Credit notes for Swiss invoices
Reversing an issued invoice doesn't mean deleting it — it means issuing the right document to correct it.
- The credit note links to the original invoice and copies its lines with reversed amounts.
- The original invoice then shows it was reversed, with a zero balance and no payment slip.
- Once issued, the credit note is locked like any invoice and never carries a QR payment slip.
Why a Swiss invoice is cancelled with a credit note instead of being deleted
Once sent, the invoice is an accounting voucher: it has to be kept for 10 years exactly as issued, and any change has to stay visible. Deleting or rewriting it also wipes out the proof of what the customer received and of the VAT that was declared.
A credit note solves this with a second document that points to the first and cancels all of it or just the wrong part. For VAT, a price reduction after invoicing is corrected in the period in which it is booked (Article 41 of the VAT Act); in the Megorix VAT summary, the credit note falls in the period of its own date, with negative amounts.
How to issue a full or partial credit note in Megorix
A credit note is created on the same screen as invoices and numbered with the NC prefix.
- 1
You choose the “Credit note” type and the original invoice. Only invoices already issued and not yet fully credited are offered.
- 2
Megorix copies the customer, currency, account, reference type, language and lines of the original invoice, with negative quantities.
- 3
For a partial credit, you adjust quantities or remove lines. The server refuses a credit note that exceeds the amount still open to credit.
- 4
On issue, the credit note is locked just like an invoice, and goes out without a payment slip.
- 5
The original invoice then shows the related credit note, and its open balance drops by the same amount.
Common mistakes when correcting a Swiss invoice
Nearly all of them end the same way: the customer holds one document, the books show another and the VAT return a third figure.
- 1
Changing the amount on the invoice itself after sending it.
- 2
Issuing a credit note without saying which invoice it corrects; in Megorix the reference to the original invoice is mandatory.
- 3
Crediting more than was invoiced by adding up several partial credit notes — Megorix refuses the excess.
- 4
Crediting a credit note instead of the original invoice — also refused.
- 5
Sending a QR slip with the credit note, which would lead the customer to pay again.
- 6
Marking the invoice as “cancelled” and stopping there: the status changes, but VAT and the balance are only corrected by the credit note.
Credit note, new invoice or both: what to use in each case
The choice depends on what is wrong and by how much. In every case the original invoice stays stored and readable.
- Price or quantity too high: a partial credit note for the difference only.
- Invoice issued to the wrong customer or with the wrong content: a full credit note and a new, correct invoice.
- Discount granted after the sale: a partial credit note, at the same VAT rate as the original line.
- Service that was never delivered: a full credit note; if it was already paid, the refund to the customer is made by bank transfer.
- Payment received for an invoice already cancelled: the bank statement import flags it and leaves it unapplied, so the money can be returned.
Common questions about credit notes in Switzerland
In Megorix, cancelling an invoice issues a credit note — the original document stays intact and the cancellation is recorded.
Yes, Megorix supports full or partial credit notes, always linked back to the original invoice.
Megorix treats cancellations as credit notes, preserving the full history required for Swiss compliance.
No. A QR-bill asks for a payment, and a credit note says the opposite: that the customer owes less or is due money back. In Megorix, the credit note goes out without a slip and with a note that payments refer to the original invoice.
Each credited line keeps the VAT rate of the original line, so the tax is corrected in the same proportion. In the VAT summary, the credit note reduces the base and the tax of the period in which it is issued.
Yes: the credit note can refer to a paid invoice. Megorix records the cancellation and the corrected VAT; the refund to the customer is made outside the system, by bank transfer.
It takes the NC prefix, the year and a sequential number — for example NC-2026-00012 — and the document shows the number of the invoice it corrects.
More on invoicing in Switzerland
- QR-bill
QRR reference computed for you, SCOR or no reference — following the SIX rules.
- GeBüV compliance
Issued invoices are locked on the server, with the change history kept for 10 years.
- VAT and accounting
Swiss chart of accounts and VAT codes, with a ready-to-use summary.
- Bank reconciliation
Imports the bank statement, matches payments on its own.
- Multi-language
Invoices in Portuguese, German, French, Italian and English.
- Invoicing from the order
How Megorix invoices in general: from order to payment, with the customer and lines already filled in.
- Integrations with other software
Connections between Megorix and the invoicing, accounting and point-of-sale software a business already uses.
Ready to try it?