Create a QR-bill: free, in 30 seconds, with or without an existing invoice

In short: you create a QR-bill in three steps: enter your IBAN and address, add the amount and client, download the PDF. You don't need a QR-IBAN, software or an account. The generator above does exactly that, free and SIX-compliant under Swiss QR-Bill standard v2.3.

We created our first QR-bills in the summer of 2022, when the orange payment slip disappeared, and built the two tools on this page because bank generator, Word template and monthly subscription were all poor answers. Below you'll find a complete example, the mandatory fields, the answer to "Is the QR-bill mandatory?" and a checklist before sending.

What you need: your IBAN (CH... or LI...), no QR-IBAN required. Your name or company name plus address. Name and address of the payer, if you know them. The amount in CHF or EUR. Optionally a short message like "Invoice no. 2026-014".

What the tool outputs: an A4 PDF with a perforated line, the payment slip at the bottom can be printed or scanned. Plus an A6 version of the slip alone, if you want to attach it to an existing invoice. Both PDFs are SIX-compliant under Swiss QR-Bill standard v2.3, structured address included.

The slip alone is not a complete invoice: invoice number, description of the service and VAT details belong in the invoice section above it. Our guide to writing an invoice in Switzerland shows how to build that part, and you'll find a free Word and Excel template under Swiss invoice template.

When it's useful:

• You use an existing Word, Pages or Canva template you don't want to rebuild in software every time.
• You work with a CRM or industry software that doesn't generate a QR-bill itself.
• You've already sent an invoice, forgot the payment slip, and just want to send the missing piece.

We read your PDF, keep the layout, font and logo, and add the standardised slip in A6 format on the last page. If there isn't enough room, we add a page. Here too your PDF never reaches a server. The tool also has its own page: add a QR-code to an invoice.

Honest note: both tools are meant for occasional use. If you write more than two or three invoices per month, you'll be faster with invoicing software, because you won't re-enter clients, IBAN and VAT every time.

The slip has a receipt on the left and the payment part on the right with the Swiss QR Code, in which all payment information is encoded in a structured way. The standard applies to every Swiss bank, including PostFinance, UBS, ZKB, Raiffeisen, cantonal banks and neo-banks like Yuh or Neon. The client scans the code with their e-banking app, all payment data is pre-filled, they only confirm.

Looking for a payment slip? Today that's the QR-bill

Searching for "create a payment slip" (Einzahlungsschein)? You're in the right place: the payment part of the QR-bill is today's payment slip. Same A6 format at the foot of the A4 sheet, same receipt on the left, just with a Swiss QR Code instead of the coding line. The generator above creates it for free. What the orange (ESR) and red (ES) slips were and what changed for payers and bookkeeping is explained on our page payment slip: from ESR to QR payment part (in German).

Banks have generators too: the UBS QR portal creates single QR payment parts for free (UBS guide), Raiffeisen and PostFinance have comparable tools in e-banking, each tied to the bank login.

Mandatory fields and technical requirements

With a QR-bill it isn't the layout that matters first, it's the technical logic. When account, address, payment data and reference fit together, the payment is processed automatically in e-banking. When they don't, you get a follow-up email instead.

Structured addresses are mandatory. Since 21 November 2025 (Implementation Guidelines v2.3) only structured addresses are allowed in the Swiss QR Code: street, house number, postcode, town and country code each in their own field, not "Bahnhofstrasse 10, 8001 Zürich" on one line. Both tools above already capture the address separately; old Word templates usually fail on exactly this point.

The QR code must be exactly 46 × 46 mm, black on white, with the Swiss cross (7 × 7 mm) in the middle. If the code is too small, distorted or embedded as a blurry image, the banking app can't read it.

The reference formats. The QR-reference (QRR) is 26 digits plus a check digit under modulo-10 recursive and works only with a QR-IBAN (recognisable by the bank clearing number 30000 to 31999). SCOR uses the ISO-11649 format and works with your normal IBAN. Without a reference (NON) you write a message like "Invoice 2026-014" in the field. The most common trap is the wrong combination: a normal IBAN plus a QR-reference does not produce a valid document. More under QR-IBAN example.

