Self-employed in Switzerland: receipts, expenses and bookkeeping without the stress

In short: If you are self-employed in Switzerland, every business expense needs a receipt, and you keep it for ten years. Up to CHF 500,000 of annual turnover, a simple record of income, expenses and assets is enough (Art. 957 of the Code of Obligations). With a fixed routine, clear categories and a digital filing system, the bookkeeping of a sole proprietorship takes a few minutes a week.

Being self-employed means you document your own taxes. There is no salary certificate that sums everything up. The tax office sees your profit only the way you prove it: income from invoices, expenses from receipts. If a receipt is missing, the deduction is missing.

The good news: the requirements for a sole proprietorship (Einzelfirma) are manageable, and a few habits keep the effort small. This article covers which obligations apply, which receipts you actually need and how to file them so that the year-end closing does not turn into a stress project.

Which bookkeeping obligation applies to a sole proprietorship?

Up to an annual turnover of CHF 500,000, a simplified record is enough: a chronological list of income, expenses and your financial position, known in Switzerland as the Milchbüchleinrechnung (Art. 957 para. 2 of the Code of Obligations). Double-entry bookkeeping with a balance sheet and income statement becomes mandatory only above CHF 500,000, and is always required for a GmbH or AG.

Two more thresholds to know:

• From CHF 100,000 turnover you must register in the commercial register.
• From CHF 100,000 turnover from taxable supplies you become liable for VAT and must register with the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV).

Regardless of turnover, business records and receipts must be kept for ten years (Art. 958f of the Code of Obligations). What that means for thermal paper receipts is explained in the article on how long to keep receipts in Switzerland.

Which receipts do you really need when self-employed?

Every expense you want to deduct as a business cost needs a receipt that shows what you bought, when, from whom and for how much. A bank statement alone is not enough: it shows the payment, not the content.

Typical receipts of a sole proprietorship:

• Purchase invoices and till receipts for materials, software, trade literature, office supplies
• Invoices for rent, electricity, internet and phone (with a private share where use is mixed)
• Travel costs: public transport tickets, fuel receipts, parking fees, or a logbook for the car
• Meals away from home during client meetings, trips and training
• Insurance premiums for business liability, loss of earnings, property insurance
• Contributions to AHV, IV, EO (state social insurance) and to pillar 3a
• Training: course invoices, books, travel to the course

For costs used both privately and for business (car, phone, home office), you deduct only the business share and note the split in a way that can be followed later. If you are starting out as a freelancer with little overhead, the article on receipts for freelancers shows the minimum that works.

How do you keep expenses and private shares under control?

Separate business and private from day one: a dedicated business account, a dedicated card and fixed rules for mixed costs. This is the simplest defence against chaos, because every transaction is then either clearly business or never touches the business account.

For mixed costs, set a ratio once and apply it all year. Example: you pay CHF 90 a month for phone and internet and use both about 60 percent for work. You book CHF 54 a month as an expense and CHF 36 as private share. You file the full invoices, with the ratio written as a note.

Expenses follow the same principle as for employees: receipt, date, purpose and, where relevant, the people involved. A restaurant bill of CHF 68 without a note says nothing. The same bill with "website project meeting, client Meier" is a clean business expense. Belego has a notes field on every receipt that you fill in right after taking the photo, while you still remember.

What does a bookkeeping routine look like that you will stick to?

The best routine is short and firmly anchored: capture receipts immediately, check weekly, close monthly.

1. Immediately: photograph the receipt with your phone, set a category and note, put the paper away or bin it (except warranty receipts).
2. Weekly (5 minutes): reconcile the business account against the receipts. Every debit has a receipt, every credit has an invoice.
3. Monthly (15 minutes): export the month, enter income and expenses in your overview or accounting tool, check unpaid invoices.

With Belego, step 1 takes a few seconds: the app crops the photo, saves it as a PDF and reads the amount, date, merchant and category. Anything it cannot read with confidence it leaves blank instead of guessing. At month end you export the period as a ZIP with all PDFs and a CSV list that opens in Banana, CashCtrl or Excel. Belego is not accounting software; it makes sure every receipt arrives there complete and readable. More on the habit itself in the 5-minute receipt routine.

What goes into the annual accounts and the tax return?

As a sole proprietor you declare the business profit together with your other income in your personal tax return. You attach a statement of income and expenses (or, with double-entry bookkeeping, the balance sheet and income statement) plus your canton's questionnaire for self-employed persons. You do not attach the receipts themselves, but you must be able to produce them on request.

The overview shows what you should have ready at year end:

Remember social insurance: as a self-employed person you pay AHV, IV and EO contributions yourself. The rate is around 10 percent of profit, with a sliding scale at lower incomes. Without a pension fund you may pay up to 20 percent of earned income into pillar 3a, capped at CHF 36,288 (as of 2026). Both reduce taxable profit, and both need the certificate as a receipt.

If you work with a Treuhänder (the Swiss term for a trustee or accountant), a clean export makes the closing cheaper because fewer questions come back. Exactly what they need is covered in sending receipts digitally to your accountant. If you are VAT-registered, also pay attention to VAT-compliant receipts, or you lose the input tax.

Note: This article is general guidance, not tax advice. The law, the official guidelines and the information from your tax authority or your Treuhänder are decisive.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to attach receipts to my tax return when self-employed?

No. You submit the statement of income and expenses or the annual accounts, not the individual receipts. The tax office can request them at any time, even years later. That is why they must remain findable and readable for ten years, ideally in digital form with date, merchant and amount in the file name.

Can I deduct expenses without a receipt?

As a rule, no. For small amounts such as parking meters or tips, many tax offices accept your own note with date, amount and purpose if the rest of your books are clean. That is the exception, not the rule. For anything that comes with a receipt: keep it or obtain a replacement, for example a copy of the invoice from the supplier.

Do I need accounting software for a small sole proprietorship?

Not necessarily. Below CHF 500,000 turnover, a chronological list of income and expenses is sufficient, and you can keep it in Excel. Software becomes worthwhile once you are VAT-registered, write many invoices or need to manage receivables. Whatever the tool, every line must point to a receipt.

How do I separate private and business if I only have one account?

Open a second account; a basic personal account is fine for a sole proprietorship. Until then, mark every business transaction on the statement and file the receipt with it. Money taken from the business is booked as a private withdrawal, private payments for the business as a private contribution. Mixed transactions are the most common source of questions in an audit.