Fee Invoices in Switzerland: Guide and Template

A fee invoice is the invoice that freelancers use to bill their time or service-related work - lawyers, coaches, consultants, therapists, lecturers, translators and IT consultants. It differs from a normal invoice in one crucial point: the fee is not based on a product price, but on an hourly rate, daily fee, flat rate, retainer or success fee - usually based on a documented work report. In addition, there are separately stated expenses, the VAT question depending on the freelance profession and - if VAT is required - the mandatory information according to Art. 26 VAT Act.

In this guide, I'll show you what fee models are available, what information is required on your invoice, how to correctly pass on expenses and how VAT treats your freelance work. With a copy template, three concrete examples with real CHF amounts and no theoretical blah blah.

What is a fee invoice – and who is it relevant for?

The fee invoice is the standard instrument for everyone who does not sell a product, but rather time, knowledge and skills. The term appears everywhere where classic freelancers work: in law firms, coaching practices, trust and consulting offices, with lecturers, translators, therapists and IT consultants. In contrast to a craftsman's invoice with materials and spare parts, a different question counts here: How much time did you invest - and how do you prove your price?

That's exactly why the basis of every good fee invoice is the work report: complete proof of what work you did, when and for how long. Without proof of time, your fee is an assertion - with proof of time it can be verified. This counts in disputes with customers, during a VAT check and, quite banally, when the customer asks: “What exactly did you work on for those three hours?”

The legal situation in Switzerland is manageable: the law of obligations does not prescribe any specific content of invoices; The mandatory VAT information is contained in the VAT Act (Art. 26 VAT Act). The AHV Act (Articles 2 and 3) regulates whether you pay AHV contributions as a self-employed person - the compensation fund will clarify your status. Anyone who is registered as a sole proprietorship in the commercial register or wants to check a legal form can find the full text of the law on admin.ch.

A practical example:

Fictional calculation example: Clarissa calculates 12.5 h × CHF 250.00 = CHF 3,125.00 net. It also charges CHF 85.00 of its own expenses as part of the taxable service. When registering and 8.1%, the base is CHF 3,210.00, followed by CHF 260.01 VAT, total CHF 3,470.01. Only real, separately reported expenses in the name and on behalf of the client remain as ongoing items outside the tax base.

Fee, fee invoice or cost note: the terms are clearly separated

The variety of terms confuses many people. Short classification:

The following applies to Switzerland: The term fee invoice or fee invoice does not change the applicable Swiss rules. Do not adopt Austrian sales tax limits from third-party templates. When registering for VAT, Art. 26 VAT Act and the applicable tax treatment are particularly relevant.

The term cost note has a tradition in Switzerland, especially in the legal profession and among doctors: it refers to the final overall billing of a mandate. Formally, the cost note is nothing more than a fee invoice - the same mandatory information, the same VAT logic. Anyone who uses the term is doing nothing wrong; Anyone who works with German or Austrian customers remains on the safe side with “fee invoice”.

The five fee models in comparison

Before you can even write a fee invoice, you need a fee model. This sounds banal, but it is the point at which most self-employed people leave money on the table. The five common models:

1. Hourly rate

The classic: You bill every hour worked. Typical rates in Switzerland: Coaches CHF 150.00–250.00/h, consultants CHF 150.00–300.00/h, lawyers CHF 200.00–500.00/h, IT consultants CHF 120.00–180.00/h, translators CHF 80.00–140.00/h. Your hourly rate must cover the annual costs: AHV, insurance, further training, holidays and idle time are included in the calculation.

Advantage: fair for both sides, can be clearly documented in the work report. Disadvantage: You punish yourself for speed. Anyone who completes in 2 hours what takes others 4 hours earns less.

2. Daily fee

For all-day assignments – workshops, further training, face-to-face mandates – you charge per day instead of per hour. Typically: CHF 1,200.00–1,800.00 per day for trainers and lecturers. Half days are usually billed at 50–60% of the daily rate. Clarify in writing in advance how preparation, travel time and overtime will be handled - these are the three classic points of contention.

Advantage: less administration, can be planned for both sides. Disadvantage: requires clear rules for half days and additional effort.

3. Flat fee

A fixed amount for a clearly defined order: “Concept and creation of the website: CHF 8,000.00.” The flat fee rewards efficiency and experience – and requires precise specifications. If the order is vaguely defined, you bear the risk of additional effort without compensation.

Advantage: you benefit from your speed; the customer has cost security. Disadvantage: If the order definition is insufficient, you can rework it for free. Protect yourself with a catalog of services in the contract.

