E-invoicing for agencies in S-chanf: the practical guide
Whether you run a Sàrl, an SA or a sole proprietorship in S-chanf, 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
Access for the fiduciary, the auditor and employees is set by roles: view, enter, approve, close. Well-set rights protect the data and speed up collaboration.
The winning pair for e-invoicing: a single inbox (e-mail, scan, photo) and one simple rule — no document sits more than a few days without a proposed entry.
Outsource e-invoicing 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 S-chanf as elsewhere.
For e-invoicing, a quarterly 30-minute check-in with the fiduciary beats an annual marathon: questions get handled while they are small.
QR-bills and friction-free collections
Since 30 September 2022, the QR-bill has fully replaced the old Swiss payment slips. The Swiss QR Code carries the IBAN (or QR-IBAN), the amount, the debtor and a structured reference: enough to match every incoming payment to its invoice automatically.
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.
The Swiss legal frame for e-invoicing
AHV audits and VAT audits follow the same logic: start from the documents, trace to the entries, check consistency. A business in S-chanf with a clean audit trail sails through these exercises.
Also worth knowing: accounts may be drawn up in the currency most relevant to the business; if that is not the franc, values must additionally be stated in CHF (art. 958d para. 3 CO). Internationally active companies gain books that match their economic reality.
S-chanf: what changes, what does not
Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in S-chanf: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton Grisons.
Federal deadlines do not move in S-chanf: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 7525 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 S-chanf, family allowances follow the canton's rates.
Do you need a fiduciary for e-invoicing, or can you do it yourself?
Both are defensible. Below CHF 500,000 of revenue, a sole proprietorship may keep simplified accounts itself. As soon as payroll, VAT and a closing with tax stakes are involved, professional support prevents mistakes that cost more than the fees. With a shared platform, the fiduciary does not even need to be in S-chanf.
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 S-chanf too.
How long must records related to e-invoicing 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 S-chanf can therefore archive fully digitally.
Also worth reading
In neighbouring municipalities
Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates e-invoicing for businesses in S-chanf: 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.