Swiss Chart of Accounts for Freelancers: the Simplified Guide (2026)

As a self-employed person in Switzerland earning less than CHF 500,000 per year, you don't need the official 200-account SME chart of accounts. The simplified bookkeeping that applies to you fits on about a dozen lines. Here's exactly what you need.

When Alex, a consultant based in Zurich, first searched for "Swiss chart of accounts," he landed on an official government PDF with 48 pages. He spent two hours trying to make sense of account classes 1 through 9, sub-accounts, and four-digit account numbers. He ended up calling his accountant — CHF 180 per hour — only to learn that 80% of that document had nothing to do with him. This guide exists so you don't have to go through the same thing.

Key Takeaways

• Freelancers earning less than CHF 500,000 per year can use simplified bookkeeping (income and expenses), not double-entry accounting.
• The official Swiss SME chart of accounts has over 200 accounts. A freelancer needs about 12 to 15 of them.
• Standard account numbers (1020, 3400, 6200...) come from the SME reference plan and can be adapted freely.
• If you're VAT-registered, three additional accounts are added (input VAT, output VAT, VAT payable).
• A bookkeeping tool built for Swiss freelancers sets all of this up automatically from day one.

What is the Swiss Chart of Accounts?

The Swiss chart of accounts is an organized list of all the accounts a business uses to classify its financial transactions. Each revenue line, expense, asset, and liability gets a standardized account number so that entries are consistent and traceable.

In Switzerland, the reference chart for SMEs is published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It's organized into nine account classes, numbered 1 to 9, and covers every possible business situation: inventory, company vehicles, payroll, provisions, extraordinary results. It's a tool built for an SME that sells products, employs staff, manages a warehouse, and prepares full annual accounts.

For a freelancer billing intellectual services, most of it simply doesn't apply.

Do Swiss Freelancers Have to Keep a Chart of Accounts?

Direct answer: not in the strict sense. Here's why.

Article 957 of the Code of Obligations (CO) divides accounting obligations into two categories based on annual turnover:

Below CHF 500,000 per year (the vast majority of freelancers): you're subject to simplified bookkeeping. This means you must keep an income-and-expenses register plus a statement of assets. No full balance sheet, no double-entry accounting, no 200 accounts.

Above CHF 500,000 per year: full commercial accounting applies. In this case, a structured chart of accounts becomes mandatory.

For simplified bookkeeping, the law refers to an "income and expenses register as well as a statement of assets." In practice, a structured table with the right categories is sufficient. Using account numbers isn't legally required, but it's useful because it makes your data readable by any bookkeeping software or accountant.

What this means in practice: if you earn less than CHF 500,000 per year, you don't need double-entry accounting. A clear record of your income and expenses by category is enough to meet your legal obligations.

The Official SME Chart of Accounts: a Quick Overview

Before showing you the simplified freelancer chart, here's why the official SME plan isn't built for you.

The SME reference chart of accounts is structured in nine classes:

• Class 1: Current assets (cash, receivables, inventory)
• Class 2: Fixed assets (machinery, property, investments)
• Class 3: Operating expenses (cost of goods sold)
• Class 4: Personnel costs (salaries, social insurance)
• Class 5: Other operating expenses (rent, insurance, advertising)
• Class 6: Non-operating expenses and depreciation
• Class 7: Operating revenue (your turnover)
• Class 8: Non-operating results
• Class 9: Closing and result

This system is built for an SME that buys goods (class 3), employs staff (class 4), and owns machinery (class 2). If you're a consultant, developer, designer, or coach, you have no inventory, no employees, and probably no machinery on your balance sheet.

The SME chart is a solid reference base. But applied as-is to a sole proprietorship under CHF 500k, it's like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture.

Simplified Chart of Accounts for Freelancers: the Essential Accounts

Here's a practical chart suited to a typical Swiss freelancer under simplified bookkeeping. The numbers used are compatible with the SME reference plan, which makes communication with your accountant — or switching to bookkeeping software — straightforward.

This plan covers 95% of everyday situations for freelancers providing intellectual services: consultants, developers, designers, translators, coaches, photographers, copywriters.

What to Add Based on Your Work

• You buy materials billed to clients (electrician, tradesperson): add account 3000 Goods sales and 4000 Cost of goods.
• You have a vehicle exclusively for work: split account 6200 into 6220 Business vehicle expenses.
• You have staff (even a part-time assistant): add accounts 4000 Salaries and 5000 Social insurance contributions.

