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Accounting for manufacture of synthetic rubber in primary forms: rules, deadlines, best practice

NOGA code 201700 · MANUFACTURING

Delegate, digitalise or do it all yourself? Around accounting, 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 accounting

The question is never “do we need accounts?” but “at what level of detail?”. The CO sets the floor; the bank, the tax office and the shareholders set the rest.

Late books show from the outside: poorly calibrated tax instalments, provisional filings, slow answers to the bank. Staying current is also a matter of image.

Digitalising accounting: what actually works

Security is part of digitalisation: named access, tested backups, encryption of sensitive data. A digital accounting file is protected like a safe — because it is one.

The winning pair for accounting: a single inbox (e-mail, scan, photo) and one simple rule — no document sits more than a few days without a proposed entry.

Outsource accounting or keep it in-house?

The scope goes down in writing: who enters data, who approves payments, who answers the tax office, who keeps the originals. Every “we'll see” at the start becomes a December misunderstanding.

For accounting, a quarterly 30-minute check-in with the fiduciary beats an annual marathon: questions get handled while they are small.

A gloved hand in a white lab coat dispensing a drop with a micropipette into an Erlenmeyer flask holding a pink solution on a laboratory bench.

A Swiss SME's accounting calendar

Three families of deadlines shape the year: federal (VAT within 60 days, salary declaration in January), cantonal (tax return, extensions depending on the canton) and internal (closing, general meeting within six months). Mixing them up is the leading cause of delays.

An SME that holds its calendar twelve months straight changes its position: fewer official reminders, easier extensions — and accounting stops being a source of worry.

A well-structured SME chart of accounts

A good chart of accounts tells the story of the business: classes 1 and 2 describe what it owns and owes, class 3 what it sells, classes 4 to 6 what it consumes. Private accounts (sole proprietorships) and shareholder current accounts (Sàrl/SA) must stay spotless: they are the first thing examined in a tax audit.

Comparability over time beats sophistication: a chart stable for five years beats a “perfect” one rebuilt every year. Banks and the tax administration read year-on-year movements first.

Frequently asked questions

Does MyFiducia.ai work for a business anywhere in Switzerland?

Yes: the platform runs online, the rules applied are federal (VAT, CO, AHV), and the file can be shared with any fiduciary. Cantonal specifics (taxes, allowances) are configured in your file.

How long must records related to accounting 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.

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).

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.

Professions in the same sector

This guide by municipality

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Switch to accounting that keeps itself up to date

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Source: NOGA 2008 nomenclature, Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). A statistical nomenclature: it describes an activity and is not a commercial register entry.