Key points at a glance
- The law does not prescribe any particular software. But it must help you keep proper accounts: complete, verifiable and with a voucher for every entry (Art. 957a CO).
- You keep accounting records and vouchers for ten years; electronic storage is allowed (Art. 958f CO). What matters is a complete export that stays readable without the software.
- In Switzerland, the QR-bill, VAT with the boxes of the FTA return, the Swiss SME chart of accounts and importing bank statements (camt) all count.
- For cloud software, check the server location, the data processing agreement and two-factor sign-in (Art. 8, 9 and 16 FADP).
The checklist at a glance
Print the list and go through it with every offer. The explanations follow further down.
Law and bookkeeping
- Can you get from every entry back to its voucher?
- Are finalized documents protected against changes, or are changes recorded in a traceable way?
- Does the scope match your obligation - income and expenses, or double-entry bookkeeping with journal, accounts and trial balance?
Swiss specifics
- QR-bill according to the current SIX rules, with structured addresses?
- VAT at 8.1%, 2.6% and 3.8%, optionally with the net tax rate, with the boxes of the FTA form and for your reporting period?
- Chart of accounts based on the Swiss SME chart of accounts, adaptable to your accountant's?
- Import of bank statements in camt.053/054 format with matching of payments?
- With staff: payroll with AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance (ALV) and family allowances, salary certificate?
Data protection and security
- In which country are the servers - including for backups and support?
- Is there a data processing agreement, and which other providers are involved?
- Is a second factor available at sign-in - or mandatory?
- How often are backups made, how long are they kept, and how do you get a restore?
- Is support access to your data logged?
Costs, contract and exit
- Are all features included in the price, or do modules, users or vouchers cost extra?
- When can you cancel, and how long can you still access your data afterwards?
- Can you get a complete export in open formats such as CSV, Excel or PDF at any time?
- How many users are included?
Accountant and everyday use
- Can your accountant work with the export, or do they need their own access?
- Are the software and your documents available in the languages you and your customers need?
- Can you work on your phone, for example to photograph a receipt?
- How do you reach support, and is there built-in help?
What the law requires of your bookkeeping
Accounts may be kept in writing, electronically or in a comparable way (Art. 957a para. 5 CO). What counts are the principles of proper accounting: complete, truthful and systematic recording, a voucher for every entry, clarity, appropriateness and verifiability (Art. 957a para. 2 CO).
Sole proprietorships and partnerships with less than CHF 500'000 in revenue in the last financial year only have to keep accounts of income, expenses and assets; above that, and for a GmbH or AG, full bookkeeping applies (Art. 957 CO). More in Bookkeeping for sole proprietorships and Chart of accounts and double-entry bookkeeping.
For electronic bookkeeping, the Accounting Records Ordinance (GeBüV) requires:
- Integrity: records and vouchers must not be changeable without the change being detectable (Art. 3 GeBüV).
- Documentation: procedures and the programs used must be documented so that the records can be understood (Art. 4 GeBüV).
- Availability: until the end of the retention period, records and vouchers must be available for inspection and audit within a reasonable time (Art. 6 GeBüV).
- Data migration: data may be transferred to other formats if it remains complete, accurate and readable; the transfer must be logged (Art. 10 GeBüV).
Ten years of retention - even after switching
You keep accounting records and vouchers for ten years from the end of the financial year (Art. 958f para. 1 CO). Electronic storage is allowed as long as the records match the underlying transactions and can be made readable again at any time (Art. 958f para. 3 CO). For VAT, records must be kept until the tax claim is absolutely time-barred; records on deferred input tax deduction and own use of real estate even for 20 years (Art. 70 paras. 2 and 3 VATA). Details in Retention obligation: archiving vouchers correctly.
You might use a program for three years, but the obligation lasts ten. So check beforehand whether you can export everything at any time - entries, invoices and vouchers - in formats you can open without the provider.
Example: switching after three years
Lea has run her translation agency with cloud software since 2024 and switches programs at the end of 2026. She must keep the 2024 records until the end of 2034 and those for 2026 until the end of 2036. Before cancelling, she downloads the complete export: journal and accounts as CSV, invoices as PDF, vouchers as original files. She stores it in two places, notes when and from where she created it, and checks that the files open. An export that only the old program can read won't help her much in 2034.
Swiss specifics
- QR-bill: the payment part must comply with the SIX rules; since November 2025, only structured addresses are allowed in the QR code. The software should handle a QR-IBAN with QR reference as well as a regular IBAN with Creditor Reference or without a reference.
- VAT: standard rate 8.1%, reduced rate 2.6%, accommodation 3.8% (Art. 25 VATA). With the net tax rate, you multiply the consideration including tax by the approved rate, without input tax deduction (Art. 37 VATA). The return should show the boxes of the FTA form - for the effective method, for example 303, 313 and 343 for turnover and 400 and 405 for input tax - and know your period: quarterly, half-yearly with the net tax rate, annually on request (Art. 35 VATA).
- Swiss SME chart of accounts: in Switzerland, the SME chart of accounts published by SwissAccounting has become the standard. If you can adjust the account numbers, there are fewer questions at year-end.
- Bank import: banks provide statements in ISO 20022 format - the statement as camt.053, details of batch bookings as camt.054. With these, the software matches payments to QR-bills using the reference. A direct bank connection is convenient but not necessary.
- Payroll: with staff, you need deductions for AHV/IV/EO and unemployment insurance (up to the maximum), occupational pension, accident insurance, family allowances and, at year-end, the salary certificate (Form 11).
