Pen pointing at a bar chart on paper

LPP pension reporting digitalisation in Basel without the stress: how it works

Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around LPP pension reporting in Basel, 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.

The Swiss legal frame for LPP pension reporting

Swiss accounting law has been unified in the Code of Obligations since 2013: the same bookkeeping rules (art. 957a CO) and retention rules (art. 958f CO — 10 years for books, vouchers and reports) apply regardless of legal form. LPP pension reporting sits squarely within this frame, including for companies based in Basel.

The good news: the Swiss frame is stable and predictable. Structure LPP pension reporting once — chart of accounts, document flow, calendar — and the same organisation pays off for years.

Salaries and social contributions: the rates to know

Absences are managed upstream: illness, accident, military service or maternity trigger allowances (APG, insurance) that replace part of the salary. Clean absence records are the basis of correct settlements, in Basel as elsewhere.

A thirteenth salary, where agreed, is accrued month by month — forget it and December reveals a charge of one-twelfth of the payroll, in Basel as everywhere.

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

January: salary declaration to the compensation office and salary certificates. End of February, May, August, November: quarterly VAT returns (effective method), each to be filed and paid within 60 days after the quarter ends. Within six months of year-end: approved annual accounts. Then: the tax return under cantonal deadlines, with extensions possible.

The useful reflex: date every obligation the moment it arises. An employee hired means AHV/LPP deadlines created; VAT registration means a filing cycle set; a closing date fixed means backward planning of the close. Well organised, the LPP pension reporting calendar fills itself.

Two people reviewing numerical reports

Digitalising LPP pension reporting: what actually works

Automation is judged on the exceptions: what happens when the document is unreadable, the supplier unknown, the amount divergent? A good tool isolates those cases and lets a human decide fast — precious for teams in Basel.

The winning pair for LPP pension reporting: a single inbox (e-mail, scan, photo) and one simple rule — no document sits more than a few days without a proposed entry.

Basel: what changes, what does not

Working with a fiduciary from Basel no longer depends on geography: the documents of a business in Basel are shared online, while the canton Basel-City keeps its own deadlines for the tax return.

Federal deadlines do not move in Basel: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 4001 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.

Frequently asked questions

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

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 Basel 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 Basel too.

Which documents should be prepared for the year-end closing?

Bank and cash statements at the closing date, the inventory of stock and work in progress, final AHV/LPP/accident settlements, contracts signed or amended during the year, invoices straddling two years and the detail of accruals. With an up-to-date document archive, most of it is already there. The list is identical in Basel: the CO dictates it, not the commune.

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 Basel.

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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates LPP pension reporting for businesses in Basel: 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.