Pen pointing at a bar chart on paper

Financial dashboard legal obligations in Lumino: rules, deadlines, best practice

Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around financial dashboard in Lumino, 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.

The Swiss legal frame for financial dashboard

A small business does not mean small obligations: from the first salary or the first VAT return, mistakes get expensive — in Lumino as anywhere.

Art. 957a CO requires complete, truthful and systematic recording of transactions, each entry backed by a supporting document. For financial dashboard, that means in practice: no movement without a receipt, and an audit trail that can be reconstructed at any time — including during a VAT or AHV inspection.

Digitalising financial dashboard: 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.

For an owner in Lumino, 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.

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

Extensions exist and can be requested: cantonal deadlines for the tax return, deferral of the VAT filing on a reasoned request. But an extension does not stop interest: on VAT, default interest runs from the ordinary due date even when more time has been granted.

For financial dashboard, year-end is prepared in October: last invoices, investment decisions, provisions to assess — December is too late to act, January is for recording.

Team analysing financial charts around a table

Year-end closing: how the mechanics work

The closing is prepared all year long: a monthly bank reconciliation and accruals tracked as you go turn the year-end into a formality, for businesses in Lumino too.

The notes complete the figures: valuation principles, liabilities towards pension institutions, contingent liabilities, or the number of full-time positions. Careful notes reduce questions from the auditor and the banks.

Lumino: what changes, what does not

Sole proprietorship, Sàrl or SA in Lumino: the AHV contact remains the competent compensation office, and taxes follow the scales of the canton Ticino.

Federal deadlines do not move in Lumino: VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January, 10-year record retention — postal code 6533 changes nothing about those rules, only the sender's address.

Frequently asked questions

What are the legal obligations for financial dashboard 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 Lumino: federal law applies.

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 Lumino as anywhere.

Effective VAT method or net tax rate: how to choose?

The effective method deducts actual input VAT and files quarterly; the net tax rate method applies a flat industry rate to turnover, semi-annually, with no separate input VAT deduction. The flat rate suits low-cost structures; as investments grow, the effective method usually wins again. The choice rests on the company's own figures, in Lumino as anywhere.

What are the current Swiss VAT rates?

Since 1 January 2024: 8.1% (standard), 2.6% (reduced — for example food and medicines) and 3.8% (accommodation). Returns must be filed and paid within 60 days after the period ends (quarterly under the effective method, semi-annually under the net tax rate method). These federal rates apply unchanged in Lumino.

Also worth reading

In neighbouring municipalities

Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates financial dashboard for businesses in Lumino: 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.

    Financial dashboard legal obligations in Lumino