About Zürich Treuhand Hive

Yes. Zürich Treuhand Hive is registered with the Swiss Federal Audit Oversight Authority (RAB — Revisionsaufsichtsbehörde), which is required to conduct statutory audits for Swiss companies. RAB registration is granted only to firms that meet strict qualification requirements under the Swiss Audit Oversight Act (RAG). You can verify our registration directly on the RAB public registry at rab-asr.ch. This registration means that a limited statutory examination (eingeschränkte Revision) or ordinary audit (ordentliche Revision) carried out by our team is legally valid and accepted by cantonal tax authorities, commercial registers, and banks in Switzerland.

Yes. A significant share of our clients are foreign nationals and internationally owned Swiss companies. We work with founders based in Germany, the UK, the United States, the UAE, Singapore, and other jurisdictions who have established a Swiss GmbH or AG. All services are available in English, which is uncommon among traditional Zürich fiduciary offices. We handle the Swiss-specific compliance requirements that international clients frequently encounter: Quellensteuer (withholding tax on employees), mandatory VAT registration, Verrechnungssteuer, annual reporting to the commercial register, and Director presence requirements. We are familiar with the requirements of FATCA, CRS, and cross-border reporting.

EXPERTsuisse is the Swiss Expert Association for Audit, Tax and Fiduciary — the main professional body representing licensed accountants and auditors in Switzerland. Membership requires a recognised professional qualification (dipl. Wirtschaftsprüfer or dipl. Treuhandexperte) and adherence to Swiss professional standards, including independence rules and continuing education requirements. For clients, EXPERTsuisse membership is a practical quality signal: member firms are bound by ethical guidelines, professional indemnity requirements, and quality control standards that non-member accounting providers are not. It is particularly relevant for YMYL contexts — companies seeking audit services, external financing, or regulatory compliance filings should confirm that their accountant holds recognised professional standing.

We work with the accounting systems most commonly used by Swiss SMEs: Banana Accounting (widely used among Swiss fiduciaries), Abacus (enterprise ERP common in larger Swiss firms), and Bexio (cloud-based, popular with startups and small GmbH). We also accept data exports from DATEV, Sage, and various e-commerce platforms including Shopify and Amazon Seller Central. For payroll, we use SwissSalary and Abacus Payroll. Clients do not need to change their existing software — we adapt to your system. If you are setting up from scratch, we can recommend the right tool for your transaction volume and reporting requirements.

Monthly bookkeeping for a Swiss GmbH starts at CHF 149 per month (Starter package, up to 50 transactions). The SME package is CHF 249 per month for up to 200 transactions and includes payroll for 5 employees. The Enterprise package is CHF 399 per month for unlimited transactions with multi-currency support and consolidated reporting. Annual financial statements are included in all tiers — there is no year-end surcharge. Corporate tax return preparation is available as an add-on from CHF 1,500 per year. All fees are fixed and agreed in writing before engagement begins. There are no hourly charges and no surprise invoices.

Yes. Mid-year transitions are straightforward. We request the trial balance, chart of accounts, and VAT records from your current provider as of the handover date. If the books are on Banana, Abacus, or Bexio, data migration is direct. For other systems, we convert from a standardised CSV export. We review the records for consistency before taking over, and flag any issues — missing VAT periods, unreconciled accounts — so you have a clear picture of the starting position. The onboarding process typically takes two to three weeks and does not require you to wait until 1 January or a financial year end.

Yes. We provide accounting for companies and individuals holding or trading digital assets in Switzerland. For corporate clients, this includes valuation of crypto holdings at year-end under Swiss GAAP FER standards, classification of staking income and DeFi returns, and preparation of the tax inventory required by the ESTV. For Swiss residents, we prepare the annual Wertschriftenverzeichnis (securities inventory) covering all crypto holdings at tax reference date values (published annually by the ESTV). We work with transaction exports from major exchanges and wallets. Switzerland applies capital gains tax exemption to private investors on movable assets — we advise on the criteria and documentation requirements.

We work with companies at all stages, including pre-revenue startups and newly registered GmbH with no transactions yet. There is no minimum company size or minimum turnover requirement. The Starter package at CHF 149 per month is designed specifically for small companies with up to 50 transactions per month — the typical volume for a newly formed GmbH in its first year. We also work with sole traders (Einzelunternehmen) who have passed the CHF 100,000 turnover threshold and are required to register for VAT or maintain proper accounts. For very early-stage founders, we offer a one-time company formation advisory service rather than requiring a monthly retainer.

All services are available in English and German. This includes client communication, financial reports, VAT return summaries, payroll documentation, and annual accounts. All Swiss statutory filings are submitted in German or French as required by the relevant cantonal authority — we handle the translation where needed, at no additional charge. For clients based in non-English-speaking countries, we can also communicate in German. French and Italian are available for specific matters through our network. We do not currently offer Japanese, Mandarin, or Arabic as primary service languages, though correspondence in these languages can sometimes be accommodated for straightforward queries.

For new companies with no prior accounting history, onboarding typically takes five to seven working days after the engagement letter is signed and initial access is granted. We set up the chart of accounts, configure the accounting software, and establish the VAT profile with the ESTV. For companies transitioning from another accountant, we allow two to three weeks to request and review records from the previous provider. Payroll setup — including registration with the social insurance office (AHV-Ausgleichskasse) and accident insurance — takes approximately ten working days if the company is new to Swiss payroll. We can start processing on the first of the following month in most cases.