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E-invoicing step by step in Hölstein: the practical guide

Whether you run a Sàrl, an SA or a sole proprietorship in Hölstein, e-invoicing eventually lands on your desk. Here are the practical reference points — legal basis, deadlines and common pitfalls — to decide with a clear head.

Digitalising e-invoicing: 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 Hölstein.

For an owner in Hölstein, 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.

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 e-invoicing, valid in Hölstein as anywhere.

For e-invoicing, the right granularity is decisive: enough accounts to steer the business (margins by activity, expenses by nature), few enough that every entry finds its place without hesitation. The VAT accounts (input VAT, VAT due) deserve special care — they are the basis of the annual reconciliation.

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.

Reference discipline remains: an invoice issued without a structured reference — or paid by a client who truncates it — becomes a manual case again. Coaching recurring clients and keeping your own outgoing payments clean keeps the automation rate at the top.

Advisor handing a document and pen to a client

The Swiss legal frame for e-invoicing

Three documents summarise the health of a Swiss business: the balance sheet (what it owns), the income statement (what it earns) and the notes (what else you should know). All the work of e-invoicing converges on those three pages, in Hölstein too.

One simple principle drives e-invoicing: every franc in or out must be explainable by a document, an entry and an account. All of Swiss accounting law fits inside that traceability requirement.

Hölstein: what changes, what does not

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

Hölstein requires no special bookkeeping: the Code of Obligations applies at postal code 4434 as everywhere else, and a well-kept digital file transfers smoothly to any auditor in the canton.

Frequently asked questions

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 Hölstein as anywhere.

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 Hölstein, family allowances follow the canton's rates.

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 Hölstein: 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 Hölstein.

Also worth reading

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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates e-invoicing for businesses in Hölstein: 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.