A one-off VAT calculation or QR-bill can also be done with the free tools - but that is not enough for ongoing bookkeeping.
Data protection: where your data is stored
Your accounts contain personal data: customer addresses, salaries, AHV numbers. With cloud software, the provider processes this data on your behalf. You remain responsible: you must make sure the provider can guarantee data security, and it may only pass the processing on to third parties with your prior authorization (Art. 9 FADP). Ask for a data processing agreement.
If the servers are abroad, that is a disclosure of data abroad. It is permitted if the Federal Council has found that the country provides adequate data protection (Annex 1 of the Data Protection Ordinance) or if appropriate safeguards exist, such as standard data protection clauses recognized by the FDPIC (Art. 16 FADP). You then inform your customers of the country, for example in your privacy policy (Art. 19 para. 4 FADP). More in Data protection in small businesses.
Data security: sign-in, backup, export
The provider and you must ensure data security appropriate to the risk (Art. 8 FADP). For accounting data, that means at least: sign-in with a second factor (passkey or authenticator app), transfer via HTTPS, encrypted storage, daily backups with several versions - and an export that you store yourself regularly. It protects you even if the provider fails or shuts down; Data backup in small businesses shows how to organize it. Also clarify whether the provider's staff can see your data and whether this is logged.
Costs, contract and your accountant
Don't just compare the monthly price: factor in what you need - payroll, VAT, dunning, bank import, additional users - and ask whether it costs extra. A monthly plan is more flexible, an annual plan usually cheaper. More important than the notice period is what happens to your data afterwards: how long can you export, and when is it deleted?
If you work with an accountant, ask them before you decide: is an export of the journal and trial balance as CSV or Excel enough, or do they want to work directly in your software? Then you need an additional login.
Languages, mobile and support
You may keep your accounts in a national language or in English (Art. 957a para. 5 CO). If you have customers in French- or Italian-speaking Switzerland, you need invoices and reminders in French or Italian too - ideally automatically in the customer's language. On your phone, you want at least to photograph receipts. For support, what matters is how you reach it and whether you can find instructions without calling.
How it works in Easly
You can check Easly against this list too. These points it covers:
- Bookkeeping: double-entry bookkeeping generated automatically from invoices, payments, receipts, payroll and bank transactions, chart of accounts based on the Swiss SME chart of accounts, journal and trial balance - always for a GmbH or AG, optional for sole proprietorships. The PDF of a document in its final status, such as "paid", remains unchanged.
- Switzerland: QR-bill according to the Swiss Payment Standards, VAT with the effective method or the net tax rate with the FTA boxes (PDF and Excel), bank import with camt.053/054, with Easly Plus also payroll with AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance and family allowances and salary certificate.
- Security: your own encrypted instance on servers in Switzerland, two factors mandatory, nightly encrypted backup going back up to 12 months, support only with your code and logged, data processing agreement - see Security and data.
- Export and contract: all data as Excel and CSV and all documents as ZIP at any time. Cancellable at the end of the month or subscription year, then readable for 30 days. Two packages - Easly without payroll, Easly Plus with payroll - with 1 user included and more at extra cost, see Pricing.
- Accountant and everyday use: export as Excel, CSV or for Banana, accounts adaptable to your accountant's. Four languages, including for documents per customer; computer, tablet and phone; built-in help with 29 guided tours. If you like, your accountant gets their own access, for example with the Read only or Accounting role (as an additional user).
What Easly doesn't do for you
Easly has no direct bank connection: you upload bank statements as a file or send them by email, and Easly does not initiate payments (if you wish, it creates a pain.001 payment file for e-banking). Easly does not fill in your tax return, and you submit the VAT return yourself in the FTA portal. 30 days after the subscription ends, the data is deleted; from then on, you handle the ten-year retention with your export.
Frequently asked questions
Does accounting software in Switzerland have to be certified?
No. The Code of Obligations prescribes neither particular software nor certification. But the software must allow you to comply with the principles of proper accounting (Art. 957a CO) and the requirements of the GeBüV. You remain responsible.
May my accounting data be stored on a server abroad?
From a data protection perspective yes, if the country has adequate data protection or appropriate safeguards such as standard data protection clauses exist (Art. 16 FADP); you inform your customers about it (Art. 19 para. 4 FADP). In addition, records and vouchers must be available for inspection within a reasonable time (Art. 6 GeBüV).
What happens to my data if I cancel?
That is governed by the provider's contract - read it before you sign up. Download a complete export in open formats before the subscription ends and keep it readable for ten years (Art. 958f CO).
Does the software need a direct bank connection?
No. It is enough to download the bank statement as a camt.053 file from e-banking and import it; payments with a QR reference or Creditor Reference can then be matched automatically. A direct connection only saves you this step.
Information as of: see above, 2026 figures. Sources: Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 957, 957a and 958f CO), Accounting Records Ordinance (Art. 3, 4, 6 and 10 GeBüV; in German), Value Added Tax Act (Art. 25, 35, 37 and 70 VATA), FTA VAT rates, Federal Act on Data Protection (Art. 8, 9, 16 and 19 FADP), Data Protection Ordinance (Art. 8 and Annex 1 DPO), SIX rules for the QR-bill and the school chart of accounts for SMEs (© SwissAccounting, on kmu.admin.ch). This article is vendor-neutral and is not a substitute for advice from an accountant or lawyer.