GeBüV compliance: Swiss invoices locked once issued
An issued invoice cannot be quietly altered. Megorix enforces that at the technical level, not just as a process.
- Once issued, an invoice's content is locked — only its status (paid, overdue, cancelled) can change.
- On issue, the issuer, the customer's details, the IBAN and the document template version are fixed — editing a customer record never changes past invoices.
- The lock runs on the server for every write path (screen, API, imports, automations), and every change is logged with user and time, kept for 10 years.
Integrity, retention and documentation: the three GeBüV requirements
GeBüV — the Swiss Ordinance on the Keeping and Retention of Accounting Records (SR 221.431) — applies to issued invoices, which are accounting vouchers. Article 3 requires integrity: records must be kept so that no change can go unnoticed.
In a database, which is a changeable medium, Article 9 accepts any technical procedure that guarantees that integrity and cites the digital signature only as an example. Article 4 also requires written work instructions on how documents are created and kept.
The retention period is 10 years from the end of the financial year (Article 958f of the Code of Obligations); the VAT Act requires the same for tax-relevant records.
What Megorix checks and locks the moment an invoice is issued
A document always starts as a draft, where it can change freely. Issuing is a single, final step, confirmed in a prompt that shows the final dates.
- 1
Checks: there are lines, the totals match them, the company profile is complete (with the UID and its check digit) and the bank account is in the document's currency.
- 2
Date: the issue date becomes today, in Swiss time; the due date keeps the payment term in days the draft had.
- 3
Freeze: the issuer, the customer's name, address and UID, the IBAN and the document template version are stored on the invoice itself.
- 4
Lock: from then on only the status changes — paid, overdue, cancelled. The invoice cannot go back to draft, be edited or be deleted, and neither can its lines.
- 5
Correction: a mistake is fixed with a credit note linked to the invoice and, if needed, a new invoice.
Change history and procedure documentation for an audit
The lock is a mandatory check on the server: it applies whether a change comes from the screen, the API, an import, an integration or an automation, and not even automatic clean-ups get around it. If for any reason it cannot run, the save is refused.
Every change to invoicing records goes into the history with the user and the time, and that history is kept for 10 years. Logins are recorded and the database has daily backups, each one checked. The PDF of an old invoice is reproduced from the data fixed on issue, with the same template: reopened eight years from now, it shows the content the customer received.
For Article 4, the module includes the invoicing procedure documentation (Verfahrensdokumentation), in German and Portuguese, versioned together with the module.
Practices that put invoice integrity at risk
Many of these mistakes look harmless on the day and only become a problem in a tax audit.
- 1
Fixing a typo directly on an invoice already sent, instead of issuing a credit note.
- 2
Deleting issued invoices: in Megorix only drafts can be deleted, so an issued document never leaves a hole in the numbering.
- 3
Backdating an invoice so it lands in another VAT period; the date of the service has its own fields (service start and end).
- 4
Keeping the PDFs in a shared folder where anyone can overwrite them.
- 5
Having nothing in writing about how invoices are issued, locked and kept.
Common questions about GeBüV compliance
Megorix locks each invoice's content on the server the moment it is issued and keeps the change history, with user and time, for 10 years — the kind of technical integrity procedure GeBüV asks for.
In Megorix, an issued invoice is locked at the technical level — only its status can change, never its content.
Yes, on every save: the lock is a mandatory check on the server and, if it cannot run, the change is refused rather than let through unchecked.
No. GeBüV requires a technical procedure that guarantees the integrity of the records and cites the digital signature as an example, without imposing a method. In Megorix, that guarantee is the server-side lock on every issued document, together with the change history.
Ten years from the end of the financial year they belong to (Article 958f of the Code of Obligations). In Megorix, an issued document cannot be deleted and the change history is kept for the same period.
It is the written description of how accounting records are produced, kept and protected, required by Article 4 of GeBüV. The Megorix invoicing module already includes one, in German and Portuguese, and keeps the earlier versions.
No. The issue date is always the day the invoice was issued, because that date decides the VAT period. If the date is wrong, the invoice is cancelled with a credit note and a new one is issued.
More on invoicing in Switzerland
- QR-bill
QRR reference computed for you, SCOR or no reference — following the SIX rules.
- Credit notes
Correct reversals, without touching the original document.
- 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?