Accounting Obligations for Swiss SMEs: The Complete Guide
Every company in Switzerland must keep accounting in compliance with the Code of Obligations (art. 957 ff CO). Here are your obligations according to your legal form.
Simplified Accounting vs Complete Accounting
Simplified Accounting (receipts/expenses)
- Authorized for sole proprietorships and partnerships
- If turnover < CHF 500,000/year
- Simple chronological record of receipts and disbursements
- Annual inventory of assets and liabilities
Double-Entry Bookkeeping
- Mandatory for LLC, SA and all companies > CHF 500,000 turnover
- Recording of all flows (debit/credit)
- Balance sheet and income statement mandatory
- Notes to accounts (according to thresholds)
Document Retention Obligations
Retention Period: 10 years
- Accounting documents (invoices, receipts)
- Important business correspondence
- Annual accounts and audit reports
Accepted Format: paper or electronic (readable and tamper-proof)
ToBill guarantees:
- Unlimited secure storage
- Instant access to documents
- Daily automatic backup
Annual Accounting Closing
Sole Proprietorships (turnover < CHF 500,000):
- Simplified balance sheet
- Income statement
- No mandatory audit
LLC and SA:
- Complete balance sheet
- Income statement
- Notes (according to thresholds)
- Audit if 2 of 3 thresholds exceeded:
- Total balance sheet > CHF 20 million
- Turnover > CHF 40 million
-
250 employees (on average)
Filing Deadlines
- Annual accounts: to be approved within 6 months after closing
- Tax return: according to canton (generally March-May N+1)
- VAT: quarterly, biannual or annual
ToBill sends automatic reminders for each deadline.
Accounting Digitalization
Advantages:
- Time saving: 70% reduction in admin time
- Error reduction: calculation automation
- Facilitated collaboration with your fiduciary
- Mobile access 24/7
- Ecology: zero paper
ToBill: 100% digital solution
- Intelligent receipt scanning (OCR)
- Automatic bank reconciliation
- Accounting export in 1 click
- Real-time financial dashboard