4. Retainers

The retainer is reserved availability: The customer pays you a fixed amount every month - e.g. CHF 1,800.00 for up to 10 hours of legal advice or IT support. Unused hours expire or are transferred as agreed. The retainer gives you a predictable basic income and guaranteed capacity for the customer.

Mini-story (fictional example): Markus, business coach in Bern. Markus had eleven different customers with hourly rates between CHF 160.00 and CHF 220.00 - and individual invoices over 20 every month. He has switched three regular customers to a retainer: CHF 1,800.00/month each for 10 guaranteed hours. Result: CHF 5,400.00 predictable income per month from just three invoices instead of twenty, and his billing time has dropped from around 4 hours to 30 minutes per month.

5. Success fee

In a performance-based model, part of the remuneration depends on the agreed result. This can play a role in placement or consulting assignments; Professional legal boundaries must be examined separately.

Special limits apply to lawyers: Art. 12 letter e of the Lawyers Act (BGFA) prohibits, before the conclusion of a legal dispute, the agreement of a share in the litigation profits as a replacement for the fee and the waiver of the fee in the event of an unfavorable outcome. Permissible performance-related additions require a separate professional review. Therefore, do not include a general success fee in a legal template.

Which model is right for you? Rule of thumb: hourly rate for open orders, flat rate for clearly defined projects, retainer for ongoing support, daily fee for face-to-face events. Many freelancers combine: one or two retainers as a basis, plus hourly and flat-rate assignments.

Mandatory information: What must be included on the fee invoice?

Formally, a fee invoice is an invoice like any other. The OR does not prescribe any specific content; If you are subject to VAT, the information in accordance with Art. 26 VAT Act applies. If one of these mandatory details is missing, your customer can refuse to deduct input tax and reject the invoice. This is the most common reason why fee invoices remain on hold.

Checklist for a clear fee invoice: Art. 26 of the VAT Act requires the parties, service period, type and scope, consideration and appropriate VAT statement including the VAT number. Invoice date, number and payment terms supplement the documentation; a net-and-tax breakdown is recommended, not the only permissible form.

1. Name and address of the invoice issuer - for a sole proprietorship with a commercial register entry, the registered name
2. Name and address of the invoice recipient
3. Invoice date and date or period of service
4. Unique, consecutive invoice number – not required by law, but standard and essential for allocation
5. Type and scope of the service – specifically: “Strategy consulting, March 2026, 14.5 h according to the attached work report” instead of just “advice”
6. Consideration — the agreed amount; a net amount is not the only permitted presentation.
7. VAT statement — the applicable rate and tax amount. If the consideration includes VAT, the applicable rate alone is sufficient under Art. 26 para. 2 let. f of the VAT Act (for example, CHF 108.10 incl. 8.1% VAT).
8. VAT number – the CHE number with a VAT extension, e.g. CHE-123.456.789 VAT
9. Payment term – usual are 14 or 30 days

Three practical tips that are not mandatory but are worth money:

• Specify service period: «Service period 1.–31. March 2026” answers the question “When was that again?” before it is asked.
• Enclose work report: Always for hourly rates. This halves the number of queries.
• Offer a discount: 2% when paying within 10 days often speeds up payments massively - the discount of CHF 20.00 on a CHF 1,000.00 invoice costs you less than three weeks of waiting time.

Fictional example: Sandra, translator in Basel. Sandra translates specialist texts in DE/FR and, after her voluntary VAT registration, once sent an invoice for CHF 2,400.00 to a company - without a VAT number on it. The AG's accounting department refused: no input tax deduction without a VAT number. The invoice was returned, Sandra corrected it, and three weeks of late payment was the result. Since then, the VAT number has been firmly in your template - and your software assigns the invoice numbers automatically and without gaps.

Show expenses and expenses separately

Expenses are the second component of many fee invoices - and often the worst maintained. The basic rule: Fees and expenses must be shown separately. Your customer wants to see what your fee is and what costs you have passed on - and your VAT statement needs separation anyway.

Two categories, two treatments:

• Own expenses: If you continue to charge, your own travel, material and other costs are generally included in the fee. As ancillary service they follow the main service; The supplier tax rate or a lack of input tax deduction does not determine the customer VAT.
• Real disbursements: Only expenses in the name and on behalf of the customer remain outside the tax base if they are shown separately (Article 24 Paragraph 6 Letter b VAT Act). Keep the relevant evidence.

Write down the rules in a short expense policy: What applies to trips? What kind of overnight stays? What kind of food? A one-page sheet prevents 90% from discussions - you can find the details and flat rates in the guide to expense reporting.

VAT on the fee: taxable or exempt?

