Dominik Mayer Product & Technology
Basel,
Selection
ERP for Swiss SMEs: What to Look for When Choosing a System
It’s month-end, and the books need closing. Orders are in one application, inventory is in an Excel spreadsheet, and accounting is in a third system. Every order has been entered twice, the stock figures are wrong, and some project hours have gone missing before they could be invoiced. By now, one thing is clear: your current setup can no longer support the business.
You need an ERP: business software that brings orders, inventory, and accounting together in one system. You’ll be living with that decision for years. Every vendor promises seamless processes and full compliance with Swiss requirements. But no website can tell you whether a system will handle your day-to-day operations. Choosing the wrong one costs you license fees, implementation work, and your team’s patience. In Switzerland, the system also determines how much manual work remains for value-added tax (VAT), QR-bills, and payroll.
This article helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland choose an ERP systematically: what every system needs to do, the additional Swiss requirements, which systems suit which businesses, and what they cost. After five steps, you will have two or three candidates on your shortlist. Nexova Dynamics is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner. We take a closer look at that system toward the end, without overlooking the alternatives.
Dominik Mayer Product & Technology
Basel,
Core requirements
What every ERP needs to do
Think about a single order. A customer orders ten devices. Eight are in stock; two will arrive next week. You deliver the eight, issue a partial invoice, order more from your supplier, deliver the rest, and receive payment weeks later. That one transaction involves sales, inventory, purchasing, accounting, and VAT at the end of the quarter.
At the heart of an ERP system is a shared database: you enter customers, items, and documents once, and they are available throughout the system. There is no need to enter the same order in multiple places. The table shows what else an ERP needs to do and how to test it.
| Requirement | What matters | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| Order processing | Quotes, orders, delivery notes, and invoices build on one another, including partial deliveries and credit memos | Take an order with a partial delivery all the way through to payment |
| Purchasing and inventory | Availability, purchase suggestions, warehouse locations, stocktaking, and lot or serial numbers where needed | Let stock fall below the minimum level and check the purchase suggestion |
| Projects and services | Time tracking, budgets, and billing by time and materials, fixed price, or subscription | Create and invoice a project, then compare budgeted and actual figures |
| Finance and closing | Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payment reminders, cost centers, foreign currencies, and a quick month-end close | Run through a month-end close with open entries |
| Reporting | Up-to-date figures without exporting data, plus connections to commonly used reporting tools | Look up revenue and margin by customer or project |
| Permissions and approvals | Roles by function, approval workflows, and traceable changes | Set up a purchase approval with an amount limit |
| Integrations | Online store, bank, CRM, Office, and an open application programming interface (API) | Ask which integrations are available out of the box and which need to be developed |
| Growth and updates | Additional users and companies, plus updates without rewriting custom code | Ask how customizations survive a version update |
| Data ownership and retention | Full data export, clear terms for switching systems later, and retention in line with the Swiss Business Records Ordinance (GeBüV) | Export all data |
Not every SME needs every function equally urgently. A trading company will prioritize inventory and purchasing; a service business will prioritize projects and billing for services. Identify your must-have requirements in advance. They will form the basis of your own tests in step 4 below.
Swiss requirements
The additional requirements in Switzerland
An ERP that handles orders and inventory well is not automatically a Swiss ERP. In Switzerland, four additional areas matter. Not all of these requirements are mandatory, a distinction that often gets lost in sales discussions. For VAT, uploading a return from the ERP is a convenience: you can also enter the figures directly in the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) portal. QR-bills are the market standard. Payroll reporting under Swissdec, the standard for electronic salary declarations, is voluntary but saves a great deal of work. eBill is a convenience.
VAT: Making submission easier
Since January 1, 2025, all VAT-registered businesses have had to submit their returns online through the FTA portal. Since May 11, 2026, they have had to use “MWST-Abrechnung pro” exclusively; the simpler “MWST-Abrechnung easy” option has been discontinued.
There are two ways to get the figures into the portal: someone enters them field by field in the online form, or your ERP creates an XML file based on the eCH-0217 standard. You upload the file, check the values, and submit the return. This saves manual work and the errors that come with it. Ask two questions: Does the ERP prepare the return using the box numbers on the FTA form, known as the Swiss VAT return box numbers? And does it generate the eCH-0217 file in the version the FTA portal currently requires?
