Receipt Retention Periods in Switzerland: How Long to Keep Everything

Swiss law sets retention periods for business documents. Getting the period right means you can throw away what you no longer need — and keep what you must.

The 10-year rule

Under the Code of Obligations (Art. 958f), books, records and the supporting vouchers must be kept for ten years. This includes the invoices you issue and the receipts you receive.

The ten-year period runs from the end of the financial year in which the document was created. A receipt from March 2024 must therefore be kept until the end of 2034.

Ten years is longer than most people expect, which is why documents often disappear too early. The period covers the full window in which disputes and tax matters can surface.

The rule applies regardless of whether your records are on paper or digital. Both formats carry the same retention obligation.

• Books and accounting records: 10 years.
• Invoices and receipts: 10 years.
• Period runs from end of the financial year.
• Paper and digital are treated the same.

Which documents to keep

Keep every invoice you issue to customers, including the QR-bill details and any payment confirmations. These are the core of your income records.

Keep every receipt and invoice you receive from suppliers, together with proof of payment. Expenses without receipts cannot be claimed or defended.

Also retain contracts, employment records, bank statements and VAT documentation. If a document supports a number in your books, keep it.

Business correspondence that is not accounting-relevant can be discarded sooner, but when in doubt, keep it. The cost of keeping is small compared with the risk of not having it.

• Outgoing invoices.
• Incoming supplier receipts.
• Bank statements and payment proofs.
• Contracts and VAT documents.

Why the period is so long

The long period exists because disputes, audits and tax matters can surface years after a transaction. A document you discard early can become a liability later.

Tax assessments can be reopened or corrected within statutory timeframes that reach back several years. Your records are the only evidence you have.

Contractual warranty and guarantee periods also run for years. The supporting invoice is often needed to prove what was bought and when.

A complete archive is a form of insurance. It lets you respond to any claim or audit with confidence instead of scrambling for missing documents.

• Tax matters can surface years later.
• Disputes may reopen old transactions.
• Warranty claims need original invoices.
• Complete records are your insurance.

Storing it digitally

Digitise receipts the moment you receive them and back them up. A photograph taken today is far more reliable than a paper slip kept in a drawer.

A searchable digital archive is easier to maintain for a decade than a filing cabinet. You can find any document in seconds when asked.

The law accepts digital records as long as they are legible, complete and protected from unnoticed alteration. Cloud storage with versioning satisfies this.