From Freelancer to Founder

As a freelancer (Einzelfirma), you and your business are the same person legally. If you buy a laptop, you bought it. If the business gets sued, you get sued. Your private bank account and your business assets are essentially in the same "pot" of liability.

The GmbH Change: When you create a GmbH, you are giving birth to a new legal person.

• The Business is now a separate entity. It has its own rights, its own money, and its own debts.

• You are now two things: a Shareholder (you own the company) and an Employee (you work for the company).

This separation is the famous "liability shield"—if the company goes bankrupt, your private savings are generally safe (unless you acted criminally or negligent). But this separation triggers a massive change in how you handle money.

This is where most freelancers get confused. You might be using the same software (like Bexio or Klara), but the way you report is about to get more serious.

❶ The Old Way: The "Milchbüechli"

As a freelancer with revenue under CHF 500k, you likely used "simple bookkeeping."

• Logic: Did money come in? Great, record it. Did money go out? Record it.

• Result: Revenue minus Expenses = Profit.

• Tax: You put that Profit number into your private tax return. Done.

❷ The New Way: Double-Entry Bookkeeping

A GmbH must use double-entry bookkeeping (Doppelte Buchhaltung). Instead of just one list of transactions, you now have to produce two key documents for the tax authorities every year.

The Income Statement (Erfolgsrechnung) -> "The Movie"

This is very similar to what you did before. It tells the story of your year.

• What it shows: Revenue (Sales) vs. Expenses (Salaries, Rent, Software) over a specific period (e.g., Jan 1 to Dec 31).

• The bottom line: Profit or Loss.

• The catch: Unlike before, your own salary is now an expense! In the Einzelfirma, your "profit" was your salary. In a GmbH, the company pays you a salary (which lowers the profit), and the remaining profit belongs to the company, not you.

The Balance Sheet (Bilanz) -> "The Snapshot"

This is the new requirement that confuses people. While the Income Statement is a movie covering a whole year, the Balance Sheet is a photo taken at a single second: 23:59 on December 31st.

It doesn't ask "How much did we make?", it asks "How healthy are we right now?". It has two sides that must always be equal (balanced):

• Left Side (Assets / Aktiven): What the company owns.

  • Cash in the bank.

  • Computers and equipment.

  • Unpaid invoices (money clients owe you).

• Right Side (Liabilities / Passiven): Who paid for it?

  • Debt: Money owed to suppliers or banks.

  • Equity: The money you put in (the 20k starting capital) plus the profits the company has kept over the years.

Why does this matter? In your old "Milchbüechli," if you bought a CHF 3,000 laptop, it was just an expense. In a Balance Sheet, that laptop is an Asset. It sits on the left side of your balance sheet and loses value slowly over years (depreciation). It changes how your profit looks effectively.

The Cash Flow Statement (Geldflussrechnung)

Strictly speaking, small Swiss GmbHs are often legally exempt from filing a full Cash Flow Statement (OR Art. 961), but your accountant will likely prepare one, and you absolutely need to understand it.

Why? Because Profit is not Cash.

• Scenario: You send an invoice for CHF 50,000 on December 20th.

• Income Statement: Says "Woohoo! +50k Revenue! Big Profit!"

• Cash Flow: Says "Zero." (Because the client hasn't paid yet).

• Balance Sheet: Shows "Debtors" (money owed to you).

If you only look at your profit, you might think you are rich and buy a new server. But if you look at your Cash Flow, you realize the bank account is empty until the client pays. The Cash Flow statement tracks the actual movement of hard cash, stripping away the accounting magic.

This is the most dangerous trap for new GmbH owners.

In an Einzelfirma: You are hungry. You take the business card, buy a pizza for dinner, and maybe buy a private video game.

• Accounting consequence: You just mark it as "Private Withdrawal" (Privatentnahme). It’s not a business expense, so it doesn't lower your taxes, but it is perfectly legal. It's your money.

In a GmbH: You are hungry. You take the business card to buy a private pizza.

• Accounting consequence: Theft. (Technically, embezzlement). The money belongs to the Company, not you. You cannot use company money for private expenses.

If you accidentally use the business card for private stuff, you create a "Current Account" debt (Kontokorrent). Basically, the company is loaning you money. If you don't pay it back with interest, the tax authorities will treat it as a hidden dividend and tax you heavily on it.