How to Read Swiss QR Codes from Invoices in Power Automate (Step-by-Step Guide)

How to automate Swiss QR invoice processing in Power Automate

To read Swiss QR codes from invoices in Power Automate:

1. Use the SharePoint “When a file is created” trigger
2. Add “Get file content”
3. Add Encodian “Swiss QR Code – Read from Document”
4. Use “Update file properties” to store the extracted data

This automatically captures invoice payment data such as IBAN, amount, reference number, and creditor or debtor details from uploaded documents.

Why automate Swiss QR invoice processing in Power Automate?

Swiss QR codes are now the standard for payment information on invoices in Switzerland. They contain structured payment data such as account details, payment amounts, currency, reference numbers, and creditor or debtor information.

While these codes make payments easier for banks and mobile apps, many organisations still receive invoices as PDF or Word documents and must manually extract the data for internal processing. This adds time, increases the risk of human error, and slows down accounts payable workflows.

Automating Swiss QR invoice processing removes this manual step. Instead of opening each invoice and copying payment details into a system or document library, Power Automate can extract the data automatically as soon as the file is uploaded.

Using Encodian Flowr, organisations can read Swiss QR code data directly from documents and immediately use it in approval workflows, finance processes, notifications, or downstream integrations.

What does Swiss QR code extraction do?

Swiss QR code extraction reads the payment data embedded within the QR code and returns the values in a structured format for use in Power Automate.

Before automation

• Invoice data must be read manually
• Users copy values into systems or metadata fields
• Manual entry increases the risk of mistakes
• Processing is slower and harder to scale

After automation

• Swiss QR data is extracted automatically from the document
• Values are returned in a structured format
• SharePoint metadata can be populated instantly
• Invoice handling becomes faster, more accurate, and easier to scale

The result is a streamlined invoice intake process that reduces manual effort and makes payment information immediately available for automation.

When should you flatten PDFs?

Automating Swiss QR invoice extraction is useful when:

• Processing supplier invoices in SharePoint
• Preparing documents for archiving
• Capturing payment data for approval workflows
• Reducing manual entry in finance teams
• Feeding invoice information into ERP or accounts payable systems
• Improving consistency and auditability in invoice handling

Tutorial: Read Swiss QR Codes from Invoices

What you will build

In this tutorial, you will create a flow that:

• Uploads an invoice PDF containing a Swiss QR code to Microsoft SharePoint
• Triggers a Microsoft Power Automate flow
• Reads the Swiss QR code using Encodian Flowr
• Updates document library fields with the extracted invoice data

This creates a fully automated process for capturing Swiss QR payment information alongside the original invoice.

Prerequisites

1. A PDF invoice containing a Swiss QR code (example: Example Invoice)

2. A SharePoint document library (example set up below)
Create a document library called, for example Invoices and add the your columns. In this example we will use:

• Account
• Amount (Number column)
• Currency
• Reference
• Creditor Name
• Creditor House Number
• Creditor Address Line 1
• Creditor Address Line 2
• Creditor Street
• Creditor Town
• Creditor Postcode
• Creditor Country Code
• Debtor Name
• Debtor House Number
• Debtor Address Line 1
• Debtor Address Line 2
• Debtor Street
• Debtor Town
• Debtor Postcode
• Debtor Country Code

3. An active Encodian Flowr subscription or trial

Not got a Flowr subscription?

Build the Power Automate flow

1. Create the flow

1a. Create a new Automated cloud flow
1b. Name your flow
1c. Select trigger: When a file is created (properties only) (SharePoint)
1d. Click Create

This flow will run automatically whenever a new invoice is uploaded to the SharePoint library.

2. Configure the trigger

2a. Site Address: Your SharePoint site
2b. Library Name: Invoices (example)

This trigger fires when a new file is added to the invoice library.

3. Get file content

3a. Add action: Get file content (SharePoint)
3b. Site Address: Same as above
3c. File Identifier: Use Identifier from the trigger

This retrieves the document content required for QR code processing.

4. Read the Swiss QR code

4a. Find connector: Encodian – Barcode
4b. Add action: Swiss QR Code – Read from Document
4c. File Content: Output from Get file content
4d. Leave advanced parameters at their default values

This action automatically detects the Swiss QR code in the document and extracts the available payment data.

5. Update SharePoint metadata

5a. Add action: Update file properties (SharePoint)
5b. Site Address: Same as above
5c. Library Name: Invoices (example)
5d. Id: Use ID from the trigger
5e. Advanced Parameter: Map each SharePoint column to the matching output from Swiss QR Code – Read from Document

Map the extracted values into the corresponding SharePoint fields.

• Account → Account
• Amount → Amount
• Currency → Currency
• etc…

Power Automate may automatically place this action inside an Apply to each loop because the Encodian action returns data as a JSON collection. This is expected and will not cause any issues, as only one set of invoice data is returned per document.

Test the flow

• Upload the Example Invoice PDF to the Invoices SharePoint library (example)
• Allow the flow to run
• Open the document library
• Review the populated metadata fields alongside the uploaded invoice

You should now see the Swiss QR code data extracted and stored directly in the library columns.

What data can be extracted from a Swiss QR invoice?

Depending on the invoice and QR code contents, the extracted data can include:

• Account
• Amount
• Currency
• Reference number
• Creditor name and address details
• Debtor name and address details

This makes the extracted data immediately usable in finance and document workflows without manual rekeying.

Example use case

Once the data has been extracted, you can use it to support wider automation scenarios such as:

• Routing invoices for approval
• Sending notifications to accounts payable teams
• Writing invoice data to external finance systems
• Supporting reconciliation workflows
• Creating searchable invoice records in SharePoint

For example, when a supplier invoice is uploaded, Power Automate can extract the Swiss QR data, populate SharePoint metadata, notify the relevant team, and pass the values into a downstream approval or payment process.

Summary

Swiss QR codes standardise and make payment information machine-readable, but many organisations still handle invoice documents manually once they are received.

Automating Swiss QR invoice processing in Power Automate removes that bottleneck by extracting structured payment data directly from uploaded documents. This reduces manual effort, improves accuracy, and makes invoice data immediately available for workflow automation.

Using Encodian Flowr, this can be implemented in just a few steps within your existing SharePoint and Power Automate processes.

Next steps

• Explore additional Barcode actions such as merge, split, and watermark
• Push extracted data into third-party finance or accounts payable systems
• Notify internal teams when new invoices are received
• Review Swiss QR Code – Read from Document documentation for advanced scenarios
• Start a free trial of Encodian Flowr to automate your document and invoice workflows