Swiss invoicing software, offline and without a subscription

What Swiss invoicing software needs today

Switzerland has its own rules, so a generic invoicing tool isn't enough. Before you pick anything, check these four points – they're the ones that cause real trouble later if they're missing.

Compliant QR-bills

Since the paper payment slip was retired, every invoice in Switzerland is paid with a QR-bill. The Swiss QR code has to follow the official SIX standard exactly, or your client's bank rejects it. Good software validates the code before the PDF leaves your hands, so you never send a slip that can't be scanned.

Swiss VAT (FTA), done right

If you charge VAT, the software has to handle the current Swiss rates and let you show more than one rate on the same invoice. It should also support both the effective method and the net tax rate method, since small businesses often use the latter.

Real accounting, not just invoices

An invoice is only the start. At year-end you still need a journal, a balance sheet and an income statement. Software that keeps invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping in one place saves you from re-typing everything into a second tool.

Ownership of your own data

Your client list and revenue figures are sensitive. It's worth asking a plain question of any vendor: where does this data physically live, and what happens to it if I stop paying? Tools that keep the data on your own machine put that answer firmly in your hands.

Where Vidima fits in

Vidima is a Swiss invoicing and accounting suite built by Helvecraft for exactly these requirements. It isn't only an invoice writer – it's a small but complete suite that covers the whole cycle, from QR-bill to year-end statements.

• QR-bill (QR-Bill v2.2): Swiss QR codes following the SIX standard SPC 0200, validated before every PDF export. You can also try it for free in the QR-bill generator.
• Double-entry accounting: a preloaded Swiss SME chart of accounts, journal, balance sheet and income statement exportable to PDF – included in the licence, with no extra module to buy.
• Swiss VAT (FTA): all current rates, effective or net tax rate method, several rates on a single invoice.
• Credit notes and reminders: issue credit notes and send payment reminders without leaving the app.
• Import from Bexio and Banana: guided migration so you can bring existing data across instead of starting from zero.
• Verifiable seal: every invoice carries a cryptographic seal (ECDSA P-256) your clients can check on verify.vidima.ch – something unusual in this market.

Just as important is what Vidima does not do: it never phones home. It's a native desktop app for Windows and macOS that runs 100% offline. There's no account and no cloud – your data simply stays on your computer. You pay once and the software is yours, with no subscription to renew.

Swiss invoicing software shouldn't ask you to rent your own books month after month, or to hand your client data to someone else's servers.

Vidima vs. cloud subscriptions

Most Swiss invoicing tools today are cloud platforms billed monthly. That model genuinely suits some businesses – but for many sole proprietors and micro-businesses it means paying every month for capacity they rarely use. Here's an honest side-by-side:

If you need live e-banking links, payroll and several people working in the same file at once, a cloud platform is the better fit. If you mainly need to invoice and keep your books correctly, on your own machine, Vidima is the calmer and cheaper choice. Two honest comparisons in detail: Vidima as a Bexio alternative and Vidima as a Banana alternative.

Price and free trial

Vidima is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Personal is CHF 149, Pro CHF 299 and Studio CHF 990 – each paid once, with updates within version v1.x included. There's no recurring fee and no per-seat surprise.

You can try the full app free for 30 days, with no credit card, and decide afterwards. Vidima is available from vidima.ch and the Microsoft Store.

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