Year-end accounts in Switzerland: a practical closing checklist

Closing your year-end accounts involves more than stopping entries on 31 December. You need to check that the accounts reflect the financial year correctly: are invoices recorded in the right period, does the stock still exist, and have all liabilities been identified? Regular preparation makes the year-end close much easier.

Start with a complete year-end file

The balance sheet shows what the business owns and owes at the year-end date. The income statement explains its income, expenses and profit or loss during the year. The notes to the financial statements provide the required explanations and additional disclosures. The year-end close brings these three documents into line with the facts.

Gather bank statements, sales and purchase invoices, expense claims, payroll records, VAT and social insurance statements, financing agreements and important owner resolutions.

Agree a timetable with the person keeping the accounts and, where needed, the statutory auditor. A missing-document list with an owner and deadline for each item avoids last-minute reminders.

In a small service-based LLC, common omissions include subscriptions, costs paid personally and services delivered but not yet invoiced. For a retail business, add stock and goods in transit to the checks.

Prepare before the financial year ends

Closing problems often arise because information is scattered: an invoice in an inbox, a contract held by the director, an undated stocktake or an unidentified private expense. Collecting these items throughout the year avoids having to reconstruct everything from memory.

A few weeks before year end, list the documents expected and who will supply them. Plan the stock count, identify work or services that need to be allocated to the year, and confirm major commitments. This organisational timetable should suit the business; it does not replace legal deadlines.

After year end, allow time to review new invoices and events. An invoice arriving in January may concern December, so its receipt date is not the only factor in deciding when to record it.

Accounts closing on 31 December 2026: the 2026–2027 timetable

The preparation periods below are planning targets. Statutory deadlines are identified separately so that the accounts, returns and general meeting are not confused.

Reconcile balances and review open invoices

Each bank account balance should agree with the statement at year end, with any differences explained. Do the same for petty cash, payment cards and platform accounts.

Next, review trade receivables and payables. Decide what each old invoice needs: expected payment, a dispute review, a credit note or recognition of a potential loss. Advances and deposits should not remain in temporary accounts without explanation.

Also check loans and shareholders’ current accounts. Document the amount owed, interest and terms instead of reconstructing them from memory months later.

Allocate income and expenses to the correct financial year

A company receives an invoice in January for CHF 2,400 of services delivered in December. If the expense and liability are established, record them in the correct year, for example through an accrued expense. This is not automatically a provision.

Conversely, insurance paid in December may cover the following year. Assess the relevant portion as a prepayment. Services delivered before year end but not yet invoiced also need to be considered.

An accrual or prepayment adjustment puts income or an expense into the right period. A provision recognises an obligation or risk involving uncertainty, such as litigation. A value adjustment reduces an asset’s carrying amount, for example where part of a customer invoice is unlikely to be recovered. These entries solve different problems.

Two adjustments reduce profit from CHF 20,000 to CHF 18,500

Profit before adjustments is CHF 20,000. A supplier’s December service costing CHF 2,400, excluding VAT in this example, has not been recorded: debit the expense and credit accrued liabilities. An insurance premium of CHF 1,200 covering October to September was also expensed in full. Nine months belong to the following year: move CHF 900 to prepayments, reducing the current year’s expense. Adjusted profit before tax becomes CHF 20,000 − 2,400 + 900 = CHF 18,500. These adjustments do not themselves create another payment. Their treatment in the next year must avoid counting the expenses twice.

These labels explain the accounting treatment. Account numbers depend on your chart of accounts. The example deliberately excludes a VAT entry for the invoice not yet received: assess input tax recovery using the available evidence and applicable VAT rules.

Check inventory and review valuations

An inventory is not just a list of goods. It supports assets and liabilities, including physical stock, fixed assets, receivables, borrowings and other commitments.

Remove missing stock and assess damaged or unsaleable items. Update equipment depreciation and value adjustments. A machine that has left the business should not remain indefinitely in the fixed asset register.

Document the assumptions used. A reasonable, traceable estimate is better than automatically carrying forward a figure simply because it appeared in last year’s accounts.

Check VAT, payroll and overall consistency

Reconcile payroll with declarations and amounts owed to the relevant institutions. Check any annual adjustments. For VAT, the detailed reconciliation below connects the accounts with the returns filed.

Compare the figures with the previous year. A large margin movement, an unusual negative balance or a debt disappearing without payment may indicate an error. This review does not replace supporting documents; it helps identify accounts to investigate.

Accounting profit and taxable profit are not always identical. Some expenses or valuations require tax adjustments, which should be handled separately and explained.

