Voucher
An accounting document is any record that evidences the content of a transaction and thereby supports an entry; without documents the accounts are not traceable and therefore not proper.
Definition
Documents may be electronic — and have been allowed to be for a long time. What is required is that they stay unaltered, complete and legible throughout the retention period, and that the link to the entry is recognisable. A PDF in a folder with no reference to the entry does not achieve that.
The retention period is ten years, counted from the end of the financial year. For records relating to real estate it runs longer.
The wording
The books of account and the accounting vouchers, together with the annual report and the audit report, must be retained for ten years. The retention period begins on expiry of the financial year.
The numbers
- 10 years
- retention period for books of account and documents Art. 958f CO
Where to read it
- Swiss Code of Obligations (SR 220)
- Ordinance on the Keeping and Preservation of Books of Account (SR 221.431)
What the software must be able to do
The most important check is document linking: can you get from every entry to its document in one click, and back again? Then the exit: can the data be exported together with the documents when the program is replaced?
Checked Aug 2026
More terms under Bookkeeping and retention: Accrual principle Accrued liabilities Annual accounts Association accounting Balance sheet Balance sheet total Book value Break-even point Business assets Business expenses Cash book Cash flow statement Cash receipts Contribution margin Cost centre Current assets Debit and credit Depreciation Double-entry bookkeeping Duty to keep accounts EBIT EBITDA Equity Equity ratio Financial year Fixed assets Fixed costs Foreign currency General ledger Gross profit Hidden reserves Income statement Inventory count Journal Journal entry Liabilities Liquidity Loss carry-forward Membership dues Net profit Opening balance sheet Overheads Pass-through item Prepaid expenses Provision Record-keeping ordinance Reserves Retained profit Simple accounts Swiss SME chart of accounts Tamper resistance Turnover Value adjustment Variable costs Volunteer-run structure Year-end closing modules