Company formation
Adviser and companion on your way to self-employment — with all-round support.
Why this matters
The legal form chosen at foundation has a say for years – in liability, taxes and social insurance. If you start as a sole proprietorship, you are liable with your entire private assets: if a big job goes wrong, your savings and your home are on the line too. Add to that the registrations easily forgotten in the excitement of founding – anyone who fails to register with the compensation office, for example, risks back payments over several years plus default interest. A motivated start quickly turns into an expensive detour.
Anyone hiring staff, taking on outside capital or working in an industry with liability risks should plan with particular care. The Swiss framework sets clear guard rails: a GmbH or AG needs an entry in the commercial register and minimum capital; employees must be registered with the AHV and accident insurance and, above a certain salary, insured with a pension fund. The self-employed running a sole proprietorship, by contrast, are neither compulsorily insured against accidents nor covered by a pension fund for old age – here your own initiative is required. Know these duties and gaps from the outset and you found your company on solid ground.
What you get out of it
From the idea to a registered company — without the maze of red tape.
Legal form chosen with liability, taxes and social insurance in mind.
Insurance and pension provision set up right from day one.
What we take care of for you
- Advice on the legal form (sole proprietorship, GmbH, AG) with pros and cons
- Support with the commercial register, VAT and social insurance
- Building your insurance package from the moment you incorporate
- Affiliation solutions for BVG occupational pensions and accident insurance
The advice is free for you — we are remunerated by the insurance companies through brokerage commissions and will disclose these on request.
Tips from our consultations
What we tell our clients time and again – free of charge, even before the first meeting.
Don’t choose your legal form on formation costs alone. Liability, taxes, social insurance and the impression on customers and banks belong on the same scales. A later change is possible but laborious – the second choice is usually the more expensive one.
Whether the compensation office recognises you as self-employed depends on criteria such as several clients and your own market presence – not on your wishes. Clarify this before you start, otherwise you face clawbacks and discussions about bogus self-employment.
As a founder, you yourself are often the biggest gap in the system: without an employment contract, the automatic accident cover and continued salary payments are missing. A loss of earnings hits the young company and the family at the same time. Daily allowance and accident solutions therefore belong in every start-up budget.
Run a separate business account from day one and file receipts consistently. That saves you many hours at year-end and with the tax return – and awkward questions in an audit. It also makes it easier to keep an eye on your VAT obligations.