Accounting for tanning and dressing of leather; dressing and dyeing of fur in Switzerland: the practical guide
NOGA code 151100 · MANUFACTURING
Between VAT, social contributions and the year-end close, a Swiss SME juggles dozens of deadlines a year. This page focuses on accounting: what the law requires, what can be automated, and when to delegate.
The Swiss legal frame for accounting
A small business does not mean small obligations: from the first salary or the first VAT return, mistakes get expensive.
Art. 957a CO requires complete, truthful and systematic recording of transactions, each entry backed by a supporting document. For accounting, that means in practice: no movement without a receipt, and an audit trail that can be reconstructed at any time — including during a VAT or AHV inspection.
A Swiss SME's accounting calendar
An accounting calendar only lives if it is shared: owner, in-house bookkeeper and fiduciary must see the same deadlines and the same status.
For accounting, deadline discipline is worth real money: default interest on late VAT, AHV adjustments, tax fines. A shared deadline calendar — fed by up-to-date figures — remains the simplest safeguard.
A well-structured SME chart of accounts
Shareholder current accounts demand strict hygiene: every private withdrawal documented, interest at the rates accepted by the tax administration, and a clean-up at closing.
Comparability over time beats sophistication: a chart stable for five years beats a “perfect” one rebuilt every year. Banks and the tax administration read year-on-year movements first.
Digitalising accounting: what actually works
Access for the fiduciary, the auditor and employees is set by roles: view, enter, approve, close. Well-set rights protect the data and speed up collaboration.
A dashboard only has value if the data is fresh: automating data entry means, first of all, buying up-to-date information about your own business.
Outsource accounting or keep it in-house?
The scope goes down in writing: who enters data, who approves payments, who answers the tax office, who keeps the originals. Every “we'll see” at the start becomes a December misunderstanding.
As everywhere, the right collaboration rhythm follows the activity: monthly for payroll and data entry, quarterly for VAT, yearly for the closing and tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is simplified bookkeeping and who can use it?
Sole proprietorships and partnerships under CHF 500,000 of revenue may limit themselves to recording income, expenses and assets (art. 957 para. 2 CO). Once over the threshold — or upon founding a Sàrl or an SA — full accounts with balance sheet, income statement and notes become mandatory.
Which social contributions does a Swiss employer pay?
AHV/IV/APG: 5.3% employer share (the same is withheld from the employee); unemployment insurance: 1.1% each up to CHF 148,200 a year; occupational pension (LPP) by age and plan (employer at least 50%); occupational accident insurance paid by the employer; family allowances by canton.
What is the difference between a limited and an ordinary audit?
The ordinary audit applies to companies exceeding, for two consecutive years, two of three thresholds: CHF 20 million balance sheet total, CHF 40 million revenue, 250 full-time positions. Others fall under the limited audit, and those with no more than ten full-time positions on annual average can opt out with all shareholders' consent.
How much does accounting cost in Switzerland?
It depends on document volume, the number of salaries and VAT complexity — no serious figure can be quoted without examining the file. Two levers cut the bill everywhere: digitised, well-filed receipts and software that prepares entries instead of having them re-keyed.
Professions in the same sector
- Production and preserving of meat (except poultry meat)
- Production and preserving of poultry meat
- Production of meat and poultry meat products
- Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs
- Processing and preserving of potatoes
- Manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice
- Other processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables
- Manufacture of oils and fats
- Manufacture of margarine and similar edible fats
- Manufacture of fresh dairy products
- Manufacture of cheese
- Other milk processing
This guide by municipality
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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates accounting for Swiss SMEs: AI-read documents, posting suggestions, VAT and exports ready for your fiduciary. Try the platform or browse our other guides.
The application is operated in French.
Source: NOGA 2008 nomenclature, Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). A statistical nomenclature: it describes an activity and is not a commercial register entry.