Free assessment

SWISS COMPLIANCE

Does your software really know the Swiss rules? The one you are using today.

A software can be excellent and still unusable in Switzerland.

Five requirements determine if a software is usable here: QR-bill, ISO 20022 banking format, Swissdec for salaries, eBill and Peppol for invoice exchange, and the new data protection law. We check each one in your tools, with your real documents, and we write down in black and white what is set up. The diagnosis is offered.

The six requirements and who is concerned

None of this prevents a software from starting. All of this ends up in a spreadsheet, kept by hand by someone at your company.

QR-BILLThe square code that your client scansto pay without retyping anything.ALL SWISS INVOICESISO 20022The format of payment ordersexchanged with your bank.AS SOON AS YOU PAY BY FILESWISSDECSalaries sent to the social security officesthrough a single procedure.AS SOON AS YOU HAVE STAFFEBILLThe invoice deposited in your client's e-bankingaccount.USEFUL, NEVER IMPOSEDPEPPOLThe billing network for public markets,UBL format.FEDERAL PUBLIC MARKETSnFADPKnowing which data you hold,where it is, who accesses it.ANY COMPANY

Three VAT rates (8.1%, 3.8%, 2.6%) and an accounting plan that is neither French nor German: it never gets stuck during installation, but always at the first quarterly statement.

The QR-bill and the reference that makes all the difference

The square code contains your IBAN, the amount, the debtor's address and a unique reference. Your client scans, pays without retyping, and the reference comes back with the payment: it is this reference that allows your software to recognize on its own which invoice has just been paid.

YOUR INVOICETHE CLIENT SCANS AND PAYSWITHOUT RETYPING ANYTHINGTHE REFERENCE COMES BACKWITH THE PAYMENTYOUR SOFTWARE MATCHES IT AUTOMATICALLY

Without the reference: someone reads the statement line by line and checks it manually, every month, forever. And some large clients return the non-compliant invoice, which delays your collection.

ISO 20022: three flows that are often confused and settled separately.

It is the common language between companies and banks. Switzerland uses a national variant (pain.001 for outgoing orders, camt for statements).

YOUR SOFTWAREQUOTATIONS,INVOICES, SALARIESYOUR BANKE-BANKING1 · ISSUE: QR-BILLSTO YOUR CUSTOMERS2 · PAY: A PAIN.001 FILE, ALLSUPPLIERS, ONE VALIDATION3 · COLLECT: CAMT STATEMENT READ,INVOICES FOUND, RECONCILIATION PROPOSED

WITHOUT FLOW 2: SIXTY SUPPLIER INVOICES = SIXTY ENTRIES AND SIXTY OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE A MISTAKE OF THE ADDRESSEE

Issue, pay, collect: three distinct settings, often confused in discussions with the publisher.

Swissdec: Free to verify in two minutes

A certified software sends, via a single procedure (ELM, most often 5.1 today), what is required by the AHV, accident insurance, pension fund and tax authorities. Swissdec publishes the list of certified software; the name listed is that of the payroll module, not the brand.

WITH A CERTIFIED MODULESALARIESAHVACCIDENTPENSIONTAXESWITHOUTSALARIESPORTAL 1PORTAL 2PORTAL 3PORTAL 4RE-ENTER EVERY JANUARYBY SOMEONE IN YOUR TEAM

An asterisk in the Swissdec list indicates self-validation by the publisher on a minor version: this is not full certification.

eBill and Peppol: two different things

eBill deposits your invoice in your client's e-banking, where they approve it with a simple gesture. Peppol is an exchange network between management systems: the invoice is no longer a document that someone looks at; it's a file that the computer on the other end understands alone.

YOUR SOFTWAREEBILL · TO YOUR CLIENT'S E-BANKINGINDIVIDUALS AND SMALL STRUCTURES · USEFUL, NEVER IMPOSEDPEPPOL · SYSTEM TO SYSTEM, UBL FORMAT

FEDERAL OFFICES BY 2026, INVOICES OVER 5,000 FRANCS · NO GENERAL OBLIGATION BETWEEN COMPANIES IN SWITZERLAND

Be wary of articles that copy European regulations: in Switzerland, the Peppol question arises before submitting a first public tender, not after winning it.

The nFADP, in four questions your software must be able to answer

The law does not ask you to become a lawyer. It asks you to know which personal data you process, where it is stored, why you keep it and who has access to it. Your management software is precisely where this data lives.

WHERE?HOSTED WHERE,IN WHICH COUNTRYWHO?ACCESS TO WHAT, BY WHOMREAL RIGHTSHOW?EXTRACT OR DELETESOMEONE'S DATAWITH WHOM?A CONTRACT WITHTHE HOSTING PROVIDER

NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS. ON THE DAY WHEN SOMEONE ASKS, THE ABSENCE OF A WRITTEN RESPONSE COSTS MORE THAN THE PENALTY.

It is not the penalty that costs the most, it is the time spent reconstructing afterwards what would have been enough to note beforehand.

What we check at your premises and the proof you keep

We do not sell any licenses: no interest in concluding that your software must be replaced. We start with yours, as it is configured, with your real documents. A function never activated is, day-to-day, a function missing.

Post by post, with actual files

A QR-bill issued and scanned. A payment file accepted by your bank before actual use. A camt statement loaded, and the lines that reconcile automatically. Your VAT rates and their labels. Your payroll module found in the Swissdec list. Where are your data, and who accesses them.

A dated document, one point per requirement

For each: the finding, the screenshot or test file that establishes it, the steps to follow when something is missing. It serves your accountant, your auditor, your bank, and whoever will take over in ten years.

We do not issue any certification: it does not exist for an SME, and no one should claim otherwise. Your accountant has the final say on your accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What we are asked

Our software is ten years old. Is it necessarily outdated?

Not necessarily. Many have received updates and produce a correct QR-bill. What is often missing is not the function, but its configuration, which has never been activated.

We process our payroll through an accounting firm. Does Swissdec concern us?

In that case, it is the accounting firm that handles the transmission with its certified software. You become concerned again on the day you bring payroll processing in-house.

Should we switch to Peppol now?

Only if you invoice federal offices or a large customer requests it. For most SMEs, QR-bill and eBill are sufficient today.

How long does the verification take?

A few days, depending on the number of software programs and the availability of the people who use them. Price and deadline announced before starting.

What if the verdict is that our software is not suitable?

We will tell you, with specific points and what they cost you each month. This will be a conclusion, not a starting point: we do not sell any licenses.

Let's check what your software actually handles

The diagnosis is free. We look at your invoices, payments, statements, and payroll as they are today, then we tell you where you are compliant and where you are not.

Where to go next

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