Accounts receivable for hair salons in St. Margrethen: what every SME should know
Whether you run a Sàrl, an SA or a sole proprietorship in St. Margrethen, accounts receivable eventually lands on your desk. Here are the practical reference points — legal basis, deadlines and common pitfalls — to decide with a clear head.
The Swiss legal frame for accounts receivable
AHV audits and VAT audits follow the same logic: start from the documents, trace to the entries, check consistency. A business in St. Margrethen 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.
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.
Suspense accounts (to clarify) are useful provided they are emptied monthly: a swelling “miscellaneous” account is the classic symptom of a chart that no longer fits the activity.
Digitalising accounts receivable: 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.
For an owner in St. Margrethen, 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.
Outsource accounts receivable or keep it in-house?
Splitting roles clearly avoids duplication: the company captures documents and approves payments; the fiduciary checks postings, closes the year and defends the file before the authorities. Each side does what it does best — and nobody keys the same invoice twice.
For accounts receivable, a quarterly 30-minute check-in with the fiduciary beats an annual marathon: questions get handled while they are small.
St. Margrethen: what changes, what does not
Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in St. Margrethen: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton St. Gallen.
Federal deadlines do not move in St. Margrethen: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 9430 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.
Frequently asked questions
What are the legal obligations for accounts receivable in Switzerland?
The foundation is the Code of Obligations: proper bookkeeping (art. 957a CO), annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement, notes) and 10-year retention of books and records (art. 958f CO). VAT applies from CHF 100,000 of turnover, and social insurance settlements from the first employee. Nothing is different in St. Margrethen: federal law applies.
Do you need a fiduciary for accounts receivable, 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 St. Margrethen.
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 St. Margrethen.
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 St. Margrethen as anywhere.
Also worth reading
In neighbouring municipalities
Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates accounts receivable for businesses in St. Margrethen: 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.