01Why an Excel template for bookkeeping?
Many self-employed people start their bookkeeping with Excel. The reason is simple: it's already available, costs nothing extra, and the barrier to entry is low. For a simple income and expense statement as required by Swiss Code of Obligations Art. 957, Excel can be sufficient — at least in the beginning.
The problem: Excel offers no automatic categorisation, no receipt linking and no VAT automation. You have to maintain every formula yourself, and errors often only surface when filing your tax return. What exactly you are required to keep in your books is explained separately. Still, a clean template is a good starting point.
02What belongs in an income and expense statement?
A correct income and expense statement must record all business cash flows completely and chronologically. The tax office expects a traceable breakdown of your income and expenses.
Description (business partner, service)
Category (consulting, material, office, etc.)
Amount in CHF (gross)
VAT rate (if VAT-registered)
VAT amount and net amount
Associated receipt (invoice, receipt)
Choose categories that fit your business. What matters is consistency: use the same categories throughout the year so your year-end summary is accurate.
03Our free Excel template
We've created a professional Excel template that you can use right away. It contains three worksheets with all the necessary formulas.
- Sheet 'Einnahmen' (Income): Date, description, category, amount, VAT rate, VAT amount, net — with sum formula
- Sheet 'Ausgaben' (Expenses): Same structure as income — for all business expenses
- Sheet 'Übersicht' (Overview): Total income, total expenses, profit/loss and VAT summary — automatically calculated
Free, no registration required — .xlsx file, compatible with Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
04How to use the template
Download the .xlsx file and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice.
Delete the sample rows and adjust the categories to match your business (e.g. 'Consulting', 'Web Design', 'Coaching').
Enter each income item chronologically. Record the date, description, category and amount. Only fill in the VAT fields if you are VAT-registered.
Same as income: record every business expense with a receipt. Don't forget: AHV contributions, insurance and depreciation.
The 'Overview' sheet automatically calculates your profit and VAT liability. Check monthly to ensure everything is correct.
05The limits of Excel
Excel works — but only up to a point. The more entries you have, the bigger the problems become:
- No automatic VAT: You have to enter the rate manually and verify the calculation yourself. Errors often only surface when filing with the Federal Tax Administration.
- No QR invoice sending: Excel cannot create Swiss QR invoices. You need a separate tool for that.
- No receipt linking: Receipts are stored somewhere on your hard drive — not directly with the entry. The 10-year retention requirement becomes a nightmare.
- No year-end closing: For the tax export, you have to prepare the data manually. No automatic PDF export, no reports.
- Error-prone: One deleted formula, one wrong cell reference — and the entire calculation is off.
06Comparison: Excel vs. einzly
Here's a side-by-side look at where Excel stops and einzly starts:
| Feature | Excel | einzly |
|---|---|---|
| Record income & expenses | ✓ Manual | ✓ Automatically categorised |
| VAT calculation | ✗ Manual / error-prone | ✓ Automatic (8.1%, 2.6%, 3.8%) |
| VAT return (ESTV) | ✗ Not possible | ✓ At the click of a button |
| Create QR invoices | ✗ Not possible | ✓ Swiss QR standard |
| Link receipts | ✗ Not possible | ✓ Photo upload directly to entry |
| Year-end closing / export | ✗ Manual | ✓ PDF export for tax office |
| Data security | ✗ Local file | ✓ Cloud backup (Switzerland) |
| Price | Free | From CHF 9/month |
07Switching is worth it
You've been doing your bookkeeping in Excel? No problem. einzly was built exactly for the switch: you can import your existing data and continue working immediately.
The biggest advantage: you save time. No more manual formulas, no error hunting, no separate VAT calculation. Instead, clean bookkeeping that you can manage in just a few minutes per week.