Advisor handing a document and pen to a client

Online accounting common mistakes in Trub: what every SME should know

Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around online accounting in Trub, 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 online accounting: what actually works

Digitising does not mean hoarding PDFs: without the document-entry link, a digital file is as opaque as a box of archives — true in Trub as everywhere.

The selection criterion for a tool is not the length of its feature list but the robustness of the daily flow: reliable bank imports, VAT computed correctly (8.1 / 2.6 / 3.8%), a complete audit trail from document to entry, and a clean export for the auditor or fiduciary. Everything else is secondary.

QR-bills and friction-free collections

Electronic invoicing keeps advancing: the Swiss Confederation requires it from its suppliers for contracts from CHF 5,000, and more and more large Swiss companies ask for structured e-invoices rather than PDFs. Getting equipped early beats improvising under a client's deadline.

A business in Trub can collect by QR-bill even without sophisticated software: what matters is that every incoming payment finds its invoice, manually or automatically.

The Swiss legal frame for online accounting

For an owner in Trub, the question is never “do we need accounts?” but “at what level of detail?”. The CO sets the floor; the bank, the tax office and the shareholders set the rest.

The law also settles the form: accounts may be kept in a national language or in English, on paper or electronically (art. 957a para. 5 CO). That pragmatism lets online accounting run entirely on digital tools — no paper binder is required.

Collaborative desk with laptops and documents, top view

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.

For a business in Trub, the Sterchi/Käfer structure also eases benchmarking: banks and fiduciaries reason on those standard classes to situate an SME's online accounting.

Trub: what changes, what does not

Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in Trub: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton Bern.

Federal deadlines do not move in Trub: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 3556 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.

Frequently asked questions

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 Trub, family allowances follow the canton's rates.

Can online accounting be automated with AI?

Largely, yes: automatic document reading, posting suggestions, bank reconciliation via QR references and VAT exports. Human approval remains essential — AI prepares, the professional checks. That is exactly how MyFiducia.ai approaches online accounting.

Effective VAT method or net tax rate: how to choose?

The effective method deducts actual input VAT and files quarterly; the net tax rate method applies a flat industry rate to turnover, semi-annually, with no separate input VAT deduction. The flat rate suits low-cost structures; as investments grow, the effective method usually wins again. The choice rests on the company's own figures, in Trub as anywhere.

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 Trub.

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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates online accounting for businesses in Trub: 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.

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