Key points at a glance
- You keep your accounting records, accounting vouchers, annual report and audit report for 10 years. The period starts at the end of the financial year (Art. 958f Swiss Code of Obligations (CO)).
- You may keep records and vouchers electronically. The Accounting Records Ordinance (GeBüV) then applies: changes must be detectable, and the records must remain organized, protected and readable at all times.
- You may scan paper receipts and destroy the originals if your electronic filing system meets the GeBüV requirements. You bear the risk. The annual report and audit report must be kept in writing and signed.
- For VAT (MWST), 10 years apply as well; for records relating to real estate, 20 years (Art. 70 Value Added Tax Act (VATA)).
- An email inbox or a software program on its own is not an archive. After each year-end closing, file a complete copy that you no longer change - and back it up.
What you have to keep
The retention requirement covers four types of records (Art. 958f para. 1 CO):
- Accounting records (Geschäftsbücher): the general ledger with its accounts and journal and, depending on the business, the subsidiary ledgers - such as payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable, or inventory accounting (Art. 1 GeBüV, in German). If you only keep simple income-and-expense accounting ("Milchbüchlein"), it falls into this category, together with the statement of your assets and liabilities.
- Accounting vouchers (Buchungsbelege): all records, on paper or electronic, needed to trace an entry (Art. 957a para. 3 CO). According to the Federal Tax Administration FTA (ESTV), these include supplier invoices, copies of your outgoing invoices, purchase and rental agreements, proof of payment, cash register receipts, work reports, customs import and export assessments and the VAT returns (VAT Info 16, no. 1.3, in German).
- Annual report (Geschäftsbericht): the annual financial statements with balance sheet, income statement and notes (Art. 958 CO). It must be prepared by everyone required to keep full accounts: limited liability companies (GmbH) and corporations (AG), as well as sole proprietorships (Einzelfirmen) and partnerships with revenue of CHF 500'000 or more (Art. 957 CO).
- Audit report: only if your company has an auditor.
In addition, there are the working instructions (Arbeitsanweisungen): depending on the nature and size of your business, you document how you keep and store your records - which programs you use, where things are filed and who is responsible. They are kept as long as the records that were kept under them (Art. 4 GeBüV). In a small business, a short one-page description is often enough.
Business correspondence such as emails only counts if it serves as an accounting voucher - for example an order or a written confirmation of a discount.
How long: the retention periods at a glance
The basic rule is ten years from the end of the financial year. If your financial year is the calendar year, you keep a receipt dated March 14, 2026 until December 31, 2036. Tax law requires the same period from the self-employed and from companies (Art. 126 para. 3 DBG, Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation, in German).
| Record | Period | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting records, accounting vouchers | 10 years from the end of the financial year | Art. 958f para. 1 CO |
| Annual report, audit report | 10 years, in writing and signed | Art. 958f paras. 1 and 2 CO |
| Income-and-expense accounting with statement of assets and liabilities | 10 years | Art. 126 para. 3 DBG |
| Working instructions for bookkeeping | as long as the records kept under them | Art. 4 para. 2 GeBüV |
| VAT: records, vouchers, business papers | until the absolute limitation period expires, i.e. 10 years after the end of the tax period | Art. 70 para. 2 and 42 para. 6 VATA |
| VAT: records relating to real estate | 20 years by law, 26 years under FTA practice | Art. 70 para. 3 VATA |
| Working time records | at least 5 years after they cease to be valid | Art. 73 para. 2 ArGV 1 (in German) |
| Records of a dissolved AG or GmbH | 10 years after removal from the commercial register | Art. 747 CO |
Paper or digital?
It's your choice: accounting records and vouchers may be kept on paper, electronically or in a comparable form. The condition is that they match the underlying business transactions and can be made readable again at any time (Art. 958f para. 3 CO). The details are set out in the Accounting Records Ordinance (GeBüV). According to the FTA, electronically stored records have the same evidential value as paper records if all GeBüV requirements are met (VAT Info 16, no. 1.4.1).
