From quote to paid invoice

1. The quote

Legally, a quote (Offerte) is an offer: once the customer accepts it, the contract is concluded. That's why it pays to word it carefully. A good quote includes:

• your company name and the customer's, with addresses, the date and a quote number,
• a clear description of the services or products, with quantity, unit and price,
• the total amount - with VAT shown separately if you are liable for VAT,
• a validity period, for example "valid until November 30",
• the payment terms, for example "payable within 30 days", and a reference to your general terms and conditions.

Why the validity period matters so much: without a deadline, the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) keeps you bound by your offer for as long as you could reasonably expect a reply under normal circumstances. A deadline makes it clear how long your price applies - important if your purchase prices fluctuate.

2. Order confirmation and delivery note

For larger jobs, you confirm the order with an order confirmation. It records exactly what was agreed and at what price - especially if anything has changed since the quote. If you deliver goods, include a delivery note: it lists the items and quantities, but no prices.

3. The invoice and its mandatory details

If you are liable for VAT, the Value Added Tax Act (VATA) requires the following details on your invoice:

• the name and location of your business as it appears in business dealings, and your VAT number (CHE-123.456.789 MWST),
• the name and location of the customer,
• the date or period of the supply,
• the type, subject and scope of the supply,
• the consideration (the price),
• the VAT rate and the VAT amount (if your prices include VAT, the rate is enough).

For amounts up to CHF 400 (cash register receipts, for example), the customer details may be omitted. If you are not liable for VAT (Art. 10 para. 2 let. a VATA), you must not show any VAT - otherwise you owe it to the tax authority anyway (Art. 27 para. 2 VATA). Instead, add a note to the invoice, for example "Not subject to VAT (Art. 10 para. 2 let. a VATA)".

Every invoice also needs an invoice number and date, the payment term and the payment part with the QR code. What goes into the payment part is explained in the article Creating a QR-bill.

4. Payment terms and default

Payment terms of 10 to 30 days are common. Good to know: if your invoice merely says "payable within 30 days", the prevailing view is that the customer does not automatically go into default. For that, you need either a contractually agreed payment date - in the signed quote or your general terms and conditions, for example - or a dunning notice.

Once the customer is in default, they owe 5% default interest per year (Art. 104 CO), unless you agreed otherwise. On small amounts this hardly matters - on large invoices with long delays, it does.

5. Payment reminder and dunning notice

The law does not prescribe a specific number of reminders. A friendly two-step approach has proven effective:

1. Payment reminder about two weeks after the due date: friendly, with no fee. Often the invoice was simply overlooked.
2. Dunning notice about one month after the due date: with a new, short deadline (for example 10 days) and - if agreed - a dunning fee.

Dunning fees are only allowed if they were agreed in advance, for example in your general terms and conditions or in the quote. Without such an agreement, you can only claim default interest and damages you can prove.

6. When nothing else works: debt enforcement

If the customer still doesn't pay after the dunning notice, you can file a request for debt enforcement (Betreibungsbegehren) with the debt enforcement office (Betreibungsamt) at their domicile or registered office - these days usually online via the federal debt enforcement portal (in German). The office serves the customer with a payment order (Zahlungsbefehl). If the customer files an objection (Rechtsvorschlag), you need a court decision to continue: a dismissal of the objection (Rechtsöffnung) if you have a signed acknowledgment of debt - such as a signed quote or order confirmation - and otherwise an ordinary lawsuit.

Don't wait too long: claims generally become time-barred after 10 years, and some - such as claims for craftsmen's work or retail sales of goods - after just 5 years.

How it works in Easly

In Easly, each document is created from the previous one with a single click. Customer, items and references carry over - you never type anything twice:

• One order number for everything: Quote, order confirmation, delivery note and invoice share the same number. Partial invoices show for each item what was ordered, what has been billed and what is still open.
• Mandatory details included automatically: Company details, VAT number, rates and amounts per rate appear on every invoice, along with the QR payment part. If you are not liable for VAT, the note referring to Art. 10 para. 2 let. a VATA appears instead - or your own text.
• Two-step dunning: By default, Easly suggests a payment reminder after 14 days and a dunning notice after 30 days. You set the deadlines and fees for each step yourself.
• Automatic or with approval: For each customer, you decide whether Easly sends reminders on its own or only after you approve them - handy for the regular customer you'd rather call.
• The dunning notice is a separate document with its own number and PDF. Dunning fees are not included in the VAT return.
• Overview on the dashboard: Overdue invoices and dunning notices that are due appear there until they have been dealt with.

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Frequently asked questions

Information as of: see above. Sources: Swiss Code of Obligations (including Art. 3-5, 102-104, 127-128 CO), Value Added Tax Act (Art. 26 VATA), VAT Ordinance (Art. 57 VATO), Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA, SchKG). This article is not a substitute for legal advice.