Swiss Bookkeeping: Ongoing Accounting for AG and GmbH (2026)

Q: Is double-entry bookkeeping mandatory for a Swiss AG?

Yes. Every AG (Aktiengesellschaft) and GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) must keep full double-entry accounts and prepare annual financial statements regardless of size or revenue (OR Art. 957 CO). There is no simplified bookkeeping option for Swiss capital companies. The simplified receipts-and-disbursements record is only available to sole proprietorships and general partnerships with annual revenue below CHF 500,000.

Q: How long must a Swiss company retain its accounting records?

Under OR Art. 958f CO, accounting books and records, accounting vouchers, business correspondence, and audit reports must be retained for 10 years from the end of each financial year. Electronic retention is explicitly permitted provided the integrity, authenticity, and readability of the records can be guaranteed throughout the retention period.

Q: What is Swiss GAAP FER?

Swiss GAAP FER (Foundation for Accounting and Reporting Recommendations, Fachempfehlungen zur Rechnungslegung) is a proportionate Swiss accounting standard providing a true-and-fair view of financial position. It is mandatory for large entities that do not apply IFRS and is widely adopted voluntarily by mid-sized Swiss companies seeking investor-grade financial statements without full IFRS complexity.

Q: What is the difference between bookkeeping and annual accounts in Switzerland?

Bookkeeping is the ongoing day-to-day process of recording transactions, reconciling bank accounts, processing invoices, and managing VAT and payroll throughout the year. Annual accounts (Jahresrechnung) is the year-end output: a balance sheet, income statement, and notes prepared from the bookkeeping records, approved by shareholders at the AGM, and - for companies subject to audit - reviewed by the statutory auditor.

Q: What does the audit opting-out reform of 2025 mean for bookkeeping?

Since 1 January 2025, retroactive audit opting-out is abolished. The shareholder resolution waiving the limited audit must be passed and filed with the cantonal commercial register before the financial year it is intended to cover begins. A newly acquired shelf company that wishes to implement opting-out must document unanimous shareholder consent immediately upon transfer and file it before the next financial year starts.

Swiss bookkeeping law is codified in OR Art. 957-963b. Every AG and GmbH must keep full double-entry accounts and prepare annual financial statements regardless of size or revenue. The threshold for simplified records (receipts-and-disbursements only) applies exclusively to sole proprietorships and general partnerships with annual revenue below CHF 500,000. Records must be retained for 10 years (OR Art. 958f).

Swiss Bookkeeping Requirements: The Legal Foundation

Entity type	Revenue / size	Bookkeeping obligation
Sole proprietorship / general partnership	Annual revenue < CHF 500,000	Simplified receipts-and-disbursements record only
Sole proprietorship / general partnership	Annual revenue ≥ CHF 500,000	Full double-entry bookkeeping mandatory
AG or GmbH (any size)	Any revenue, including zero	Full double-entry bookkeeping mandatory always
Large entity (AG or GmbH)	> 2 of 3: balance sheet > CHF 20M; revenue > CHF 40M; > 250 FTE	All of the above + cash-flow statement + management report + recognised standard (OR Art. 962)

A dormant holding company that receives no income and has no employees is still an AG or GmbH and must keep full double-entry accounts, prepare an annual balance sheet and income statement, and retain all records for 10 years. There are no exceptions for size or inactivity for capital companies.

Recognised Accounting Standards (OR Art. 962)

Large entities meeting two of the three thresholds above must prepare financial statements in accordance with a recognised standard: Swiss GAAP FER (the dominant choice for non-listed Swiss companies), IFRS, IFRS for SMEs, or US GAAP. Swiss GAAP FER is proportionate and less voluminous than full IFRS, and commands widespread acceptance from Swiss lenders and cantonal tax authorities. IFRS is typically reserved for listed companies or multinationals requiring consolidated global reporting.