Here is what the GeBüV requires if you store records electronically:
| Principle | What it means | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Integrity | Records and vouchers cannot be changed without the change being detectable. | Art. 3 |
| Documentation | Procedures, responsibilities and programs are described well enough that the records can be understood. | Art. 4 |
| Due care | Stored carefully, in an orderly way and protected from damage. | Art. 5 |
| Availability | Can be viewed and examined within a reasonable time until the end of the retention period, with the necessary equipment and programs available. On request, readable without technical aids - printed out, for example. | Art. 6 |
| Organization | Archived data is kept separate from current data or clearly marked, and responsibilities are defined. | Art. 7 |
| Archive and logs | Systematically inventoried and protected against unauthorized access; access is logged, and the logs are kept for the same period. | Art. 8 |
| Storage media | Unalterable media such as paper or unalterable data carriers. Alterable media only with methods that ensure integrity (e.g. a digital signature) and prove when data was stored (e.g. a timestamp), with documented procedures and retained logs. | Art. 9 |
| Checks and migration | Check storage media regularly for integrity and readability. If you change formats or media, the data must remain complete and accurate; the transfer is logged. | Art. 10 |
Important in practice: hard drives, SSDs and therefore cloud storage count as alterable storage media (Art. 9 para. 2 GeBüV). An ordinary folder of PDF files, in which any file can be overwritten or deleted without anyone noticing, therefore does not meet the requirements on its own. You also need a method that makes changes detectable - for example an archiving solution that signs and timestamps files, or storage that no longer allows files to be changed once saved. If needed, work out the details of your setup with your accountant (Treuhand).
Scanning paper receipts and destroying the originals
This is allowed. In VAT Info 16, the FTA describes exactly this case: supplier invoices are scanned on arrival, saved as PDFs, checked digitally and attached to the entry, and the originals are destroyed. Such electronic vouchers are treated the same as paper vouchers if the principles of proper bookkeeping and all GeBüV requirements are met. However, the FTA also points out that the risks of destroying the original are borne by the business required to keep the records (VAT Info 16, no. 1.4.1).
So before you throw away an original, check:
- Complete and legible: all pages, the back if necessary, amounts and VAT clearly readable. Thermal paper receipts fade, so scan them right away.
- Stored unaltered: in a filing system that meets the GeBüV requirements (see above).
- Documented procedure: who scans when, how scans are checked and where they are filed (Art. 4 GeBüV).
- Exceptions: the annual report and audit report must be kept in writing and signed (Art. 958f para. 2 CO) - safest as a paper copy with original signatures. For contracts with original signatures, consider whether you want to keep the paper anyway in case of a dispute.
Emails and PDF invoices
If you receive an invoice as a PDF by email, the PDF file is the voucher. Keep it exactly as you received it and don't edit it. There's no need to print it. If the email itself contains something relevant to your bookkeeping - an agreed discount, a credit note, an order - keep the email too, ideally as a file (for example .eml).
Paperless vouchers you need for VAT purposes are subject to the same rules as under the Code of Obligations: Art. 957 to 958f CO and the GeBüV (Art. 122 VAT Ordinance (VATO)). Keep customs' electronic assessment decisions (eVV) as files (VAT Info 16, no. 1.3).
Your email inbox is not an archive: emails can be deleted, and deleted messages can only be recovered from the provider for a limited time. So save vouchers from your inbox to your filing system - more on this in the article Data backup for small businesses. How to send outgoing invoices properly and keep proof that you sent them is covered in the article Sending invoices by email.
VAT: additional rules
If you are registered for VAT, you keep your books according to the principles of commercial law and retain your accounting records, vouchers, business papers and other records until the tax claim reaches its absolute limitation period (Art. 70 paras. 1 and 2 VATA). This happens ten years after the end of the tax period (Art. 42 para. 6 VATA). The FTA requires the records to be kept organized by tax period (VAT Info 16, no. 1.4.2).
Longer periods apply to real estate: records you need for the subsequent input tax deduction (Einlageentsteuerung) and for own use relating to immovable property must be kept for 20 years (Art. 70 para. 3 VATA). With a view to possible changes of use and audits, FTA practice even requires 26 years - for example for supplier invoices, purchase agreements, VAT returns, general ledger accounts and rental agreements (VAT Info 16, no. 1.4.2).
In a VAT audit, the FTA wants to be able to trace every transaction: from the individual voucher through the bookkeeping to the VAT return and back. This audit trail requires clear entry descriptions and orderly, systematic filing (VAT Info 16, no. 1.5). More on VAT in the article Receipts and VAT made easy.
