Receipts for freelancers: the minimum that actually works

In short: As a freelancer you need three kinds of receipts: the invoices you issue (income), the receipts and invoices for business expenses (expenses) and the statements of your business bank account. In Switzerland nobody asks for more as long as your turnover stays below CHF 500,000. What matters is not the quantity but that every one of these documents is complete, legible and findable for ten years.

Many freelancers make their bookkeeping harder than it needs to be. They keep every coffee receipt, print every order confirmation and maintain three different spreadsheets. Others keep nothing at all and struggle to explain themselves when the accountant or the tax office asks questions.

The middle path is simpler than both extremes suggest. This article shows the minimum set of freelancer receipts that actually works in Switzerland, what you can safely drop, and a system that runs in five minutes a week. The basic rules also apply to freelancers in Germany and Austria, with different deadlines and terms.

Which receipts do you really need as a freelancer?

You need exactly the documents that prove every figure in your books. That is three groups, and none of them is optional.

1. Income records: every invoice you issue to clients, with number, date, service and amount, plus credit notes and cancellations. You create these yourself, so they are easiest to collect if you save them as PDFs the moment you create them.
2. Expense receipts: receipts and invoices for everything you bought for your work: laptop (CHF 1,890), software subscription (CHF 14.90 per month), professional book, coworking rent, train ticket to a client, insurance, professional association fee. Without a receipt an expense is not tax-deductible.
3. Bank statements: the statements of your business account and business credit card. They tie income and expenses to the actual flow of money.

If you have these three groups complete, you have books that will stand up to an audit. Everything else is convenience. Which expenses are deductible at all for self-employed people in Switzerland is covered in Self-employed in Switzerland: receipts, expenses and bookkeeping.

Which receipts can you drop?

You can drop everything that does not prove a figure in your books. That is more than most people think.

• Private purchases: the weekly grocery shop does not belong with your business receipts, even if you paid with the business card. Book it as a private withdrawal and skip the receipt.
• Duplicates: order confirmation, shipping confirmation and invoice for the same purchase. You only need to keep the invoice.
• Card terminal slips: they only show that money moved. The itemised receipt is the document, the terminal slip is an attachment.
• Quotes and contracts: important to file, but not accounting records. Keep them separately.
• Receipts for expenses you do not deduct: if you pay for lunch at the office privately anyway, you do not need the receipt.

One receipt many people wrongly drop: the till receipt for small amounts. The USB cable for CHF 19.90 or postage for CHF 8.50 also needs a receipt if you book it as an expense. The bank statement alone is not enough, because it does not show what was bought.

How much bookkeeping is mandatory for freelancers?

In Switzerland, a sole proprietorship with turnover below CHF 500,000 only has to keep records of income, expenses and assets, under Art. 957 para. 2 of the Code of Obligations (OR). This is the so-called Milchbüchleinrechnung (simplified cash-basis accounts). It is simple, but not receipt-free: every income and every expense needs its document.

The key thresholds at a glance:

• Turnover below CHF 500,000: simplified bookkeeping of income, expenses and assets.
• Turnover from CHF 100,000: VAT registration becomes mandatory. Your invoices and your suppliers' receipts must then meet the requirements of Art. 26 of the VAT Act (MWSTG) so you can deduct input tax. Details in VAT-compliant receipts in Switzerland.
• Retention: books, accounting records and correspondence for ten years, Art. 958f OR. Digital retention is permitted as long as the documents can be made legible at any time. More in How long to keep receipts in Switzerland.

In Germany, freelancers prepare a cash-basis income statement (Einnahmenüberschussrechnung), and since 2025 accounting records must be kept for eight years. In Austria the period is seven years under § 132 BAO. Which expenses count in Germany is explained in Business expenses and receipts for self-employed people in Germany.

The minimal system in four steps

The minimal system consists of a business account, a scanning app, five categories and one export per month. It needs no accounting software as long as your accountant or you yourself pull the figures together at year end.

1. One business account: all professional income and expenses run through this account or its card. The bank statement then automatically becomes the checklist for your receipts.
2. Scan every expense receipt immediately: with Belego you photograph the receipt, the app saves it as a PDF and reads amount, date, merchant and category. Anything it cannot read with confidence stays blank for you to fill in. Invoices that arrive as PDFs by email go into the same folder as the export.
3. Few categories: for most freelancers, equipment and materials, software and subscriptions, travel and meals, training, insurance and fees are enough. Which categories make sense and which only create work is covered in Receipt categories that make sense.
4. Monthly export: at month end you export the month as a ZIP with PDFs, a CSV list and a backup, and file it in the year's folder. At year end your accountant receives twelve ZIPs plus your invoices and bank statements. The checklist for that is in Preparing receipts for your accountant.

The time needed is modest: one receipt takes about 15 seconds, so 20 receipts a month means five minutes plus the export. To keep it from piling up, the 5-minute receipt routine helps.

Overview: which document, filed how?

What are the most common receipt mistakes freelancers make?

The most common mistake is mixing private and business, followed by procrastination. Both cost hours at year end and, in the worst case, lost deductions.

• Private and business on one account: the accountant then has to classify every transaction individually and bills that time.
• Collecting instead of capturing: a pile of thermal paper from spring is often illegible by December.
• No note on the purpose: "Restaurant Hirschen, CHF 84.00" says nothing. "Lunch with client X, project meeting" turns it into a documented business expense.
• Invoices without numbers: your own invoices need sequential numbering, otherwise the books look incomplete.
• Cloud only: invoice portals and online shops delete old documents. Save the PDFs locally and back them up regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to keep every till receipt as a freelancer?

Only the receipts for business expenses that you also book as costs. Private purchases do not belong with business receipts. For the business receipts: scan immediately, because thermal paper fades, and keep the PDF for ten years. Whether you can dispose of the paper afterwards depends on your accountant and on how audit-proof the scan is.

Is a bank statement enough as proof of an expense?

No, usually not. The bank statement shows that money went to a merchant, but not what was bought or whether VAT was included. It replaces the receipt only in an emergency, for example when the receipt was lost, and then with a note on the purpose. For input tax deduction it is not sufficient.

Do I need accounting software as a freelancer?

Not necessarily. Below CHF 500,000 turnover, a clean record of income, expenses and assets is enough, and that can be produced in a spreadsheet or by your accountant. A scanning app for receipts plus bank statements covers the proof. Once you are VAT-registered or have many transactions, a tool such as Banana, bexio or CashCtrl pays off.

How long do I have to keep receipts as a freelancer?

In Switzerland, ten years after the end of the financial year, based on Art. 958f OR. This applies to your own invoices, expense receipts and bank statements. In Germany the period for accounting records has been eight years since 2025, in Austria seven years under § 132 BAO. Digital copies are allowed if they are complete and legible at any time.