Canton compliance,
finally in plain English
Free, practical compliance guidance for SME owners and foreign founders in Switzerland, verified against official federal and cantonal sources, not written for lawyers.
Find compliance guidance for your canton
Tax rates, registration requirements, and compliance rules vary significantly between cantons. Start with yours.
Six core compliance areas
Every SME in Switzerland needs to understand these. Each topic hub covers the law, key numbers, deadlines, and canton-specific variations.
VAT / MWST / TVA
Registration thresholds, rates (8.1% standard), quarterly filing, voluntary registration benefits, and cross-border invoice handling.
Company Formation
GmbH vs AG vs Einzelfirma: minimum capital, registration steps, timelines, costs by canton, and what foreigners can do alone.
AHV / AVS Social Insurance
Contribution rates for self-employed and employers, how to register, employee vs freelancer distinction, AHV for foreign founders.
Employment Law
First hire checklist, minimum wage by canton, work permits (B, C, L), probation rules, notice periods, and Lohnausweis requirements.
Data Protection (nDSG)
Switzerland's revised FADP: who it applies to, what a privacy policy must say, data processing records, differences from GDPR.
Annual Obligations
Jahresabschluss filing, General Assembly requirements, audit thresholds, corporate tax returns, and the calendar every GmbH needs.
Guidance matched to your legal structure
A freelancer's obligations are very different from a GmbH's. Find the path built for your structure.
Freelancer / Einzelfirma
AHV contributions, VAT threshold, no mandatory audit, personal liability, and when to consider incorporating.
Read the guide →Business TypeSagl (GmbH)
CHF 20K minimum capital, limited liability, annual Jahresabschluss, General Meeting requirement, and corporate tax.
Read the guide →Business TypeSA (Aktiengesellschaft)
CHF 100K capital, mandatory statutory audit above thresholds, full corporate governance, listed and unlisted.
Read the guide →Business TypeEmployer (any structure)
AHV registration, salary declarations, work permits, minimum wage, Lohnausweis compliance, as soon as you hire.
Read the guide →Built differently from government portals
Written for founders, not lawyers
Every article answers a real question a business owner would type into Google. Plain English with clear action steps, no buried caveats.
Verified against official sources on a rolling schedule
Every article is automatically checked against official government portals in Switzerland: estv.admin.ch, ahv-iv.ch, kmu.admin.ch. When the law changes, the content updates.
Free always, funded by relevant tool recommendations
Revenue comes from contextual recommendations for accounting, payroll, and CRM tools SMEs in Switzerland actually need. Clearly disclosed. Never intrusive.
Most-read compliance guides
Basel Minimum Wage: Rates and Employer Duties
Basel minimum wage: current hourly and monthly rates, who is covered, employer obligations, and penalties for non-compliance in canton Basel-Stadt.
GmbH Formation Bern: Cost, Steps and Capital Guide
GmbH formation Bern explained: minimum capital, notary and registry costs, the founding steps, and the compliance duties every new Bern GmbH faces.
VAT Registration Geneva: Complete Guide for Businesses
VAT registration in Geneva (TVA): CHF 100,000 threshold, online application via SuisseTax, and what Geneva-based and foreign companies must do.
How we keep the content accurate
Official sources, automatically scanned
Every article is linked to its primary Swiss government source: estv.admin.ch, kmu.admin.ch, ahv-iv.ch, and 6 cantonal tax authorities. These portals are crawled on a rolling schedule.
✓ 12 official sources trackedVerification status on every article
Every article carries a live trust bar showing when it was last verified. Three states: current (green), just updated (bright green), under review (yellow). You never read stale advice without knowing.
Last site-wide scan: todayInline citations at every specific claim
Factual claims in article text are linked to exact source documents via inline citation chips. Hover to see source name, what it covers, and a direct link to the official portal.
ESTV · KMU Portal · AHV-IV