A receipt confirms a payment that has already been made, an invoice asks for one. Both need at least your name and address, the date, the service, the amount, and if you are registered for VAT your tax number or VAT ID plus the rate or tax amount. Germany allows a simplified small-amount invoice up to 250 euros gross, Austria up to 400 euros gross. Small businesses in Germany and Austria have to state that their turnover is exempt.
- A receipt confirms a payment, an invoice requests one. After a cash payment in the studio you issue a receipt.
- Always on it: name and address, date, service, amount. With VAT registration also the tax number or VAT ID and the rate or amount.
- Simplified invoices: Germany up to 250 euros gross, Austria up to 400 euros gross.
- Numbers have to run in sequence without gaps, and a year prefix such as 2026-041 makes that easy.
- The deposit belongs on both documents: once as its own receipt, once as a deduction on the final receipt.
Contents
The question usually shows up after the first session for a corporate client or after the first tax return: do I have to write an invoice, is a slip of paper enough, and what goes on it? The good news is that the required details are manageable and look very similar in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The rest is habit.
Receipt or invoice: what is the difference?
A receipt confirms that a payment has already been made. It goes to the client as proof of what they paid and serves you as an income document. An invoice requests a payment: it names an amount, a due date and usually your bank details.
In practice you need both, just at different moments. Studio life is receipt heavy, because people pay on the spot in cash, by card or by instant transfer. As soon as somebody has to transfer money up front, you write an invoice.
When do you need which one?
| Situation | Document | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cash payment right after the session | Receipt | payment has already been made |
| Card or instant transfer in the studio | Receipt | payment has already been made |
| Deposit at booking | Receipt for the deposit | part payment, settled later |
| Corporate client, voucher for a team | Invoice | their bookkeeping needs a payment document |
| Client transfers before the appointment | Invoice | payment is still outstanding |
| Guest spot, settling with the studio | Invoice to the studio | service between two businesses |
Required details in Switzerland, Germany and Austria
The base is the same everywhere: who issued it, when, for what, how much. The differences sit in VAT and in the small-amount thresholds.
| Switzerland | Germany | Austria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always required | name and address, date, service, amount | name and address, date, service, amount | name and address, date, service, amount |
| Extra when VAT registered | VAT ID with the MWST suffix, rate or tax amount | tax number or VAT ID, net amount, rate and tax amount | VAT ID, net amount, rate and tax amount |
| Small-amount threshold | no separate EU style rule | up to 250 euros gross, reduced details | up to 400 euros gross, reduced details |
| Sequential number | standard practice | mandatory on full invoices | mandatory on full invoices |
| Note when no tax is charged | no VAT shown below 100,000 CHF turnover | note on the small business exemption | note on the small business exemption |
| Name the recipient | recommended | mandatory above 250 euros gross | mandatory above 400 euros gross |
VAT registration starts in Switzerland at 100,000 CHF of worldwide annual turnover. In Germany the small business rule has applied since 1 January 2025 with a maximum of 25,000 euros in the previous year and 100,000 euros in the current one, and in Austria the threshold is 55,000 euros gross. The details are in the article on tax and VAT.
Why sequential numbering is not optional
One number per document, no gaps, no duplicates. It is the thread your whole bookkeeping hangs on: without it nobody can check whether an income entry is missing, and you cannot find the document behind a bank entry either.
- One cycle per year: 2026-001, 2026-002 and so on. On 1 January you start again.
- No gaps: if you void a document, keep it anyway and mark it as cancelled.
- Count deposits in: they are income and get their own number, not an appendix to the later final receipt.
- Never issue a number twice: using a paper book and a program in parallel produces duplicates. Pick one source.
Showing the deposit and settling it at checkout
Deposits are the most common mistake on tattoo documents. Either they appear nowhere, or they get charged twice at the end. The clean approach has two steps: its own receipt at payment, a deduction on the final receipt.
- At booking the client pays a deposit of 100 CHF or euros. You issue receipt no. 2026-014 for 100, with the note 'deposit for the appointment on 14 March'.
- The session comes to 640. You issue receipt no. 2026-041: service 640, less the deposit of 100 paid on 2 February, balance due 540.
- Both numbers appear on the final receipt. The client sees the total they paid, and your income adds up correctly to 640.
How high a deposit should sensibly be and what happens to it on a cancellation is covered in the article on tattoo deposits. One thing matters for the paperwork: the cancellation rule belongs in the booking confirmation, not on the receipt at the end.
RECEIPT no. 2026-041 [Your name or studio name] [Street, postcode, city] [VAT ID or tax number, only if you are registered] Date: 14 March 2026 Client: [client name] Service: tattoo, inner forearm, approx. 12 cm, session 2 of 2 Duration: 4 hours Session price: 640.00 Deposit paid 02.02.2026 (receipt 2026-014): 100.00 Balance due: 540.00 [If VAT registered: show net amount, rate and tax amount] [If a small business in DE or AT: add the exemption note] Payment method: card Payment received with thanks. [Signature]
Digital or paper: which is better?
Both are allowed, and what counts is readability across the whole retention period. Paper receipts from a book are quick but tend to disappear, and thermal paper fades within months. Documents created digitally can be archived as PDF, emailed and found again in seconds.
- Create the document right after payment, not in the evening from memory.
- Email the PDF to the client and file the same file in the monthly folder.
- With paper: photograph it and store the copy digitally as well.
- Retention: Switzerland 10 years, Germany 8 years for invoices and accounting documents, Austria 7 years.
- One document per payment, not one collective receipt for three sessions in a quarter.
If you want to set up your whole documentation from scratch, the framework for that is in the article on bookkeeping basics.
Frequently asked questions
What has to be on a tattoo receipt?
At minimum your name and address, the date, the service provided, the amount, the payment method and a sequential number. If you are registered for VAT, add your tax number or VAT ID and the rate or tax amount. A deposit already paid is shown as a deduction so the client can follow how the total was reached.
Does a tattoo artist have to write invoices at all?
For private clients who pay in the studio a receipt is enough. You need an invoice when payment is still outstanding, for example with an advance transfer, with corporate clients or when settling a guest spot with a studio. In the EU there are also cases where an invoice must be issued to a business customer.
Up to which amount is a simplified invoice enough?
In Germany up to 250 euros gross and in Austria up to 400 euros gross. Then the issuer name and address, the date, the service, the gross amount and the tax rate are sufficient. The recipient name and address and a separate breakdown of net and tax amount are not required within that limit.
Do tattoo artists need sequential invoice numbers?
For full invoices in Germany and Austria a unique sequential number is mandatory. Beyond that it is simply sensible, because it makes gaps visible and keeps every income entry findable. A yearly cycle such as 2026-001 that restarts on 1 January and includes deposits works well.
How do I show a deposit on the receipt?
Issue a separate receipt with its own number when the deposit is paid and note which appointment it belongs to. On the final receipt you state the full session price, deduct the deposit with its date and document number, and show the balance due. That keeps the total of your recorded income correct.
Can I keep receipts in digital form only?
As a rule yes, as long as the documents stay unchanged, readable and findable for the whole retention period. The periods are 10 years in Switzerland, 8 years in Germany for invoices and accounting documents and 7 years in Austria. Some documents may still have to be kept as originals under national rules.
By the Taddoo team, built by artists and booking managers for artists. Published September 9, 2026, last updated September 9, 2026.
