Key points at a glance
- The QR-bill fully replaced the payment slips on September 30, 2022.
- Your regular business account with an IBAN is all you need for a QR-bill. You only need a QR-IBAN if you want to use the QR reference.
- Since November 2025, only structured addresses are permitted in the QR code - street, house number, postal code and town in separate fields. The banks' transition period ended at the end of September 2026.
- Good software creates the payment part automatically and validates it before the invoice goes out.
What is the QR-bill?
The QR-bill is the payment section at the bottom of your invoice. It has two parts: on the left the receipt (62 × 105 mm), on the right the payment part (148 × 105 mm) with the Swiss QR Code. Together, they are exactly as wide as an A4 sheet.
The Swiss QR Code contains all the payment details in machine-readable form. Your customer scans it with their banking app, checks the details and confirms - which practically rules out typos in the IBAN, amount or reference. Anyone paying at a Swiss Post counter or with a paper payment order finds the same details printed in plain text next to it.
What the payment part contains
| Field | Content | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| Account / Payable to | Your IBAN or QR-IBAN, your name and your address | Yes |
| Reference | QR reference or Creditor Reference (SCOR) - or none | Depends on the account |
| Additional information | Message, for example the invoice number | No |
| Currency | CHF or EUR | Yes |
| Amount | Invoice amount; can be left blank, for example for donations | No |
| Payable by | Your customer's name and address | No |
If the amount or the payer's address is missing, the software prints a blank box with corner marks in its place so it can be filled in by hand.
IBAN or QR-IBAN?
This is the most common question from sole proprietorships (Einzelfirmen). The short answer: your regular IBAN is enough. With it, you can create QR-bills without a reference (with a message only) or with a Creditor Reference.
The QR-IBAN is an additional account number your bank provides on request for the same account. You can recognize it by the bank identifier: digits 5 to 9 are between 30000 and 31999. With a QR-IBAN, you must use a QR reference. In return, your bank automatically matches each payment to the right invoice using the reference - which pays off once you receive a lot of payments.
The three options at a glance
| Account | Reference | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| IBAN | None, message only | Few invoices, matched by hand using the invoice number |
| IBAN | Creditor Reference (SCOR, starts with "RF", international standard ISO 11649) | A unique reference without an additional account number |
| QR-IBAN | QR reference (27 digits including a check digit) | Many payments, automatic reconciliation by the bank |
Important: the QR-IBAN and the QR reference always go together. A QR-IBAN with a Creditor Reference - or a regular IBAN with a QR reference - is invalid, and the payment will be rejected.
Example: graphic design studio with ten invoices a month
Sandra runs a graphic design studio as a sole proprietorship. She sends out about ten invoices a month. She uses her regular IBAN and puts the invoice number in the message. In e-banking, she sees the number with every incoming payment and marks the invoice as paid. She would only need a QR-IBAN if she received many more payments.
New since November 2025: structured addresses
Since November 2025 (SIX Implementation Guidelines, version 2.3), only structured addresses are permitted in the QR code: name, street, house number, postal code, town and country each go in their own field. The "combined" address with two free-text address lines that used to be allowed is no longer supported. Many banks continued to process such invoices until the end of September 2026; since then, they can be rejected by the bank or at the Swiss Post counter. The next version of the guidelines (2.4, from November 2026) brings no technical changes for invoices in Swiss francs.
This applies to your own address as the payee and - if you include it - to your customer's address. So check that your customer addresses are entered properly: street and house number, postal code and town belong in their designated fields, not all on one line.
Paper or PDF?
Both are allowed. On paper, the payment part is usually separated by a perforation. If you send the invoice as a PDF by email, a dividing line with a scissors symbol marks the payment part - for anyone who prints the invoice. Most of your customers, however, scan the QR code straight off the screen with their banking app.
Common mistakes
- Wrong combination of account and reference: a QR-IBAN without a QR reference, or an IBAN with a QR reference.
- Unstructured address: street and town on one line - no longer permitted since November 2025, and no longer tolerated since October 2026.
- QR code shrunk or distorted: the code must measure 46 × 46 mm, with the Swiss cross in the center.
- Homemade payment part: templates from word processors often produce faulty codes. Use software that follows the Swiss Payment Standards.
How it works in Easly
In Easly, you create the invoice and the QR payment part is generated automatically in the PDF. You don't have to take care of any of it yourself:
- Enter your account once: You enter your IBAN in the setup wizard. Easly detects whether it is a QR-IBAN and, if so, automatically uses the QR reference. With a regular IBAN, you choose: with a Creditor Reference or with a message only.
- Structured addresses: You enter customer addresses in separate fields; the address search fills in the street, postal code and town. In the QR code, they always end up structured.
- Validation before sending: Easly validates every payment part before creating the PDF. If something is wrong - an address that is too long, for example - you see a warning instead of getting a faulty invoice.
- Straight to your customer by email: The invoice is sent from your own mailbox. Once it has been paid, you record the payment - or upload your bank statement (camt.053) and Easly matches the payment itself using the reference or invoice number. If you like, you can send a payment confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a QR-IBAN for the QR-bill?
No. With your regular IBAN, you can create QR-bills without a reference or with a Creditor Reference. You only need a QR-IBAN if you want to use the QR reference and have your bank reconcile payments automatically.
Can I issue a QR-bill in euros?
Yes, the QR-bill supports Swiss francs and euros. Easly creates QR-bills in Swiss francs.
What happens to invoices with a combined address?
Since November 2025, only structured addresses are permitted in the QR code, and the banks' transition period ended at the end of September 2026. Invoices with a combined address may therefore be rejected. Recreate such invoices with up-to-date software.
Does the amount have to appear in the payment part?
No. The amount is optional. If it is missing, the software prints a blank box where the payer fills in the amount - useful for donations, for example. For regular invoices, you should always include the amount.
Information as of: see above. The authoritative sources are the Swiss Payment Standards and the SIX Implementation Guidelines for the QR-bill. This article is not a substitute for advice from your bank or accountant (Treuhand).