What Swiss Bookkeeping Covers

Chart of accounts and ledger management: Setting up and maintaining the Swiss chart of accounts (Kontenrahmen KMU or adapted industry chart); managing general ledger entries and sub-ledgers.
Invoicing and accounts payable / receivable: Processing supplier invoices, generating client invoices, tracking outstanding receivables, and maintaining the accounts payable ledger.
Swiss QR-bill compliance: Since 1 July 2020, the QR-bill is the mandatory format for Swiss payment transactions, replacing legacy inpayment slips. All invoices must include a QR code encoding IBAN, reference number, amount, and creditor data in the SIX Group standard format. Accounting software must generate and read QR-bills natively.
Bank reconciliation: Reconciling bank statements against ledger entries, identifying outstanding items, and maintaining a cleared cash position.
Accruals, prepayments, and provisions: Recognising income and expenses in the period to which they belong (OR Art. 958 true-and-fair-view requirement), including tax provisions and contingent liabilities.
Fixed asset register and depreciation: Maintaining the fixed asset schedule, applying depreciation rates consistent with Swiss tax practice and the applicable accounting standard.

VAT Accounting and Filing

Swiss VAT (MWST) at 8.1% standard rate is administered by the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) at the federal level -- there is no cantonal VAT. The registration threshold is CHF 100,000 in worldwide annual taxable turnover. See the Swiss VAT registration page for the full registration guide. From a bookkeeping perspective:

Quarterly filing (default): Four VAT returns per year, due within 60 days of each quarter end. Returns filed and paid electronically via the ESTV ePortal.
Annual filing (from 1 January 2025): Available for businesses with taxable turnover below CHF 5,005,000 that have filed and paid on time for the preceding three tax periods. Requires advance quarterly payments assessed by ESTV during the year.
Flat tax rate method: Available to businesses with turnover below CHF 5,024,000 and annual VAT liability below CHF 108,000. ESTV assigns a predetermined net tax rate by industry sector (0.1%-6.8%) applied to gross turnover rather than requiring line-by-line input VAT tracking. Semi-annual filing applies.

Payroll Accounting

Swiss employers must register with the cantonal AHV compensation office (Ausgleichskasse) and withhold social security contributions on all employee salaries. The following combined 2025 rates apply:

Insurance branch	Total rate	Employer share	Employee share
AHV (old-age and survivors)	8.70%	4.35%	4.35%
IV (disability insurance)	1.40%	0.70%	0.70%
EO (income compensation)	0.50%	0.25%	0.25%
AHV/IV/EO subtotal	10.60%	5.30%	5.30%
ALV (unemployment insurance)	2.20%	1.10%	1.10%
ALV solidarity surcharge (>CHF 148,200)	1.00%	0.50%	0.50%

BVG (2nd pillar occupational pension) is mandatory for employees earning more than CHF 22,050 per year. Contribution rates range by age bracket from 7% to 18% of the coordinated salary, split between employer and employee, with the employer required to contribute at least 50% of total BVG premiums. UVG (accident insurance) covers occupational accidents at the employer's cost; non-occupational accident premiums may be shared with employees.

Monthly payroll journals are submitted to the AHV compensation office; annual salary reconciliation (Lohnmeldung) is due by 31 January of the following year. Withholding tax on salaries of foreign employees without a Swiss residence permit (Quellensteuer) follows cantonal tariff tables and is remitted monthly or quarterly.