CHF and EUR only. If you bill in USD or GBP, send a normal invoice without a payment slip and give your IBAN and BIC in plain text.

QR-bill example: what a correct invoice looks like

A fictional graphic designer from Bern invoices a bakery in Thun CHF 1'232.34. She has no QR-IBAN and therefore uses the "IBAN without reference" variant, like most freelancers. This is how invoice section and payment part are built:

How to read the payment part: it occupies the bottom 105 mm of the A4 sheet. On the left the receipt (62 mm wide) with account, recipient, amount and the "acceptance point" field, on the right the payment part (148 mm wide) with the Swiss QR Code in the middle and the same details in plain text next to it. When scanned, the banking app must show exactly these values: recipient, IBAN, CHF 1'232.34 and the message "Invoice 2026-041".

With a QR-IBAN the reference field would hold a 27-digit QR-reference (such as 21 00000 00003 13947 14300 09017) instead of the message, and the bookkeeping could match the incoming payment automatically. That pays off from a few dozen invoices per month, not from three.

Is the QR-bill mandatory?

In short: the QR payment part is the only payment slip still allowed, but a payment slip itself is not mandatory. Since 1 October 2022 no Swiss bank or post office processes orange or red payment slips. If you want to give your client a payment slip, it has to be the QR payment part; there is no other permitted option.

You are not obliged to include a payment slip at all, though. An invoice with IBAN, name and amount in plain text is legally complete; your client then types the payment in manually. The QR-code simply makes paying radically easier, and the rule depends neither on turnover nor on legal form.

Not to be confused with eBill. eBill delivers the invoice straight into the recipient's e-banking, without PDF and without scanning, and requires registration with the eBill network. The QR-bill works with any email and on paper.

The switch-over in three sentences: the QR-bill was introduced on 30 June 2020, after which both systems ran in parallel for a good two years. On 30 September 2022 the transition period for ESR and ES ended. Since 21 November 2025 (version 2.3) structured addresses are mandatory as well; SIX updates the standard each November, so check once a year that your software produces the current version. (As of September 2026)

Check the QR-bill before you send it

A readable QR-code is not yet a valid QR-bill: the scanner recognises the code even when IBAN and reference type don't match. Before sending, a two-stage check is worth it.

1. Scan test with your own banking app. Open the PDF, choose "Scan QR code", point the camera at the code. Check recipient, IBAN, amount, currency and reference. If the app shows anything different from the printed payment part, the invoice must not go out.
2. Technical validation in the SIX portal. For templates you reuse, or after switching software: in the SIX validation portal you upload the image of the QR-code or the decoded text and get an error log covering structure, version and mandatory fields.

The most common errors it catches: a QR-reference on a normal IBAN, an address on a single free-text line, an amount in the code that differs from the printed amount, a code exported too small. The validator only checks the technology; VAT rate and service description remain your job.

The finished PDF carries letterhead, line items, VAT breakdown, Swiss QR Code and a sequential invoice number. Magic Heidi matches incoming payments automatically against the bank statement (camt.053 or CSV), and reminders go out straight from the app. The difference from a generator isn't the PDF, it's the loop: create, send, book, archive for ten years.

How to decide:

• Bank generator: good if you use e-banking anyway and occasionally bill a private individual.
• Free tool: good for one-off invoices. Our two tools above run without signup, and Tool 2 is the only one that completes existing PDFs.
• Invoicing software: good from two or three invoices per month, because your data is saved and the VAT return comes out right automatically. Free plan and prices: Magic Heidi pricing.

If you currently use Bexio and find it too expensive, take a look at the Bexio alternative.

Mandatory details if you're VAT-registered: if you're VAT-registered, so above CHF 100,000 annual turnover, you need your VAT number on every invoice and a VAT breakdown per line item. Magic Heidi does this automatically. If you're not VAT-registered, leave the VAT fields blank, but remember to register from CHF 100,000. You'll find the details in the VAT management guide and in our invoicing software.

Last updated: 8 September 2026. Reviewed by the Magic Heidi team. For legal or tax questions around VAT or accounting we recommend consulting a fiduciary or the FTA. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice.