Compliance for Switzerland
Switzerland requires suppliers that invoice public administrations or contracts of CHF 5,000 or more to send e-invoices. The Federal Finance Administration, known in German as Eidgenössische Finanzverwaltung (EFV), operates the central receiving infrastructure. Invoices are sent to the EFV via approved service providers PostFinance or Swisscom, or an approved interconnect provider.
Switzerland also supports voluntary B2B and B2C invoice exchange through bank and eBill networks.
Document requirements
Switzerland's e-invoicing requirements focus on mandatory B2G invoicing, with optional B2B and B2C exchange supported through commercial networks.
Switzerland compliance summary
Learn more about compliance transaction terms and concepts.
| Aspect | Description | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| B2B | Invoices exchanged between businesses. | Optional |
| B2C | Invoices issued by businesses to consumers. | Optional |
| B2G | Invoices issued by businesses to public administrations for public procurement. | Mandatory for suppliers that invoice Swiss public administrations for contracts of CHF 5,000 or more. |
| Electronic signature | Signature or seal rules for authenticity and integrity of e‑invoices. | Not required |
| Legal archiving | Minimum retention period for e‑invoices. | 10 years |
| Model | The e-invoicing flow model used by the country. | Post-audit |
| Platform | The government-managed platform for e-invoicing. | PostFinance or Swisscom, or an approved interconnect provider. |
| Supported format | The e-invoicing format legally required by the country. | XML based on UBL 2.1 or CII and aligned with swissDIGIN’s eCH-0069 standard. |
| Automatic updates | Whether invoice status updates synchronise automatically in Monitor. | Yes |
Format
E-invoices must be in UBL or CII format, aligned with swissDIGIN's eCH-0069 standard. When ecosio sends invoices via PostFinance, PostFinance uses the YellowBill XML format.
Automated e‑invoicing flow
ecosio enables you to automate the transmission of compliant B2G e-invoices in Switzerland via PostFinance, an approved Swiss service provider.
Accounts receivable flow
The following steps illustrate the AR process for sending invoices to the EFV.
- You send the invoice data from your ERP or business software to ecosio in a structured format, such as VRBL.
- ecosio validates the invoice data and converts it to the required format. ecosio then sends the converted invoice to PostFinance, an approved local service provider.
- PostFinance validates the invoice data and sends it to the EFV. The EFV then delivers the invoice to the recipient federal authority.
- PostFinance retrieves the invoice status and artefacts from the EFV and sends them to ecosio. ecosio converts the invoice data to your ERP or business software's format and sends it to your system.
Legal resources
The following official documents define the legal and technical framework for e-invoicing in Switzerland.
- Ordinance on Electronic Invoicing to the Federal Administration (E-Rechnungsverordnung): Establishes the legal obligation for suppliers to issue structured electronic invoices to the Swiss Federal Administration for contracts of CHF 5,000 or more.
- EFV e-invoice submission guidance: Explains how suppliers can submit e-invoices to the Swiss Federal Administration, including delivery options through service providers.
- EFV quick introduction to e-invoicing: Provides an overview of Switzerland's federal e-invoicing approach and supplier obligations.
- eCH-0069 standard: Defines the Swiss content standard used for structured e-invoice data.
Updated 7 days ago