Annual Bookkeeping Workflow

1
Closing entries: Post all year-end accruals, prepayments, depreciation entries, inventory adjustments, and provision movements before the balance sheet date.
2
Draft financial statements: Prepare the balance sheet (Bilanz), income statement (Erfolgsrechnung), and notes (Anhang) in accordance with OR Art. 959-961 (and the applicable recognised standard for large entities).
3
Tax provision: Calculate the estimated cantonal and federal corporate income tax liability for the year. This requires coordination with the Swiss tax advisory team for complex structures or significant year-over-year changes.
4
Notes preparation: Compile required note disclosures under OR Art. 959c: accounting policies, contingent liabilities, pledges, related-party transactions, share capital composition.
5
Audit liaison (if applicable): Provide the statutory auditor (Revisionsstelle) with the draft financial statements and supporting schedules. For companies that have validly implemented opting-out, this step is skipped.
6
Board and AGM approval: The board of directors (AG) or managing directors (GmbH) sign the financial statements. The ordinary general meeting of shareholders approves the accounts within six months of financial year end (OR Art. 699).
7
Corporate tax return: Filed with the cantonal tax authority in the canton of registration, using the approved financial statements as the basis.
8
10-year retention (OR Art. 958f): Archive accounting books, vouchers, business correspondence, and audit reports. Electronic retention is permissible with cryptographic integrity controls (GeBuV, SR 221.431).

Audit opting-out reform (1 January 2025): Retroactive opting-out is abolished. The shareholder resolution waiving the limited audit must be passed and filed with the cantonal commercial register before the financial year it is intended to cover. For a newly acquired shelf company: document unanimous shareholder consent immediately upon transfer and file it before the next financial year begins. A retroactive waiver for the year of acquisition is no longer possible.

Swiss Accounting Software

Platform	Best for	Key Swiss features
Bexio	Micro and small companies (up to ~50 employees)	Native QR-bill, ESTV VAT API, PostFinance/UBS connectivity, English UI available
Abacus	Mid-market (CHF 5M-100M); Treuhand firms	Multi-entity consolidation, BVG salary certificates, AHV salary notifications, complex VAT
Sage 50 Schweiz	SMBs transitioning from manual bookkeeping	Strong payroll module; cantonal Quellensteuer tables
AccountingWorx (Proffix)	Mid-tier; payroll-heavy	Swiss payroll and HR integration

Cost Ranges (2026, Annual)

Company size	Annual revenue	Typical annual bookkeeping cost
Micro / dormant	< CHF 500,000 / nil	CHF 1,500-4,000
Small SME	CHF 500K-CHF 5M	CHF 3,000-10,000
Medium SME	CHF 5M-CHF 40M	CHF 10,000-30,000+

Limited audit fees add CHF 2,500-8,000 for a small SME if opting-out has not been implemented. Payroll bureau services are typically priced at CHF 50-150 per payslip per month plus setup costs. Fees exclude tax advisory, which is priced separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is double-entry bookkeeping mandatory for a Swiss AG?

Yes. Every AG and GmbH must keep full double-entry accounts regardless of size or revenue (OR Art. 957). There is no simplified bookkeeping option for Swiss capital companies. A dormant holding AG with no income still requires full double-entry accounts and annual financial statements.

How long must a Swiss company retain its accounting records?

Under OR Art. 958f, accounting books, vouchers, business correspondence, and audit reports must be retained for 10 years from the end of the financial year. Electronic retention is permitted with appropriate integrity controls (cryptographic hash or qualified electronic signature).

What is Swiss GAAP FER?

Swiss GAAP FER (Fachempfehlungen zur Rechnungslegung) is a proportionate Swiss accounting standard providing a true-and-fair view. It is mandatory for large entities that do not apply IFRS and is widely adopted voluntarily by mid-sized Swiss companies. It is less voluminous than full IFRS and commands widespread acceptance from Swiss lenders and cantonal tax authorities.

What is the difference between bookkeeping and annual accounts in Switzerland?

Bookkeeping is the ongoing day-to-day process: recording transactions, reconciling bank accounts, processing invoices, and managing VAT and payroll. Annual accounts (Jahresrechnung) is the year-end output -- a balance sheet, income statement, and notes prepared from the bookkeeping records and approved by shareholders at the AGM.

What does the audit opting-out reform of 2025 mean for bookkeeping?

Since 1 January 2025, retroactive opting-out is abolished. The shareholder resolution waiving the limited audit must be passed and filed with the cantonal commercial register before the financial year it covers. A newly acquired shelf company that wishes to implement opting-out must document unanimous shareholder consent immediately upon transfer and file it before the next financial year starts.