Fiduciary services for medical practices explained simply
Between VAT, social contributions and the year-end close, a Swiss SME juggles dozens of deadlines a year. This page focuses on fiduciary services: what the law requires, what can be automated, and when to delegate.
The Swiss legal frame for fiduciary services
Responsibility for the books is personal: in an SA, organising the accounting is one of the board's non-transferable duties (art. 716a CO); in a Sàrl, the managing directors carry the same duty. Outsourcing the execution never transfers that underlying responsibility.
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 fiduciary services run entirely on digital tools — no paper binder is required.
Digitalising fiduciary services: what actually works
A serious accounting document archive links every record to its entry, timestamps versions and logs access — exactly what Swiss bookkeeping regulation expects from probative electronic retention. Chronological filing by financial year becomes an automatic by-product.
The selection criterion for a tool is not the length of its feature list but the robustness of the daily flow: reliable bank imports, VAT computed correctly (8.1 / 2.6 / 3.8%), a complete audit trail from document to entry, and a clean export for the auditor or fiduciary. Everything else is secondary.
A Swiss SME's accounting calendar
Three families of deadlines shape the year: federal (VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January), cantonal (tax return, extensions depending on the canton) and internal (closing, general meeting within six months). Mixing them up is the leading cause of delays.
Delays rarely come alone: neglected bookkeeping postpones the closing, hence the tax return, hence the recalculated instalments — and the business flies blind for months. Keeping the books current as you go is the only sustainable way to hold every cascading deadline.
Outsource fiduciary services or keep it in-house?
Outsourcing does not exempt you from understanding: an owner who can read the balance sheet and the income statement challenges the fiduciary better — and pays for advice, not re-keying.
As everywhere, the right collaboration rhythm follows the activity: monthly for payroll and data entry, quarterly for VAT, yearly for the closing and tax advice.
Year-end closing: how the mechanics work
The income statement reads as a cascade: gross margin, operating result, financial result, extraordinary result. Each level answers a different question — mixing levels blurs the steering.
For fiduciary services, a closing checklist reused every year transforms the exercise: same steps, same checks, same documents — only the year changes.
Frequently asked questions
Does MyFiducia.ai work for a business anywhere in Switzerland?
Yes: the platform runs online, the rules applied are federal (VAT, CO, AHV), and the file can be shared with any fiduciary. Cantonal specifics (taxes, allowances) are configured in your file.
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.
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.
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.
Also worth reading
This guide by municipality
Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates fiduciary services for Swiss SMEs: 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.