Taxes: when a year is really closed
For the direct federal tax, the right to assess a tax becomes time-barred five years after the end of the tax period. If the limitation period is interrupted or suspended, for example during an objection procedure, it ends after 15 years at the latest (Art. 120 DBG). The tax office can open back-tax proceedings up to ten years after the end of the tax period (Art. 152 DBG). The same periods apply to cantonal and municipal taxes (Art. 47 and 53 StHG, Tax Harmonization Act, in German).
What this means for you: if proceedings are still pending for a particular year - an objection, back taxes, a VAT audit - don't throw away the records, even if the ten years are up.
Personnel files and payroll records
Payroll accounting is a subsidiary ledger (Art. 1 para. 3 GeBüV), and payslips are accounting vouchers - you keep both for 10 years. If your business is subject to the Labor Act (ArG), you keep working time records for at least five years after they cease to be valid (Art. 73 para. 2 ArGV 1).
For the rest of the personnel file, data protection law applies: you may only process data that relates to the employee's suitability for the job or is necessary for the employment contract (Art. 328b CO). Whatever you no longer need, you destroy or anonymize (Art. 6 para. 4 Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP)). This also applies to vouchers containing personal data once their retention period has expired. More on this in the articles Data protection for small firms and Your first employee.
If you close your business
The retention requirement doesn't end when your business does:
- AG and GmbH: The accounting records must be kept in a safe place for ten years after the company has been removed from the commercial register (Handelsregister). The liquidators decide where; if they cannot agree, the commercial registry office decides (Art. 747 CO; for the GmbH via Art. 826 para. 2 CO).
- General and limited partnerships: Books and papers are kept for ten years after removal from the register at a place designated by the partners or, if they cannot agree, by the commercial registry office (Art. 590 CO, Art. 619 CO).
- Sole proprietorship: There is no special rule. The ten years under Art. 958f CO continue to run for each financial year even if you stop trading - you keep the records yourself.
If you use subscription software, export all data and original files before you cancel. Once the subscription ends, providers often keep them available only for a limited time.
How to set up your archive
A simple, fixed structure helps you, your accountant and any auditor. A proven approach is one folder per financial year, always with the same subfolders:
| Folder | Contents |
|---|---|
| 2026/01 Closing | Annual financial statements or income-and-expense accounting, journal, account sheets, signed annual report (paper kept separately) |
| 2026/02 Bank | Statements for all business accounts, cash book |
| 2026/03 Outgoing invoices | All invoices, credit notes and dunning notices sent |
| 2026/04 Incoming vouchers | Supplier invoices, receipts, expense receipts |
| 2026/05 Payroll | Payslips, salary certificates, social insurance statements |
| 2026/06 VAT | VAT returns with the supporting reconciliations |
| 2026/07 Contracts | Contracts that generate entries in that year (rent, leasing, insurance) |
- Descriptive file names: for example
2026-03-14_Papeterie-Muster_CHF-86.40.pdf. That way you can find a receipt even without a program. - Durable formats: PDF for vouchers, plus Excel or CSV for the journal and lists. For long-term archiving, there is the standardized PDF/A format.
- Freeze the annual archive: After the year-end closing, file a complete copy of the year and don't change it again - ideally read-only.
- Back up using the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different types of storage media, one of them off-site. How to do it is explained in the article Data backup for small businesses.
- Check once a year: Can the old files still be opened? If you switch programs or storage, note what you transferred, when and where (Art. 10 GeBüV).
- Clean up: Once a year's retention period has expired and no proceedings are pending, delete or destroy the records - especially those containing personal data.
Example: photographer with a sole proprietorship
Nina runs a photo studio as a sole proprietorship, is registered for VAT, and her financial year is the calendar year. Supplier invoices mostly arrive as PDFs by email; she saves them unchanged. She photographs paper receipts right after each purchase, checks at the end of the month that all images are legible and then throws the receipts away. Her procedure is described on one page in her archive folder.
She keeps all vouchers from 2026 until December 31, 2036. In 2026, she also has her own studio renovated and deducts the input tax on the contractors' invoices. She files these records in a separate "Real estate" folder and keeps them for at least 20 years - or 26 years under FTA practice. After the year-end closing in spring 2027, she saves the entire year as read-only files on two external hard drives and keeps one of them at home.
Checklist for your archive
- A separate folder with a fixed structure for each financial year.
- Every entry has a voucher, and every voucher can be found.
- PDF invoices and important emails have been saved from the inbox to your filing system, unaltered.
- Paper receipts are scanned completely and legibly before you destroy them.
- Signed paper copies of the annual report and audit report are on file.
