Your first invoice after starting a business

You need the exact name you trade under, your full address, a contact address and your business bank details. Enter these once and reuse them on every document.

If your business is listed in the UID register, include its UID number. Business customers often look for it on an invoice even when it is not mandatory in your specific situation.

Not every new business charges VAT. Liability depends in particular on turnover and the nature of the services supplied, and voluntary registration is possible in some cases.

While you are not VAT liable, the invoice should show neither a VAT rate nor a VAT amount, and it should not suggest that tax is included. Once you become liable, the UID number with the VAT designation, the applicable rate and the corresponding amount appear on the document. If you are unsure, the Federal Tax Administration is the reference authority.

Your first invoice sets the pattern you will keep for years. A simple format such as F-2026-0001 is easy to read and file. The useful rule is a continuous sequence, with no gaps and no reused numbers.

If an invoice already sent contains an error, do not delete it. Issue a new invoice with a new number and tell the customer that it replaces the previous one.

Customers rarely reread the contract before paying. They reread the invoice. Each line should therefore state the service, quantity, unit and unit price, with a service period when the work spans several weeks.

A description that is clear to a third party, such as an accountant or business partner, speeds up internal approval at your customer.

In Switzerland, the lower part of the invoice contains the payment section with QR code. The customer scans it, the payment data is filled in automatically, and the risk of errors in the IBAN or amount is reduced.

A standard IBAN is enough to start. A QR-IBAN is different from your usual IBAN and is used when you work with a structured reference that your bank automatically matches to incoming payments.

A clear due date, often thirty days, avoids misunderstandings. Without a stated term, the invoice is generally due on receipt, which still feels unclear to many customers.

From the outset, keep one place where you can see what has been sent, paid and is overdue. In the first months, this visibility matters more for cash flow than the reminder itself.

Business documents must be kept for ten years in Switzerland. Keep a copy of every invoice issued in a stable format together with the related data.

If you work with a fiduciary, ask in the first month which format they want to receive. A tabular export of invoices and invoice lines covers most needs.