Three simple tax checks to add

• Private expenses: review personal payments made through the company and private use of a company car. A bill paid by the company is not automatically deductible.
• Shareholder accounts: confirm who is lending to whom, the amount, interest and documentation. The FTA’s 2026 interest rates (French) differ depending on whether the company lends or borrows.
• Returns: reconcile payroll, VAT and tax with the accounts, and document adjustments rather than clearing unexplained differences.

Our guide to common accounting mistakes and how to correct them provides worked examples.

Prepare, audit and approve the accounts

Prepare the balance sheet, income statement and notes where required. A sole proprietorship’s obligations may differ from those of an SA/AG or LLC.

Then check the applicable audit requirements. A small company is exempt from a limited audit only if the conditions and formalities for opting out have been met.

For an SA/AG or LLC, the ordinary general meeting must take place within six months of the financial year end. It approves the accounts and decides how to use the profit, among other matters. Do not confuse this with the tax return deadline, which is set by the relevant authority.

Review the accounts with someone who knows the business

The bookkeeper checks the accounting treatments and balances. Management contributes different information: a customer is struggling, a machine is no longer used, a contract has changed or litigation is under way. Both perspectives are necessary.

Start the final review with significant year-on-year differences. An unusual margin may reflect the sales mix, but it could also result from a missing purchase or an incorrect stock movement. An old customer balance may need a reminder, a reconciliation correction or a reassessment of recoverability.

Ask for an explanation of the movement from provisional to final profit. Accruals, depreciation and corrections should be understandable. This also helps improve the following year’s management accounts.

Identify the final version and retain its supporting file. If a later correction is needed, leave a clear audit trail. Unlabelled versions can create differences between the accounts supplied to owners, the bank and authorities.

Six questions before approving the accounts

• Do bank balances agree with the statements at 31 December?
• Has each old customer invoice been reviewed with the person managing that customer?
• Have the year’s purchases and services been recorded, even if the invoice arrives later?
• Are stock, equipment and commitments supported by dated records?
• Do payroll and VAT reconciliations explain differences from the returns?
• Can management explain the final profit and the main changes from the previous year?

Reconcile VAT and organise record retention

Differences found during annual reconciliation are reported in the annual corrective VAT return. The FTA explains the procedure: do not simply add them to an ordinary Q2 return. Article 72 of the VAT Act ties the correction to the return deadline for the reporting period containing the 180th day after year end. If there is nothing to correct, no annual reconciliation form needs to be filed.

The annual VAT reconciliation should explain the difference between revenue in the accounts and amounts declared. Review timing differences, excluded or exempt supplies, exports, invoice corrections and any own-use adjustments. Also reconcile VAT ledger accounts with the returns. Do not clear a difference through an unexplained entry.

The effective method versus net tax rates, and reporting on agreed consideration versus consideration received, affect the reconciliation. Do not mechanically compare the year’s sales with cash receipts alone.

Accounting records and supporting documents must be retained for ten years from the end of the financial year. Article 958f CO requires printed, signed copies of the business report and audit report where applicable. For electronic accounting records and supporting documents, ensure readability, traceability to transactions and integrity under the applicable rules. A backup alone does not establish compliant retention.

Start the next financial year without duplicating entries

A successful close should allow bookkeeping to restart without duplicates. For each significant accrual or prepayment, specify how it will be cleared: automatic reversal at the start of the next year, clearing when the invoice arrives, or another documented method.

Take the CHF 2,400 December service. If the software reverses the accrual in January, recording the invoice normally offsets that reversal. If there is no reversal, the invoice should clear the accrued liability rather than create a second expense. Choose one consistent process; do not combine both.

Keep a schedule of entries to clear, the documents expected and the responsible person. Check that opening balances agree with the final accounts. If year-end corrections were made after next year’s bookkeeping began, carry their effects forward correctly.

Identify the final deliverables: financial statements, general ledger, subsidiary balances, fixed asset schedule and supporting documents. The file sent to the bank or owners should match the approved version, not a provisional export left in an email.

Finish the close with a clearer view of the business

The year-end close should give you more than a final profit figure and a return to file. It should help you understand the main differences, balances to monitor and improvements needed in day-to-day bookkeeping.

Our business accounting service can help prepare and explain your annual accounts, with an organised file and clear explanations.

Sources and references

• Code of Obligations: annual financial statements
• Code of Obligations: retention of records
• Swiss SME Portal: electronic retention of accounting records
• Federal Tax Administration: value added tax
• FTA: annual VAT reconciliation and corrective returns
• FTA: annual VAT reconciliation, full procedure (French)
• Federal Compensation Office: annual salary declaration deadline (French)
• CO, Articles 699 and 805: ordinary general meeting deadline
• Federal Commercial Registry Office, Communication 1/26: opting out and latest approved accounts (French)