- Real estate records are filed separately (20 years by law, 26 years under FTA practice).
- A short description records how you capture, check and file vouchers and who is responsible.
- Your electronic filing system makes changes detectable and is protected against unauthorized access.
- After the year-end closing, an unaltered copy of the year is filed and backed up using the 3-2-1 rule.
- Once a year, you check that old files can still be opened and clean out expired years.
How it works in Easly
Easly keeps your receipts and documents together and gives you everything you need for your own archive at year-end:
- Original receipts stay original: Easly stores uploaded receipts and attachments from the receipt mailbox as the original files, encrypted. "Open source file" displays them at any time. Duplicate receipts are flagged, not deleted.
- Frozen invoices: When a document reaches its final status, such as "Paid", Easly freezes the PDF; items, customer and dates are locked from then on. A document that has been frozen, converted or sent by email can no longer be deleted, only canceled.
- Email history: Every email sent, with time, recipient and status; you can download the original message as an .eml file.
- Complete export: Under "Settings → Data & recovery", you create a ZIP file with all data as Excel and CSV and all stored files - document PDFs, expense receipts by year, personnel documents, contracts and sent emails.
- Reports for the year-end closing: Income statement and VAT return as PDF and Excel; with double-entry bookkeeping, the journal as Excel (with trial balance and chart of accounts), as CSV or in Banana's import format.
- Backed up: An encrypted backup of your instance every night, kept daily for 14 days, weekly for 8 weeks and monthly for 12 months.
What Easly doesn't do for you
Easly is not a certified GeBüV-compliant archive. "Regenerate PDF" replaces a frozen PDF, and without a period lock, the journal is rebuilt from the current data every time you open it - so a later correction also changes past periods. If you lock a closed year in the accounting module, Easly permanently saves that year's journal and rejects changes to expenses, bank transactions and manual entries for that period; invoices, payroll and trips can still be edited, however (the journal then shows a notice). Backups go back 12 months, not 10 years. So after each year-end closing, download the complete export, the journal and the reports, file them as an unaltered annual archive, lock the year in the accounting module and don't change any receipts for that year afterward.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to keep receipts?
10 years from the end of the financial year (Art. 958f CO). If your financial year is the calendar year, you keep the receipts from 2026 until the end of 2036. VAT records relating to real estate must be kept for 20 years - 26 under FTA practice.
Can I throw away paper receipts after scanning them?
Yes, if your electronic filing system meets the requirements of the Accounting Records Ordinance: complete, legible, changes detectable, organized and protected. The FTA accepts such vouchers, but you bear the risk of destroying the originals. The annual report and audit report must be kept in writing and signed.
Is a folder in OneDrive or Dropbox enough?
Usually not on its own. Cloud storage and hard drives count as alterable storage media: files can be changed or deleted without anyone noticing. The GeBüV then requires a method that makes changes detectable, such as signatures and timestamps. And because syncing is not a backup, you also need a separate backup.
Do I have to keep all my business emails?
No. You have to keep emails that serve as accounting vouchers or are relevant for VAT - such as an invoice sent as an attachment, an order or an agreed credit note. Other correspondence is not covered by the retention requirement under Art. 958f CO.
Who keeps the records after my GmbH has been removed from the register?
The accounting records must be kept in a safe place for ten years after removal. The liquidators decide where; if they disagree, the commercial registry office decides (Art. 747 CO, for the GmbH via Art. 826 para. 2 CO).
Can I use Easly as a 10-year archive?
Not as your only one. Easly stores your original receipts encrypted and backs them up, but it is not a certified GeBüV-compliant archive, and backups go back 12 months. After each year-end closing, download the complete export and keep it unaltered and backed up.
Information as of: see above. Sources: Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 328b, 590, 619, 747, 826, 957, 957a, 958 and 958f CO), Accounting Records Ordinance (Art. 1-10 GeBüV, SR 221.431; in German), Value Added Tax Act (Art. 42 and 70 VATA), VAT Ordinance (Art. 122 VATO), VAT Info 16 "Accounting and invoicing" of the FTA (nos. 1.3 to 1.5; in German), Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (Art. 120, 126 and 152 DBG), Tax Harmonization Act (Art. 47 and 53 StHG), Ordinance 1 to the Labor Act (Art. 73 ArGV 1) (all three in German) and Federal Act on Data Protection (Art. 6 FADP). This article is not a substitute for advice from an accountant or lawyer.