?

Withdrawing and deleting debt enforcement

If the customer pays after receiving the payment order, you can withdraw the debt enforcement. Third parties - such as a landlord asking for an extract from the debt enforcement register - will then no longer see it (Art. 8a para. 3 let. c DEBA). A withdrawal can also be part of a settlement.

If the customer has filed an objection, they can request after three months that the debt enforcement no longer be disclosed to third parties. The office then gives you 20 days to prove that you requested a dismissal of the objection or filed a lawsuit in time. If you cannot, the debt enforcement is no longer disclosed to third parties (Art. 8a para. 3 let. d DEBA). If you provide the proof later or continue the debt enforcement, it is disclosed again. After proceedings have been concluded, debt enforcement remains visible to third parties for five years (Art. 8a para. 4 DEBA).

Step by step

1. Send reminders: a payment reminder, then a dunning notice with a short deadline. Note the date of the dunning notice - if no payment date was agreed, default interest runs from then.
2. Check: Are there complaints about your work? Is the effort worth it given the amount? Does an extract from the debt enforcement register suggest there is anything to recover from the customer?
3. Gather documents: signed quote or order confirmation, invoice, dunning notices, correspondence.
4. File the request for debt enforcement: with the debt enforcement office at the customer's domicile or registered office, online via EasyGov. State the amount, the interest and the date it runs from, and the grounds for the claim; advance the fee.
5. Wait: Once the payment order has been served, the customer has 10 days to file an objection and 20 days to pay. The office sends you your copy of the payment order.
6. If there is an objection: With an acknowledgment of debt or a judgment, request a dismissal of the objection; otherwise, file a request for conciliation and a lawsuit. Act within three months if you can.
7. File the request to continue: no earlier than 20 days and no later than one year after the payment order was served. After a seizure, follow up with the request for realization; after a notice of impending bankruptcy, file the petition for bankruptcy once 20 days have passed.
8. Wrap up: Record the payment or keep the certificate of loss. Keep an eye on the limitation periods.

How it works in Easly

Easly does not file requests for debt enforcement and does not handle debt enforcement proceedings - you do that with the debt enforcement office or via EasyGov. Up to that point, though, Easly takes a lot of work off your hands and gives you the documents you need:

• Two-step dunning: For each overdue invoice, you create a payment reminder and then a dunning notice. Each is a separate document with its own number and PDF - showing the invoice number, original due date, days overdue, new deadline and total. That gives you written proof of when you sent reminders, ready for the request for debt enforcement.
• Dunning fee per step: You set the default amounts under "Settings > Subscriptions" and can adjust or remove them for each dunning notice. Only charge them if they are agreed in your general terms and conditions or the quote.
• Automatic or manual: For each customer, you decide whether the daily check creates the next due step itself and sends it by email. Otherwise, the dashboard tile "Manual dunning notices due" reminds you.
• Account statement per customer: A PDF listing all invoices (excluding drafts), the total paid and the open balance - useful as a final step before debt enforcement or as an enclosure. Partial payments from the bank import are already deducted.
• Automatic payment matching: When you upload your bank statement in the bank import, Easly marks invoices with a clearly matching payment as "Paid" - even if the customer also paid the dunning fee. Reminders for those invoices are then dropped.
• Quote and order confirmation: You create both from the same order. For larger jobs, ask the customer to sign and return them - that is your best basis for a dismissal of the objection.

Easly does not calculate default interest; you state it in the request for debt enforcement with the rate and start date.

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Frequently asked questions

Information as of: see above. Sources: Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy (Art. 8a, 12, 27, 39, 46, 56, 67-69, 74-75, 79-84, 88-89, 116, 149-149a, 166, 169 and 265 DEBA), DEBA Fees Ordinance (Art. 12a, 13, 16, 20 and 48 GebV SchKG, SR 281.35; in German), Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 102-106, 127-128, 130, 135, 137-138 CO), Civil Procedure Code (Art. 98, 106, 197, 198, 210 and 212 CPC), federal SME portal: request for debt enforcement, debt enforcement portal of the Federal Office of Justice (in German), the Federal Council's statement on motion 23.3554 (in German) and the report "Rahmenbedingungen der Praktiken von Inkassounternehmen" (framework for the practices of debt collection companies) of March 22, 2017 (postulate 12.3641). Court practice on dismissing objections varies from canton to canton. This article is not a substitute for legal advice.