QR-bills: The market standard
No law requires QR-bills, but red and orange payment slips have been discontinued since October 2022. An ERP should therefore be able to print the QR payment section on your invoices and read payment details from incoming QR-bills. Without that capability, your accounts payable team has more work to do.
Address requirements have changed. Since November 22, 2025, only structured addresses have been permitted in the QR code: street, building number, postal code, city, and country must each have their own field.
From November 14, 2026, the same requirement will generally apply to payment orders sent to banks. Depending on the bank, hybrid addresses may also be accepted: city and country in separate fields, with the rest in no more than two free-text lines. Check directly with your bank how strictly it validates older address formats.
Clean up addresses in your master data and payment templates in your current system now. That way, you will migrate only clean data when you implement an ERP.
Swissdec payroll reporting: Voluntary, but it saves work
Swissdec governs electronic salary declarations, for example to AHV compensation offices, accident insurers, withholding tax authorities, and the Federal Statistical Office. The payroll software is certified, not your company. The public Swissdec list shows which products are certified and distinguishes between two levels:
- basic covers the usual salary declarations to authorities, compensation offices, and insurers.
- plus also supports electronic accident and illness notifications to insurers. The exact notifications and insurers supported vary by product.
Certification is not mandatory. Without it, however, your team has to prepare the declarations manually outside the system.
eBill: A convenience
eBill sends your invoice directly to your customers’ online banking, where they can approve it with a click. Those customers no longer need to receive paper invoices. The connection always goes through a network partner certified by SIX, the operator of Switzerland’s payment infrastructure. Your ERP therefore needs to work with such a partner, but does not need to provide eBill itself.
ERP comparison for Switzerland
Which system suits which business?
With those four areas in mind, you can start making sense of the market. Swiss SMEs have three types of system to consider: accounting and invoicing software, an ERP focused on Switzerland, or an internationally developed ERP with Swiss localization, meaning it has been adapted to Swiss law, languages, and standards. The right type depends less on company size than on how your business operates.
Accounting and invoicing: bexio
bexio is a good fit if you mainly need to prepare quotes and invoices, keep the books, and run payroll for a few employees. Its built-in payroll module is certified at Swissdec’s basic level. Its VAT form uses the Swiss VAT return box numbers and updates with every posting; you then transfer the values to the FTA portal manually. Many small businesses will find that it meets their needs for the long term. bexio starts to reach its limits when you add multiple warehouses, manufacturing, larger projects, or multiple companies.
ERP focused on Switzerland: Abacus, Proffix Px5, and others
These systems provide accounting, order processing, inventory, and payroll from a single provider. They are often a good fit if most of your business is in Switzerland. Whether they can also handle foreign subsidiaries depends on the product, the countries involved, and the available localizations. Abacus, based in Wittenbach in the canton of St. Gallen, offers its own industry solutions, including for construction, fiduciary services, and real estate. Proffix is now part of the European software group Forterro. Other systems focused on the Swiss market include Switzerland’s europa3000 and SelectLine, a German system with a Swiss version. Both offer a Swissdec-certified payroll solution.
| System | A particularly good fit when… | Swissdec payroll reporting | VAT submission to the FTA portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abacus | You want payroll, finance, and an industry solution from a single provider | Built-in payroll module, plus | Electronic submission from financial accounting, according to the vendor |
| Proffix Px5 | A trading or service business can work with standard Swiss processes | Built-in payroll module, plus | Check in the proposal |
| europa3000 | You need a Swiss solution for trading, manufacturing, or service operations | Built-in payroll module, basic | Check in the proposal |
| SelectLine | You want a modular system for order processing, inventory, and accounting with Swiss functionality | Built-in payroll module, basic | Check in the proposal |
International ERP: myfactory, Odoo, SAP Business One, and Business Central
These systems are developed internationally and localized for Switzerland. myfactory offers a cloud solution for trading and manufacturing with its own Swiss version, including payroll. Like Proffix, myfactory is part of Forterro. Odoo brings CRM, an online store, and ERP together in one interface. SAP Business One is a natural option if your group already works with SAP; an extension adds payroll. We look at Business Central in more detail below.
