The Swiss QR-Bill, Explained for Freelancers

The QR-bill replaced the paper payment slips and has been the mandatory standard for Swiss invoices since 1 October 2022. It packs all payment data into a QR code while showing the same information in plain text below it.

IBAN vs. QR-IBAN: which do you need?

The QR-bill accepts two kinds of account numbers, and choosing the right one saves you a lot of setup. Here is the short version.

• Standard IBAN — your normal bank account. Enough for most freelancers and SMEs.
• QR-IBAN — a special IBAN format issued by your bank or PostFinance, used only together with a 27-digit QR reference.

A standard IBAN is simply your normal bank account. It is enough for most freelancers and SMEs and requires no special arrangement with your bank.

A QR-IBAN is a special format issued by your bank or PostFinance, used only together with a 27-digit QR reference. You only need it for fully automated payment matching at high invoice volumes.

The key point: you do not need a QR-IBAN just to send QR-bills. A standard IBAN works fine, and you can pair it with a creditor reference for automatic matching when you want it.

The three reference types

The reference field is what lets incoming payments be matched to open invoices automatically. There are three options, each suited to a different volume.

1. QR reference — a 27-digit structured number. Requires a QR-IBAN. Ideal for high invoice volumes with automated reconciliation.
2. Creditor Reference (ISO 11649, SCOR) — a structured RF… reference that works with a standard IBAN. Automatically matchable and internationally understood.
3. No reference — you use the free-text "additional information" field instead. Fine for low volumes.

The QR reference is ideal for businesses sending many invoices and reconciling them without manual work. Its cost is the QR-IBAN setup it requires.

The Creditor Reference (RF…) is the middle way: structured matching with a normal IBAN, no special bank setup needed. It is the best fit for most freelancers.

The third option, no reference at all, is fine for low volumes where you reconcile manually and rarely bill the same customer twice. Use the free-text additional information field instead.

The mandatory fields

A scannable QR-bill is built from a small set of mandatory fields. Every one of them has to be correct.

• Swiss QR code with the payment data.
• IBAN or QR-IBAN of the payee.
• Payee name and address.
• Amount and currency (CHF or EUR).
• Reference (per type above).

The QR code carries the machine-readable payment data, while the visible slip shows the same information in plain text. The customer should be able to verify every field by eye.

The content of the QR code must match the visible payment slip exactly. A wrong IBAN, amount, or reference makes the bill invalid even if it looks right on paper.

When you use a structured reference, that reference must also appear in plain text on the slip. Leaving it in the code only is a common mistake that breaks automated reconciliation.

One thing that changed recently

Since 21–22 November 2025, QR-bills must use structured addresses — street, house number, postcode, and city in separate fields. Old templates with combined address lines are no longer reliably scanned.

This matters because a template can still print a readable address while the underlying data no longer scans. The printed result is not enough; the data has to be structured too.

For invoices in EUR, there is a second recent change: since February 2026 only a standard IBAN with a creditor reference or additional information is allowed — no QR-IBAN for EUR bills.

If you import customer data from a CRM, CSV, or Excel file, check for combined address fields. Splitting them now avoids rejected payment orders and manual corrections later.