Invoicing for a micro business

The real cost of an invoice is the time spent finding the customer's address, retyping lines and checking totals. Saving regular customers and services once removes most of that work.

For a small business, reducing invoice preparation from fifteen minutes to three minutes can save several hours every quarter.

The expected elements are the same as for a large company: full identification of both parties, a unique number, date, service description, totals and VAT when you are liable.

The payment section with QR code completes the document. It follows a Swiss financial market standard so the customer's bank can read the payment data correctly.

Many micro businesses are not VAT liable. In that case, the invoice should show neither a VAT rate nor a VAT amount and should not suggest that tax is included.

VAT liability depends in particular on turnover and the type of services. Check the criteria with the Federal Tax Administration rather than guessing.

Three figures are enough: amount outstanding, amount overdue and amount paid during the period. When these are visible without manual work, reminders go out at the right time instead of a month late.

A written reminder sent a few days after the due date resolves most delays, especially when it restates the invoice and original due date.

Business records must be kept for ten years. An annual folder with issued invoices and a summary table covers the need without installing another system.

If your fiduciary is involved only once a year, this regular filing turns a day of reconstruction into a handover that takes minutes.