| System | A particularly good fit when… | Swissdec payroll reporting | VAT submission to the FTA portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| myfactory | You want to run trading or manufacturing operations entirely in the cloud | Built-in payroll module, basic | Check in the proposal |
| Odoo | You want CRM, an online store, and ERP in one system | Built-in payroll module, basic | Check in the proposal |
| SAP Business One | The business wants to stay in the SAP ecosystem, for example because its parent company uses SAP | Through an extension; not itself on the Swissdec list | Check in the proposal |
| Business Central | Several areas, such as orders, inventory, projects, and manufacturing, need to work together, especially if Microsoft 365 is already in use | Through SwissSalary, plus | Returns using Swiss VAT return box numbers are standard; eCH-0217 export through an extension if needed |
Cloud or on-premises
Whatever type of system you choose, you also need to decide how to run it. In the cloud, the provider installs updates and handles backups. On your own servers, you decide when to update, but take responsibility for running the system and backing it up. Business Central and Odoo are available in both forms; bexio and myfactory run in the vendor’s cloud. Learn more in our cloud ERP comparison.
Costs
What to budget for an ERP
A monthly price per user tells you little until you know who counts as a user. There are three pricing models in the Swiss market:
- Packages with a set number of users, as offered by bexio. These are easy to budget for as long as your business fits into a package.
- A price per user per month, as with Business Central and Odoo. The license type is what matters here.
- Quote-based pricing, common among ERP systems focused on Switzerland. The price depends on the modules and users.
In every case, you need to add implementation, data migration, training, and ongoing operations to the license costs. If you run your own server, you also need hardware and backups. Depending on the system, there may be additional costs for payroll and eBill extensions, as well as for maintaining customizations. Calculate every proposal over the same period, such as five years, or you will not be able to compare them. For Business Central, our cost calculator provides an initial estimate, including implementation.
With per-user pricing, it pays to look closely at the license types. Odoo Enterprise, for example, distinguishes between regular users and less expensive Light Users. Employees without their own login can also incur costs if the system handles payroll or expenses for them. Ask for a breakdown in the proposal of how many users need each license type, particularly if many employees only record time on projects.
Business Central has published list prices. The license someone needs depends on their role: anyone working with orders, purchasing, or accounting needs a full license. Someone who mainly reads data, approves items, or records time can use the less expensive Team Members license. Full licenses come in two tiers: Essentials also includes assembly using bills of materials, while Premium adds manufacturing with routings and capacity planning, as well as service order management. If a company uses Premium, all full users in that company need Premium.
| License | Cloud price per user per month | Included functionality |
|---|---|---|
| Business Central Essentials | CHF 64.80 | Finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, projects, and assembly |
| Business Central Premium | CHF 89.10 | Everything in Essentials, plus manufacturing and service orders |
| Business Central Team Members | CHF 6.50 | Read data, grant approvals, and enter selected documents and time |
Annual billing, excluding VAT.
Here is an example: a service business with 30 employees gives Essentials licenses to six people in accounting, sales, and project management. The other 24 only record time and receive Team Members licenses. That comes to 6 × CHF 64.80 plus 24 × CHF 6.50 per month for Business Central licenses. A payroll extension, implementation, and any other extensions needed are additional costs.
Our article on Business Central costs explains how those costs break down.
Selection
Build your shortlist in five steps
Document processes, not features. From quote to payment, from purchasing to inventory posting, and from timesheet to payroll. Write down who enters what at each step and who needs the result. This will help you see whether accounting software is enough or whether you need an ERP.
Choose a type of system. Use the comparison table to identify the right type for your business, decide between cloud and on-premises, and eliminate unsuitable options.
Clarify the Swiss requirements. If payroll runs in the ERP or as an integrated extension, the payroll software should be Swissdec-certified; otherwise, the declarations still require manual work. For electronic accident and illness notifications, look for the plus level and ask which insurers are connected. For VAT, does the ERP generate the eCH-0217 file in the version the FTA portal requires? And is that standard functionality, or does it need an extension? Ask to see the export and the upload to the FTA portal. Also ask how QR-bills and eBill are integrated.
