Accounting automation checklist in Olten: rules, deadlines, best practice
Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around accounting automation in Olten, every SME draws its own line. The reference points below — federal law, cantonal practice and lessons from the field — help you place the cursor well.
Digitalising accounting automation: 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.
For an owner in Olten, 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.
The Swiss legal frame for accounting automation
A small business does not mean small obligations: from the first salary or the first VAT return, mistakes get expensive — in Olten as anywhere.
Also worth knowing: accounts may be drawn up in the currency most relevant to the business; if that is not the franc, values must additionally be stated in CHF (art. 958d para. 3 CO). Internationally active companies gain books that match their economic reality.
A well-structured SME chart of accounts
A chart of accounts gets documented: one description line per account (what, when, VAT) is enough for two people to post the same way. It is the quality manual of accounting automation, valid in Olten as anywhere.
For accounting automation, a few well-chosen analytical accounts (by activity, by site) beat a forest of sub-accounts nobody ever reads.
Outsource accounting automation or keep it in-house?
Outsourcing accounting automation to a fiduciary frees up time and secures compliance; keeping it in-house preserves a continuous view and costs less in fees. The best answer is often hybrid: the company captures and digitises as it goes, the fiduciary supervises, closes the books and represents the company before the authorities.
A business in Olten is no longer limited to fiduciaries in its canton: with a shared online platform, collaboration works remotely, documents and entries visible to both sides in real time. The choice widens to all of Switzerland — competence becomes the criterion again, not the postcode.
Olten: what changes, what does not
Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in Olten: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton Solothurn.
Federal deadlines do not move in Olten: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 4600 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.
Frequently asked questions
How long must records related to accounting automation be kept?
Ten years from the end of the financial year concerned (art. 958f CO). Electronic retention is permitted if the integrity and readability of the records are guaranteed — a serious digital archive validly replaces paper binders. A business in Olten can therefore archive fully digitally.
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. For an employer in Olten, family allowances follow the canton's rates.
What are the current Swiss VAT rates?
Since 1 January 2024: 8.1% (standard), 2.6% (reduced — for example food and medicines) and 3.8% (accommodation). Returns must be filed and paid within 60 days after the period ends (quarterly under the effective method, semi-annually under the net tax rate method). These federal rates apply unchanged in Olten.
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. The CHF 500,000 threshold is assessed the same way in Olten.
Also worth reading
In neighbouring municipalities
Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates accounting automation for businesses in Olten: 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.