This page inFRDEENAR

Team analysing financial charts around a table

Accounting paperless in Mies: rules, deadlines, best practice

Accounting paperless in Mies raises the same questions for most Swiss SME owners: which obligations apply, which deadlines are running, which documents to prepare. This page covers the federal rules in force — without unnecessary jargon.

The Swiss legal frame for accounting

For an owner in Mies, 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 annual accounts (art. 958 CO) consist of the balance sheet, the income statement and the notes; they must be drawn up within six months of the year-end so the general meeting can approve them. A delay here cascades into the tax return and the final social insurance settlements.

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

The professionals' trick: handle every deadline at D-30, not D-1. A VAT return prepared a month early leaves time to chase a missing document without penalty.

Handing deadline monitoring to a tool is no luxury: automatic reminders, a status per obligation, and an “all green” view that clears the mind. What matters is not who ticks the box — but that the box exists and everyone can see it.

A well-structured SME chart of accounts

The same chart serves three readings: accounting (accuracy), tax (accepted adjustments) and management (margins by activity). Modern software produces all three views without double entry.

For a business in Mies, 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.

Smiling advisor with a headset at their workstation

Digitalising 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 Mies as everywhere.

For an owner in Mies, 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.

Mies: what changes, what does not

Mies (postal code 1295, canton Vaud) applies the same federal rules as the rest of the country: what changes in Mies are the cantonal counterparts — tax administration, compensation office, commercial register.

Mies requires no special bookkeeping: the Code of Obligations applies at postal code 1295 as everywhere else, and a well-kept digital file transfers smoothly to any auditor in the canton.

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 Mies, family allowances follow the canton's rates.

Does MyFiducia.ai work for a business based in Mies?

Yes: the platform runs online, the rules applied are federal (VAT, CO, AHV), and the file can be shared with any fiduciary. A business in Mies manages its documents, VAT and exports exactly as anywhere in Switzerland.

When is entry in the commercial register mandatory?

A Sàrl and an SA only come into existence with their registration. A sole proprietorship must register from CHF 100,000 of annual revenue; below that, registration stays voluntary but adds credibility and protects the business name. Registration goes through the canton's commercial register office — for Mies too.

How long must records related to accounting 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 Mies can therefore archive fully digitally.

Also worth reading

In neighbouring municipalities

Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates accounting for businesses in Mies: 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.