01The problem: off-the-shelf software
Accounting software is built for the masses. That makes sense — a provider with 10,000 customers develops features that affect as many of them as possible. A yoga teacher, a translator, a photographer and an electrician are all supposed to work with the same tool. That works for 80% of cases. Writing and sending invoices, capturing receipts, calculating VAT — everyone needs that.
But what about the other 20%? The field you need on every invoice that doesn't exist. The view you're missing. The small automation that would save you an hour per week. With the big providers, you end up in a feature request forum. You give an upvote, wait 18 months, and eventually read: "This feature is not currently planned."
02Why niche industries are particularly affected
There are industries and workflows that systematically fall through the cracks of standard software. Not because they're exotic, but because they're too small to appear on a product roadmap.
- A photographer needs a "Shooting date" and "Location" field on every invoice — no accounting software has that.
- A translator bills per word and needs a line "Word count × Price per word" — not possible in most tools.
- A tradesperson wants to separate materials and labour on the quote with different VAT rates — often only possible with workarounds.
- A therapist needs to include the tariff code for supplementary insurance on the invoice — not a standard feature.
- An IT freelancer wants to automatically generate invoices from tracked hours, with project reference and client budget overview — too specific for the roadmap.
These self-employed professionals aren't difficult. They have concrete, sensible requirements that come from their day-to-day business. But for a provider with thousands of customers, it's not worth building a feature for 30 photographers.
03Software as a Service vs. Service as a Software
The SaaS world has a blind spot. "Software as a Service" in practice means: you get the software as it is. Take it or leave it. Configuration yes, customisation no.
What if you flipped the model? Instead of "here's our software, adapt to it" — "here's our software, we'll adapt it to you". That's the difference between a product and a service. Between off-the-rack and bespoke.
In concrete terms, this means: you say what's missing. Not as a feature request in a forum nobody reads — but directly. And instead of "Thanks for your feedback, we'll note it down", you get a response like: "It'll be live next week."
04When standard software is enough — and when it isn't
Not everyone needs customisations. For many self-employed professionals, standard accounting software is perfectly adequate. Honestly: if you write simple invoices, photograph receipts, and meet your legal bookkeeping obligations, a good standard tool is enough.
Customisations become relevant when:
- Your industry requires specific information on invoices or quotes that no standard tool handles
- You have a recurring workflow you do manually every week even though it could be automated
- Your accountant or professional association needs a specific export format
- You need line items, fields, or calculation logic not provided in any software
- You regularly copy data between software and Excel because the software can't do everything
05How einzly solves this
einzly takes a different path from the big providers. Beyond the core functions — invoices, quotes, accounting, VAT, reminders — einzly offers the option to request individual features directly.
You briefly describe in einzly what you're missing or what you'd like to be different.
We review the request and get back to you with a concrete answer — no ticket system, no "we'll pass it on".
If it's feasible, we build it. Not in months, but in days.
The feature is activated for your account. You start working with it right away.
This isn't theory. einzly is built so that individual extensions are technically possible with minimal effort. What would be a quarterly project at a large provider is often a matter of hours at einzly. A good example: PDF branding with your own letterhead — logo, accent colour, and letterhead upload set up in minutes.
06What other providers do differently
A fair comparison: other Swiss accounting tools aren't a bad choice. Bexio, Milkee, Klara — they all solve the basic needs solidly. The difference isn't in the core functions, but in the flexibility.
| Standard SaaS | einzly | |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices, quotes, accounting | Yes | Yes |
| VAT return | Yes | Yes |
| Feature request possible | Yes (forum/form) | Yes (direct) |
| Response time to requests | Months to never | Days |
| Individual customisations | Not planned | Available on request |
| Roadmap influence as individual customer | Minimal | Direct |
07Who einzly is built for
einzly isn't for everyone. If you have a sole proprietorship with standard needs and simply need invoices and accounting — there are cheaper alternatives, and einzly works fine for that too, of course.
einzly is the right choice if you:
- Run a sole proprietorship or small business in Switzerland
- Have already switched software because something essential was missing
- Have industry-specific requirements that no standard tool covers
- Value short communication paths — you want to talk to people, not a ticket system
- Want software that grows with your business, instead of forcing it into a mould
einzly grows with its customers. Every feature built on customer request makes the product better — for everyone. This isn't a marketing promise, it's the business model.
08How to get started
You don't have to wait for a feature that may never come. Try einzly and see if it fits your business. And if something's missing — tell us. Not in a forum. Directly.