13 October 2026
An electrical contractor's invoice needs the details listed in Art. 26 MWSTG and a QR payment part — and it is only as right as the Rapport, the Offerte and the measured quantities it is built from. What must be on it, when it falls due, and how Regie, fixed price, Akonto and retention appear on it.
The short answer: an invoice from a VAT-registered electrical contractor names both parties with name and place, the VAT number, the date or period of the work, the kind, subject and extent of the service, the amount, and the tax rate and tax amount (Art. 26 para. 2 MWSTG). In Switzerland it is paid through the QR payment part. Under a contract for work, payment falls due only on delivery (Art. 372 OR) — unless something else was agreed. What ends up on the invoice is therefore decided earlier: in the Offerte and in the Rapport.
The VAT Act requires the invoice to identify the supplier, the recipient and the kind of service clearly, and lists what it contains «as a rule» (Art. 26 para. 2 MWSTG):
| Detail | What it means for an electrical contractor |
|---|---|
| Name and place of the business as it trades, with a reference to the VAT register and the number | The company name and address as on the letterhead, plus the VAT number |
| Name and place of the customer | The client or the property management that placed the order — not automatically the tenant whose flat the work was done in |
| Date or period of the service, where it differs from the invoice date | The days on site from the Rapport; for a building site, the period of the stage |
| Kind, subject and extent of the service | What was done, where, and how much: hours, material, positions from the Offerte |
| The consideration | The amount, broken down so that it can be followed |
| Tax rate and tax amount | Standard rate 8.1 percent (Art. 25 para. 1 MWSTG); if the tax is included in the amount, the rate alone is enough |
The obligation applies to a business that is liable for VAT. A business with less than CHF 100,000 turnover a year is exempt (Art. 10 para. 2 let. a MWSTG) and shows no VAT. Every invoice still needs the other details — who, what, when, how much — because without them the customer cannot check what he is paying for.
The payment part of a Swiss invoice is the QR-bill: a QR code with a Swiss cross, on paper or as a PDF, with a payment part and a receipt. According to SIX, which publishes the standard, it definitively replaced the old payment slips on 1 October 2022. Since version 2.3 of the implementation guidelines, valid from 21 November 2025, only the structured address is allowed on a QR-bill — street, house number, postcode and town each in a field of its own.
The QR reference has a second use for the business: if the customer pays with it, the payment can be matched to the invoice in the bank file without doubt. That is the difference between a payment that books itself and one that somebody in the office has to look for.
An electrical contractor rarely writes an invoice out of nothing. Which amount may appear on it depends on the pricing agreed in the Offerte.
Fixed price. If the price was fixed in advance, the contractor must complete the work for that sum and may not claim an increase even if the work took more labour or expense than foreseen (Art. 373 para. 1 OR). The invoice states the agreed price. Extra work is added only through a variation — what applies to it is set out in «Variation to the Offerte».
Regie. If the price was not fixed in advance, or only approximately, it is set according to the value of the work and the contractor's expenses (Art. 374 OR). The invoice then rests on the Rapport: hours, material, travel. A Rapport signed by the customer is the document the invoice relies on in a dispute — why, is set out in «Getting the Regie Rapport signed».
Measured quantities against the Offerte. For positions with unit prices, the contractor bills the quantities actually installed. The invoice then shows, position by position, what was quoted and what was done. A deviation the business spots itself before sending is cheaper than one the customer finds.
The law pays on delivery: the customer must pay the price on delivery of the work (Art. 372 para. 1 OR). Only where the work is to be delivered in parts and the price was set per part is each part paid on its delivery (Art. 372 para. 2 OR).
For the invoice this means that an Akonto or part invoice during the works needs an agreement in the Offerte. When a contractor can ask for an Akonto and when not is set out in «Asking for an Akonto as an electrical contractor».
The final invoice deducts what has already been invoiced and shows the balance. If part invoices are not deducted as you go, the client's most common question follows: which amount is actually still open.
A flat warranty retention is not a statutory figure but an agreement, usually through SIA 118. Without an agreement, the customer may only make a deduction matching the reduced value for a notified defect of minor importance (Art. 368 para. 2 OR). The same goes for Skonto: it applies if it was agreed. If both are in the Offerte, they belong on the invoice too — as lines of their own, with the deadline they depend on. What applies if the customer deducts anyway or does not pay is set out in «Invoice not paid».
Three kinds of program write invoices in Switzerland, and they differ less in the invoice form than in where the figures come from:
The question that makes the difference is not «which program writes invoices» but: how often is a figure retyped before it reaches the invoice? What else an ERP for electricians needs for that is set out in «ERP and CRM for electricians». How elektro.box covers the way from the Rapport to the incoming payment is on the page Invoicing and payments.
The invoice is the beginning, not the end. When the customer is in default and which interest then applies is set out in «Invoice not paid»; the step after it — debt enforcement, payment order, objection — is set out in «Debt enforcement for an unpaid invoice».
Does every invoice have to show VAT? Only a VAT-registered business's. A business with less than CHF 100,000 turnover a year is exempt (Art. 10 para. 2 let. a MWSTG) and shows no VAT. A liable business states the rate and the tax amount; if the tax is included in the amount, the rate alone is enough (Art. 26 para. 2 let. f MWSTG).
Is the QR-bill mandatory? According to SIX, the old payment slips have been gone since 1 October 2022; whoever sends a payment part in Switzerland sends a QR-bill. Since version 2.3 of the guidelines it must use the structured address.
May I invoice during the works? Yes, if parts and part payments were agreed in the Offerte (Art. 372 para. 2 OR) or an Akonto was arranged. Without an agreement, payment falls due only on delivery (Art. 372 para. 1 OR).
How do I show Regie work on the invoice? With the hours, the material and the travel from the Rapport, with date and place. For Regie, the price is set by the value of the work and the expenses (Art. 374 OR) — the signed Rapport is the evidence for it.
Sources: Federal Act on Value Added Tax (MWSTG, SR 641.20), Art. 10, 25 and 26, version as of 1 January 2025, fedlex.admin.ch; Swiss Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), Art. 368, 372, 373 and 374, version as of 1 January 2026, fedlex.admin.ch; SIX, «QR-bill», six-group.com. As of 13 October 2026. This article does not replace tax or legal advice: which details are enough in a given case and what a contract provides, clarify with your fiduciary.
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