Creating a QR-bill: a guide for the self-employed
How to create a Swiss QR-bill — from the legal requirements to practical implementation. Everything sole proprietorships need to know about the QR-bill.
What is a QR-bill?
The QR-bill replaced the old orange and red payment slips in Switzerland on October 1, 2022. It contains all payment information in a QR code that can be read by any banking app or scanner. For your clients, it means: scan, check, pay — no more typing out IBAN and reference numbers.
What the QR-bill must contain
A valid QR-bill needs: your IBAN (or QR-IBAN), the exact amount and currency, your name and address as the creditor, the client's name and address as the debtor, a reference number (for reconciliation), and optionally a message field. All this is encoded in the QR code.
Where to get a QR-IBAN
Your bank can issue you a QR-IBAN. It's based on your regular IBAN but contains additional information for payment matching. Many banks offer this as part of their business account package. Without a QR-IBAN, you can still use a regular IBAN — the QR-bill works with either, but the QR-IBAN enables automated reconciliation.
Creating QR-bills in MILQ
MILQ generates Swiss QR-bills automatically. Enter your client, the service, and the amount — out comes a PDF with a valid QR-bill that any Swiss banking app can read. When the client pays, you mark the invoice as paid and the income entry is created automatically.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a QR-bill legally required?
- No, you can also provide your IBAN in plain text. However, the QR-bill is the standard in Switzerland and is expected by clients. Invoices without QR-bill are perceived as outdated.
- Can foreign clients pay with a QR-bill?
- The QR-bill is a Swiss standard. Foreign bank apps usually cannot read the QR code. For international clients, provide your IBAN and BIC in plain text alongside the QR-bill.