Sole proprietorship in Switzerland in Martigny-Combe: the practical guide
Sole proprietorship in Switzerland in Martigny-Combe rests on three pillars: federal law that applies across Switzerland, cantonal deadlines worth knowing, and tools that eliminate re-keying. This guide puts it all in order, fact by fact.
Choosing the structure: Sàrl, SA or sole proprietorship
Partners from day one? A shareholders' agreement settles what the articles do not: exit, deadlock, valuation. Signing it while everything is fine costs an evening; negotiating it in a crisis costs the company.
A Sàrl and an SA must also appoint an auditor, unless they opt out (no more than ten full-time positions on annual average and unanimous shareholder consent). Many young companies start without one, then appoint an auditor when growth or investors demand it.
Salaries and social contributions: the rates to know
Family allowances are financed by the employer through a cantonal compensation fund — rates and amounts vary from canton to canton, including in Martigny-Combe. They come on top of the federal social insurances and appear on every payslip.
For sole proprietorship, the monthly payslip is only the visible part: instalments to the funds, annual settlements and certificates form the real cycle, January to January.
Digitalising sole proprietorship: 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.
Electronic archiving is fully recognised: Swiss bookkeeping regulation admits electronic retention of records provided integrity and readability are guaranteed for the 10 years of art. 958f CO. A paper binder is no longer an obligation — provided the archiving system is serious.
The Swiss legal frame for sole proprietorship
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 sole proprietorship converges on those three pages, in Martigny-Combe too.
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.
Martigny-Combe: what changes, what does not
Working with a fiduciary from Martigny-Combe no longer depends on geography: the documents of a business in Martigny-Combe are shared online, while the canton Valais keeps its own deadlines for the tax return.
Martigny-Combe requires no special bookkeeping: the Code of Obligations applies at postal code 1921 as everywhere else, and a well-kept digital file transfers smoothly to any auditor in the canton.
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 Martigny-Combe, 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 Martigny-Combe: the CO dictates it, not the commune.
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.
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 Martigny-Combe can therefore archive fully digitally.
Also worth reading
In neighbouring municipalities
Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date
MyFiducia.ai automates sole proprietorship for businesses in Martigny-Combe: AI-read documents, posting suggestions, VAT and exports ready for your fiduciary. Try the platform or browse our other guides.
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