What is OR-Rechnungslegung (Swiss Accounting Standards)?
OR-Rechnungslegung refers to the accounting and financial reporting requirements under the Swiss Code of Obligations (Obligationenrecht / OR). All Swiss companies must maintain proper books of account and prepare annual financial statements. For larger entities (revenue > CHF 40m, total assets > CHF 20m, or 250+ employees), additional reporting under Swiss GAAP FER or IFRS may be required.
Current Rate (2025)
Applies to all legal entities in Switzerland. Simplified reporting for entities with revenue under CHF 500,000 (single-entry bookkeeping permitted). Full double-entry required above CHF 500,000.
Example
A GmbH with CHF 800,000 annual revenue must maintain double-entry books, prepare an income statement (Erfolgsrechnung) and balance sheet (Bilanz) within 6 months of year-end, and file them with the Handelsregister only if its size exceeds the disclosure thresholds.
How OR-Rechnungslegung (Swiss Accounting Standards) works in Switzerland
The accounting requirements under the Swiss Code of Obligations were significantly modernised in 2013 (in force 2015) and updated again with the 2023 reform.\n\n**Simplified bookkeeping (Art. 957 OR)**\nEntities with annual revenue below CHF 500,000 may use single-entry bookkeeping (Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung) supplemented by a record of assets and liabilities. This is available to sole proprietors and small partnerships — not to GmbHs or AGs regardless of size, which must always use double-entry.\n\n**Standard bookkeeping obligations**\nGmbHs and AGs of all sizes must:\n- Maintain double-entry bookkeeping (doppelte Buchhaltung)\n- Prepare an income statement (Erfolgsrechnung or Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung)\n- Prepare a balance sheet (Bilanz)\n- Prepare notes (Anhang) disclosing key accounting policies, related-party transactions, and certain statutory information\n\n**Extended reporting**\nEntities exceeding two of three thresholds (total assets CHF 20m, revenue CHF 40m, 250 FTE employees) must additionally prepare:\n- Cash flow statement (Geldflussrechnung)\n- Management report (Lagebericht)\nAnd must apply Swiss GAAP FER (or IFRS) rather than the simplified OR standards.\n\n**Retention periods**\nAccounting records must be retained for 10 years, accessible and readable throughout. This includes not just the statutory accounts but all underlying records: invoices, bank statements, receipts, payroll records.\n\n**Fiscal year**\nThe Swiss fiscal year for a company is set in its articles of association (Statuten) and need not follow the calendar year. Most Swiss companies use the calendar year (1 January – 31 December), but a fiscal year ending 30 June or 30 September is also common. The tax return follows the fiscal year.
Related terms
A GmbH (Société à responsabilité limitée / Società a responsabilità limitata) is Switzerland's most common private limited company form. It requires a minimum share capital of CHF 20,000, all of which must be paid up on formation. Liability is limited to the company's assets. It is governed by the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR/CO), Articles 772–827.
An AG (Société anonyme / Società anonima) is Switzerland's public limited company form. It requires a minimum share capital of CHF 100,000, of which at least 50% (minimum CHF 50,000) must be paid up on formation. Shares can be issued as registered shares (Namenaktien) or bearer shares (Inhaberaktien, now restricted). Governed by OR Articles 620–763.
Gewinnsteuer is Switzerland's corporate profit tax. At the federal level, the direct federal tax (direkte Bundessteuer) is levied at a flat rate of 8.5% on profit after tax, which equates to an effective rate of approximately 7.83% on pre-tax profit. Cantons levy their own Gewinnsteuer on top, meaning the combined federal and cantonal effective rate varies by canton.
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