The VAT question for fee invoices cannot be solved with one answer for everyone - it depends on your activity:

In short: Advice, coaching and IT services are taxable - you declare 8.1% VAT if you are subject to VAT or are voluntarily registered. Medical treatments are VAT-free according to Art. 21 VAT Act - you do not declare VAT and write “VAT-free according to Art. 21 VAT Act” on the invoice. The following applies to special cases: Check your activity against the current version of the VAT Act on admin.ch and the industry-specific information sheets from ESTV.

The general threshold is CHF 100,000 of relevant worldwide annual turnover from supplies not excluded from tax. Below it, an exemption may apply, but voluntary or continuing registration is possible. A weak turnover year does not automatically end registration: check the effective start or deregistration date. Only without effective registration should you omit VAT for otherwise taxable services. For voluntary registration, compare eligible input VAT, output VAT on your services, final prices, customer eligibility and the accounting method. At an unchanged gross price, VAT reduces your net revenue; with a net-price agreement, the final price increases. Customers deduct input VAT only to the extent they qualify. Under the effective method, eligible input VAT is deducted individually; under the net tax rate method it is covered as a lump sum, not additionally deducted item by item. More: VAT for freelancers.

Important for VAT-free activities: A VAT-free fee invoice also needs all the usual invoice details: who, to whom, what, when, how much and by when payable. “VAT-free” does not mean “informal”. And: You also calculate expenses accurately and continue to document them - your customer's accounting department will thank you.

Template: Your fee invoice for copying

Here is a complete template with all required information. Copy, fill out, send. This is what a fee invoice with hourly rate, daily fee and expenses looks like:

Your company/your name
Street no.
Zip code location
Phone / Email / Website

Invoice to: Customer name AG
Street no.
Zip code location

Location, 24. September 2026

Invoice No.: 2026-047
Service period: 1.–30. September 2026
Our reference: Offer 2026-012

Ladies and Gentlemen

We take the liberty of charging you for the following services:

Position 1: Strategy consulting, 12.0 h at CHF 180.00 CHF 2,160.00
Position 2: Digitalization workshop, 1 day at CHF 1,400.00 CHF 1,400.00

Subtotal fee net CHF 3,560.00
Position 3: own travel expenses net CHF 84.50
Taxable base CHF 3,644.50
VAT 8.1% CHF 295.20
Invoice total CHF 3,939.70

Payable within 14 days net to the specified account.
The QR payment part with QR-IBAN and QR reference is enclosed.

VAT number: CHE-123.456.789 VAT
UID: CHE-123.456.789

Thank you very much for your order.
Kind regards
First name last name

Notes on the template:

• The invoice number is consecutive and without gaps - not a legal requirement, but standard and helpful for VAT checks.
• The service description is specific: what, for how long, in what period. “Advice” alone is too vague.
• The QR payment part is not mandatory, but should ideally be included on every invoice - as a PDF or physically. Without it, you send your customers typing, and that's exactly where errors and delays arise.

Accelerate payment: QR-bill, advance payment and payment term

The best fee invoice is of no use if the money doesn't come. Three levers:

1. Use QR-bill. The QR payment part turns paying into a three-second scan: no IBAN typing, no typos, no incorrect amount. We show you step by step how to create the payment part correctly in the Create QR-bill guide.

2. For large orders, ask for an advance payment. For mandates of around CHF 5,000.00, it is standard practice in the industry to request an advance payment - e.g. 30% at the start of the order, i.e. CHF 1,500.00 for a CHF 5,000.00 order. This secures your liquidity and filters out customers who cannot pay at all. At the end of the order, you issue the final invoice and offset the advance payment already paid. What the form looks like can be found in the article on invoice on account.

3. Agree payment terms in advance. Set the due date and any early-payment discount in the contract. In the absence of another provision or a different implication from the nature of the obligation, Art. 75 of the Code of Obligations applies. A date merely printed on an invoice does not automatically amend the contract. Under Art. 102, default generally requires a demand for payment of a due claim; an agreed fixed due date can trigger default without a reminder. Only from default does annual interest of generally 5% apply under Art. 104, subject to applicable contractual or statutory exceptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: Your fee is your income - invoice it properly

The fee invoice is the central document for freelancers: it documents your work, justifies your wages and is the basis for VAT, AHV and, in the event of a dispute, for debt collection. Anyone who knows the five fee models, correctly implements the mandatory information according to Art. 26 VAT Act, clearly separates expenses and sends them with a QR-bill has everything together - the rest is routine.

This article provides general information and does not replace legal or tax advice. For your individual case, consult a specialist or your fiduciary.