Test it yourself. You can try many cloud systems before committing. Business Central and bexio, for example, each offer a free 30-day trial. Run two or three of your own scenarios and one exception case, using the test questions in the core requirements table as well. Possible scenarios include:
- Trading: A customer order with missing stock, a partial delivery, an invoice, and a return.
- Services: A project with a budget, time tracking, time-and-materials billing, and project reporting.
- Manufacturing: A bill of materials, material requirements, recording the quantity produced, and comparing budgeted and actual costs.
- Finance: Generate a QR-bill, import a payment, apply it to an open entry, and prepare a VAT return.
Have people from accounting, the warehouse, and project management take part in testing. These employees spot gaps that nobody in management notices. What looks elegant in a sales presentation can be awkward in daily use. Resolve outstanding questions in a demo with an implementation partner: the company that sets up the system for you.
Assess gaps and costs. For each scenario, record whether it works as standard or needs configuration, an extension, or custom development. Then add up licenses, implementation, ongoing operations, and master data cleanup over the planned period of use. You will find more selection criteria in our article 8 criteria for choosing an ERP.
Whether you choose Abacus, Proffix Px5, or Business Central, the implementation partner shapes the outcome as much as the system itself. Ask for references from comparable businesses and experience with Swiss payroll and VAT. We are a Business Central implementation partner and have hands-on experience with the system. That is why we will now take a closer look at when it fits and what you need alongside it in Switzerland.
Business Central
When it fits and what you need alongside it
Strengths: When Business Central fits
Business Central is Microsoft’s ERP for small and medium-sized businesses. It is particularly strong in these situations:
- Orders, inventory, and purchasing need to work together, for example for partial deliveries, warehouse locations, or serial numbers.
- Projects are billed by time and materials, at a fixed price, or on a recurring basis.
- You assemble components using bills of materials or manufacture using bills of materials and routings.
- You maintain separate accounts for multiple companies in the same system and consolidate them. Country-specific versions are available for foreign subsidiaries; they can run in the same Microsoft environment and can also be consolidated.
- Microsoft 365 is already in use, and you want your data available in Outlook, Excel, and Teams.
- You want to add functionality through ready-made extensions from Microsoft Marketplace rather than custom development.
That does not mean Business Central is only suitable for complex businesses. Companies with just a few users also choose it, for example because the team already works with Microsoft 365 or because processes can be configured without programming. Conversely, if all you need is accounting and invoicing, a streamlined solution such as bexio will often serve you well.
The complete package for Switzerland
Microsoft handles Swiss localization for Business Central itself, with the interface available in German, French, and Italian. Together with a few extensions, this creates a complete package covering all four Swiss requirements:
- VAT: Swiss rates, returns using Swiss VAT return box numbers, and separate VAT exchange rates for foreign-currency invoices are included as standard. An extension adds eCH-0217 export for uploading returns to the FTA portal.
- QR-bills: A preinstalled extension creates QR-bills and reads incoming ones using a scanner or a file. Business Central uses the reference to automatically match payments from the bank’s electronic account statement with open invoices.
- Payroll: Swiss payroll is handled by SwissSalary, a Swissdec plus-certified extension that runs directly in Business Central. Payroll and finance therefore share the same database.
- eBill: An extension connected to a SIX network partner handles delivery to your customers’ online banking.
For your budget, that means planning for Business Central and these extensions as a complete package, rather than just the license. You should compare the other candidates on the same basis.
Business Central consulting
ERP consulting for your SME
Think back to the month-end close at the beginning: two applications, an Excel spreadsheet, and figures nobody trusts. With the right ERP, orders, inventory, projects, and accounting share one database. Closing the books becomes routine instead of a major effort.
Nexova Dynamics is a Business Central partner based in Basel. Is Business Central on your shortlist? Or are you unsure whether it is right for you? We can walk through your processes together: what works as standard, where payroll and eBill need to be added, and which licenses you actually need. To prepare, all you need is a list of your current systems, the number of users, and a rough outline of your processes. The initial conversation is free and carries no obligation.
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