Sole proprietorship for architecture firms in Orny without the stress: how it works
Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around sole proprietorship in Orny, 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.
Choosing the structure: Sàrl, SA or sole proprietorship
A Sàrl requires CHF 20,000 of fully paid-in capital; an SA CHF 100,000 of which at least CHF 50,000 paid in. Both require a notarised deed and entry in the commercial register. A sole proprietorship arises from mere activity — registration only becomes mandatory from CHF 100,000 of annual revenue.
On taxes, corporate profit bears direct federal tax at 8.5% (statutory rate) plus cantonal and communal tax — the total effective burden varies markedly between cantons. A realistic business plan and accounts kept from the start make bank credit noticeably easier.
Salaries and social contributions: the rates to know
Two of these contributions are set by law: AHV/IV/APG at 5.3% and unemployment at 1.1%, both payable by the employer. The others — LPP, accident insurance, possibly daily sickness benefits and family allowances — depend on the insurer, the industry and the pension plan. The total surcharge usually falls between 12 and 20% of gross pay, and employee deductions between 10 and 15%: these are orders of magnitude, not statutory rates.
A thirteenth salary, where agreed, is accrued month by month — forget it and December reveals a charge of one-twelfth of the payroll, in Orny as everywhere.
Digitalising sole proprietorship: what actually works
Accounting digitalisation always follows the same path: capture documents at the source (photo or PDF upload), let automatic recognition extract supplier, amount, date and VAT, approve the proposed entries, then archive each document linked to its entry. Every step removes a re-keying — and therefore an error source.
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.
The Swiss legal frame for sole proprietorship
Whether a business sits in Orny or elsewhere in Switzerland, the same federal law applies — one of the strengths of the Swiss system for sole proprietorship. Cantonal differences concentrate on taxation (rates, filing deadlines); bookkeeping itself follows art. 957 ff. CO everywhere.
The good news: the Swiss frame is stable and predictable. Structure sole proprietorship once — chart of accounts, document flow, calendar — and the same organisation pays off for years.
Orny: what changes, what does not
Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in Orny: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton Vaud.
Federal deadlines do not move in Orny: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 1317 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.
Frequently asked questions
How long must records related to sole proprietorship 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 Orny can therefore archive fully digitally.
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 Orny as anywhere.
Do you need a fiduciary for sole proprietorship, 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 Orny.
Can sole proprietorship be automated with AI?
Largely, yes: automatic document reading, posting suggestions, bank reconciliation via QR references and VAT exports. Human approval remains essential — AI prepares, the professional checks. That is exactly how MyFiducia.ai approaches sole proprietorship.
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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates sole proprietorship for businesses in Orny: 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.