What You Don't Need

• Class 2 (fixed assets): unless you own property or a vehicle listed as an asset of your sole proprietorship.
• Class 8 (non-operating results): rarely relevant for freelancers.
• Class 9 (closing): handled automatically by your software at year-end.

How to Adapt This Chart to Your Business

The basic rule: start with the official SME plan, remove what doesn't apply to you, and rename accounts with terms that make sense for your work.

Four-digit account numbers aren't legally required. You can create sub-accounts (6300.1 for internet, 6300.2 for phone), rename "Fees" as "Consulting revenue," or group several expenses under one account if the amounts are small.

What actually matters: that your revenue and expense categories are consistent from year to year, and that your accountant or software can read them without difficulty.

Industry-Specific Adaptations

Web developer or IT consultant: you might create separate accounts for software licenses (6801), server costs (6802), and certification training (6701). Your income is exclusively in class 3400.

Graphic designer or creative: add an account for equipment (6810) and subscriptions to creative tools (6811 for Adobe, Figma, etc.). If you resell digital files or licenses, use 3400 for all income.

Tradesperson or manual freelancer: if you buy materials incorporated into your service, add 4000 for material purchases and 3000 for finished or transformed product sales.

Chart of Accounts and VAT: What Changes if You're Registered

VAT doesn't fundamentally change your chart of accounts, but it adds two cash flows to track.

In Switzerland, you must register for VAT with the SFTA (Swiss Federal Tax Administration) once your worldwide turnover reaches CHF 100,000 per year. Below that threshold, you're exempt.

If you're VAT-registered, two accounts become essential:

The standard VAT rate in 2026 is 8.1%. Two reduced rates apply: 2.6% (food, books, medicines) and 3.8% (accommodation).

For the practical calculation of your VAT returns, two methods exist in Switzerland:

• Effective method: you calculate the exact output VAT and input VAT each quarter.
• Net tax rate method (TDFN): you apply a flat-rate percentage to your turnover. Simpler, but not always advantageous depending on your sector.

Your accountant can help you choose the right method. If you use bookkeeping software designed for Switzerland, both methods are handled automatically. Magic Heidi supports both — learn more about VAT management.

Managing Your Bookkeeping Without Getting Lost in Accounts

The truth about simplified bookkeeping for freelancers: if you track your income and expenses by category throughout the year, preparing your tax return becomes a few hours of work, not a few weeks.

Three approaches work in practice:

Excel or manual spreadsheet: effective for low volumes (fewer than 50 transactions per month). Create an "income" column, an "expenses" column, and a "category" column. Use the account numbers from the table above as categories. The risk: errors and missing data at year-end.

General accounting software: tools like Banana Accounting are powerful but require accounting knowledge and significant initial setup. They're built for accountants.

Software built for Swiss freelancers: this is where Magic Heidi makes the difference. The chart of accounts is pre-configured for Swiss freelancers. You enter your client invoices and expenses, the software automatically assigns them to the right accounts. VAT is calculated at Swiss rates (8.1%, 2.6%, 3.8%). You can export a document ready for your accountant or tax return in one click.

You don't need to know what account 6300 is to use it. Magic Heidi labels it "administrative expenses" in the interface, not "6300."

Conclusion: What to Take Away

If you take one thing from this article, make it this: bookkeeping for a Swiss freelancer under CHF 500k doesn't have to be complicated. The law doesn't require double-entry accounting, nor does it require you to set up all 200 accounts from the official SME chart.

What you need:

• A consistent record of your income (account 3400) and expenses (accounts 6000 to 6800)
• A track of your outstanding invoices (account 1100)
• If you're VAT-registered, two additional accounts (1170 and 2200)

A chart of accounts is just a shared vocabulary. It makes your data readable by your accountant, the tax authorities, and yourself in ten years when you're trying to understand why your margin dropped in 2026.

The next step: take the 12-account table above, open an Excel file or create a Magic Heidi account, and start categorizing your transactions. You won't have to reconstruct everything from memory in March when you prepare your tax return.

Written by Nathan Ganser, founder of Magic Heidi and self-employed in Switzerland since 2017. Last updated: May 2026. This content is for informational purposes only. For questions specific to your tax situation, consult an accountant or your cantonal tax authority.