Swiss invoices in five languages

Switzerland has four national languages and customers expect the invoice in theirs: in Zurich it is a “Rechnung” with MWST, in Geneva a “facture” with TVA, in Lugano a “fattura” with IVA. Changing the title alone isn't enough — the columns, totals, statuses and the name of the tax all change.

In Megorix you choose the language on each invoice — Portuguese, German, French, Italian or English — and the whole document follows it. Line descriptions stay as written: the software translates the structure of the invoice, not the text of your items.

• German: Rechnung, Gutschrift, MWST, Zwischensumme, Fälligkeitsdatum.
• French: facture, note de crédit, TVA, sous-total, date d'échéance.
• Italian: fattura, nota di credito, IVA, subtotale, data di scadenza.
• English: invoice, credit note, VAT, subtotal, due date.
• Portuguese: fatura, nota de crédito, IVA, subtotal, data de vencimento.

The QR slip has its own rules: the Swiss standard only allows German, French, Italian and English for the fixed wording of the receipt and the payment part. On an invoice in German, French, Italian or English, the slip follows the document's language; on an invoice in Portuguese, the body stays in Portuguese and the slip comes out in English.

The slip's data — account, reference, amount and addresses — is the same in every language, so the payment reaches bank reconciliation in exactly the same way.

The language of the document and the language of the person issuing it are two different things, and Megorix handles them separately.

1. 1

   On the invoice form, the “Language” field sets the document's language.

2. 2

   The preview and the PDF show the labels, statuses and tax name in that language straight away.

3. 3

   A credit note inherits the language of the invoice it corrects, so the customer gets both documents in the same language.

4. 4

   Your team works in its own language: the invoicing screens follow each user's language in Megorix, whatever the language of the invoices they issue.

It suits the construction firm in Lausanne working for clients in Bern, the hotel in Ticino with guests from Zurich, the bilingual law firm in Fribourg or Biel/Bienne — and Portuguese-speaking entrepreneurs who run their business in Portuguese and invoice in each customer's language.

Three mistakes to avoid when invoicing in several languages:

1. 1

   Translating the invoice by hand into a second document — leaving two invoices for one sale.

2. 2

   Writing “VAT” or “IVA” on a German invoice, where the customer looks for “MWST”.

3. 3

   Printing the QR slip in a language the standard does not provide for.