Professional in a suit reviewing documents

Online accounting for IT companies in Gampelen: the practical guide

Between VAT, social contributions and the year-end close, a Swiss SME juggles dozens of deadlines a year. This page focuses on online accounting in Gampelen: what the law requires, what can be automated, and when to delegate.

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 Gampelen as everywhere.

For online accounting, migrating history must not block the start: begin on day one of the current financial year and import the history later if needed.

Outsource online 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 — in Gampelen as elsewhere.

For online accounting, a quarterly 30-minute check-in with the fiduciary beats an annual marathon: questions get handled while they are small.

The Swiss legal frame for online accounting

In Switzerland, the duty to keep accounts stems from art. 957 ff. of the Code of Obligations. Legal entities (Sàrl, SA) and sole proprietorships with at least CHF 500,000 in revenue keep full accounts: balance sheet, income statement and notes. Below that threshold, a simplified record of income, expenses and assets is sufficient.

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

Nearly all Swiss SMEs rely on the standard SME chart of accounts (Sterchi/Käfer): classes 1 (assets) to 9 (closing), with revenue in class 3 and expenses in classes 4 to 6. Using this standard structure makes conversations with your fiduciary, auditor and tax administration far easier.

Suspense accounts (to clarify) are useful provided they are emptied monthly: a swelling “miscellaneous” account is the classic symptom of a chart that no longer fits the activity.

Gampelen: what changes, what does not

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

Gampelen requires no special bookkeeping: the Code of Obligations applies at postal code 3236 as everywhere else, and a well-kept digital file transfers smoothly to any auditor in the canton.

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. The CHF 500,000 threshold is assessed the same way in Gampelen.

When must a business register for VAT?

As soon as its worldwide annual turnover reaches CHF 100,000 (CHF 250,000 for non-profit sports or cultural associations). Below that, voluntary registration remains possible and often makes sense to reclaim input VAT on investments. The threshold is federal: it applies in Gampelen as everywhere in Switzerland.

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.

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. These federal thresholds do not depend on the registered seat — in Gampelen as anywhere.

Also worth reading

In neighbouring municipalities

Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

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

    Online accounting for IT companies in Gampelen — Swiss guide