Team analysing financial charts around a table

Bookkeeping for carpenters in Bex: rules, deadlines, best practice

Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around bookkeeping in Bex, 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 bookkeeping

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 bookkeeping converges on those three pages, in Bex too.

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.

Digitalising bookkeeping: what actually works

Automation is judged on the exceptions: what happens when the document is unreadable, the supplier unknown, the amount divergent? A good tool isolates those cases and lets a human decide fast — precious for teams in Bex.

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.

Outsource bookkeeping or keep it in-house?

A good test before choosing: ask the fiduciary HOW it wants to receive the documents. A precise answer (formats, frequency, platform) says more than any brochure — including in Bex.

A business in Bex can combine the models: internal day-to-day entry, monthly external supervision, closing and taxes with the specialist — bookkeeping splits very well.

Professional in a suit reviewing documents

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

January: salary declaration to the compensation office and salary certificates. End of February, May, August, November: quarterly VAT returns (effective method), each to be filed and paid within 60 days after the quarter ends. Within six months of year-end: approved annual accounts. Then: the tax return under cantonal deadlines, with extensions possible.

Handing deadline monitoring to a tool is no luxury: automatic reminders, a status per obligation, and an “all green” view that clears the mind. What matters is not who ticks the box — but that the box exists and everyone can see it.

Bex: what changes, what does not

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

Bex requires no special bookkeeping: the Code of Obligations applies at postal code 1880 as everywhere else, and a well-kept digital file transfers smoothly to any auditor in the canton.

Frequently asked questions

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 Bex.

Can bookkeeping 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 bookkeeping.

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 Bex.

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. The threshold is federal: it applies in Bex as everywhere in Switzerland.

Also worth reading

In neighbouring municipalities

Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

MyFiducia.ai automates bookkeeping for businesses in Bex: 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.

    Bookkeeping for carpenters in Bex | MyFiducia.ai