A sole proprietorship does not have to keep the same books as a GmbH. How much the law asks depends on revenue. Here is what applies, when VAT comes in and what Bilanzi does for your business.
The duty to keep accounts is set out in the Code of Obligations, from Art. 957. For sole proprietorships and partnerships, what counts is revenue in the last financial year. If it was below CHF 500’000, simple books of income, expenditure and financial position are enough. In Switzerland this is often called the «Milchbüchlein».
If revenue was CHF 500’000 or more, the full duty to keep accounts and report applies. You then need complete books, in practice double-entry, and annual accounts with a balance sheet and an income statement. For a GmbH or an AG this always applies, whatever the revenue.
Simple does not mean without rules. The principles of proper accounting apply to simple books as well, with the necessary adjustments. You record every transaction completely and truthfully, and every entry needs a voucher.
You keep books and vouchers for ten years, counted from the end of the financial year. You may keep them electronically, as long as you can make them readable again at any time.
Sources: Code of Obligations, Art. 957, 957a and 958f (fedlex.admin.ch)
Bilanzi keeps double-entry books even for a small sole proprietorship. Every entry goes into the journal with a debit and a credit. The law allows that. Simple books are the minimum, not a limit.
The benefit shows when your revenue grows. When you reach CHF 500’000, you have nothing to change. The balance sheet and income statement are already there, with the accounts behind every line.
Day to day, you see little of debits and credits. With «Record an expense» you say what you bought, what it cost, what it was for and how you paid. Bilanzi turns that into a draft entry with both sides, and you post it.
If your revenue from taxable supplies in Switzerland and abroad stays below CHF 100’000 a year, you are exempt from VAT liability. You can waive the exemption and register voluntarily. If you become liable, you register with the ESTV yourself within 30 days of the start of your liability.
During setup, Bilanzi asks whether your business is on the VAT register. If it is not, Bilanzi records that with your name and the date, and you write your invoices without VAT. You can see your revenue at any time in the income statement. That way you keep an eye on the CHF 100’000 threshold. If you become liable later, you add the registration with its date. From then on, Bilanzi works out the return, on the Free plan too, by the effective method or at a net tax rate. You get it as a file for the ESTV ePortal and file it there.
During setup, you choose the legal form Sole proprietorship and your line of business. Bilanzi proposes a chart of accounts based on the Swiss SME chart. The capital account is called Equity. You can rename every account and add more yourself, such as a private account for your own withdrawals.
After that, you work the way a small business works. All of this is part of the Free plan:
As the owner of a sole proprietorship, you are not employed by yourself. You are self-employed and pay AHV contributions on the income from that work. These contributions go through your compensation office, not through a payroll run.
Payroll in Bilanzi is for your employees. It is part of the Free plan.
Sources: Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance, Art. 8 and 9 (fedlex.admin.ch)
Only if revenue in the last financial year was CHF 500’000 or more. Below that, simple books of income, expenditure and financial position are enough. You may still keep double-entry books if you want to.
It is the Swiss name for the simple books under Art. 957(2) CO. You record income and expenditure and show what the business owns and what it owes. Here too, every entry needs a voucher.
When your revenue from taxable supplies reaches CHF 100’000 a year. Below that you are exempt, but you can register voluntarily. During setup you state whether you are registered. You can see your revenue at any time in the income statement.
Ten years, counted from the end of the financial year. That applies to the books and to the vouchers. In Bilanzi you take your books out as files at any time and file them with your records.
Nothing, as long as you do the bookkeeping yourself. The Free plan covers one company, the VAT return, payroll and many years of receipts, for good and with no credit card. If you want the AI to read your receipts, you pick Autopilot. The prices are on the pricing page.
This is part of the Free plan, so it costs nothing, and of every other plan too.
Bilanzi has a plan that costs nothing and does not expire. It is called Free, and it holds everything you do yourself, VAT returns and payroll included. Here is what it includes and when Autopilot is worth it.
Bilanzi works out the VAT return from the lines you post anyway. You check it position by position and file it in the ESTV ePortal.
The easiest way to test Bilanzi is with one month of your sole proprietorship. Create an account, choose the legal form Sole proprietorship and record your receipts. The Free plan costs nothing.
Free forever. No credit card.
