Finances · Accounting
Without clean bookkeeping there's no tax return, no bank financing, no good night's sleep. What you actually need – and where good tools cut the effort in half.
Obligations
The bookkeeping obligation depends on the legal form and revenue. For corporations there's also the question of an audit – which for most SMEs is voluntary.
The key threshold
CHF 500,000
Annual revenue. Below this, sole proprietorships/partnerships can use simple cash-book accounting. Above it, everyone must use double-entry bookkeeping under OR 957.
Sole proprietorship / partnership < 500k
Record of income, expenses and net assets. No balance sheet, no double-entry bookkeeping, no closing under the Code of Obligations.
Excel or simple tools are enough. Effort usually < CHF 1,000/year if done yourself.
All corporations · Sole proprietorships from 500k
Balance sheet + income statement + notes under OR 957 ff. Annual financial statements mandatory, chart of accounts (Swiss SME chart typical).
External bookkeeping typically CHF 3,000–8,000/year depending on document volume. Retention obligation: 10 years.
GmbH & AG only
Opting-out
< 10 full-time
No audit if all shareholders consent in writing. Relevant for most start-ups & SMEs.
Limited audit
Standard SME
External auditors review the statements in a simplified way. Cost typically CHF 2,000–5,000/year.
Ordinary audit
Large companies
From 2 of 3 thresholds: balance sheet > CHF 20 million, revenue > CHF 40 million, avg. 250 full-time staff. Full audit.
Worked example
Lisa's GmbH
3 shareholders · Revenue: CHF 800,000 · 5 employees
With opting-out
Bookkeeping only
Total
~6,800/year
Without opting-out
+ limited audit
Total
~9,800/year
Opting-out saves around CHF 3,000 per year. Sensible as long as no external investors or banks require an audit.
Rhythm
Ongoing
Collect, digitise and post receipts. Ideally weekly – not on 31 December.
Quarterly
VAT settlement (effective method) and payment to the FTA. Semi-annually for the net tax rate method.
Year-end
Inventory, accruals, provisions, depreciation. Then: prepare the annual financial statements.
After closing
File the tax return, audit if applicable. Retention: 10 years for all documents.
Basic rule: anything set up once and repeated belongs to you. Anything requiring expertise (annual statements, tax return, complex VAT questions) belongs to a fiduciary. A hybrid model – you post transactions, the fiduciary closes the books – is the sweet spot for many SMEs.
Retention obligation: 10 years
Sweet spot in numbers
Fiduciary providers
You can outsource bookkeeping, annual statements and taxes. Findea.ch from the Startups.ch ecosystem takes care of it digitally, at a fixed price and with personal support.
