Digitizing Receipts: A Practical Guide for Swiss SMEs

In Switzerland, business receipts must be kept for ten years under the Code of Obligations - digital storage is far more space-efficient and much easier to search during a tax audit than a paper folder.

Why digitizing pays off

• Ten-year retention requirement without physical storage space
• Fast retrieval of individual receipts during a tax audit
• Direct data export to your accountant instead of manual handover
• No risk from water damage, fire, or lost binders

The practical workflow

1. Capture

Photograph the receipt or upload it as a PDF - directly from your phone or computer.

2. Extract

An AI automatically extracts date, amount, VAT rate, and supplier from the receipt - no manual entry needed.

3. Categorize

Receipts are automatically assigned to the right expense category - essential for clean bookkeeping.

4. Export

Pass structured data as CSV, or directly compatible with common accounting software, on to your accountant.

Legal considerations

Electronic retention is permitted in Switzerland as long as receipts remain readable at any time and data integrity is ensured. A structured, searchable archive usually meets this requirement without issue.