As a self-employed person in Switzerland, you can deduct business expenses — but only if you document them properly. An expense report helps you systematically record all receipts and ensures you don't miss anything when filing your tax return.
In our article Deducting Expenses as a Self-Employed Person, you can find out which expenses you can actually claim. On this page, you'll find the matching template.
01What Belongs in an Expense Report?
A complete expense report should include at least the following details for each expense:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | When was the expense incurred? |
| Description | What was purchased or paid for? |
| Category | Travel costs, office supplies, software, client entertainment, etc. |
| Amount (CHF) | How much did it cost? |
| Receipt No. | Reference to the physical or digital receipt |
With categories, you can quickly see at the end of the month or quarter where you're spending the most — and assign the correct items when filing your tax return.
02Download Template
Our Excel template contains two worksheets: the expense report with sample entries and a category summary with automatic formulas.
With categories, receipt numbers and SUM formulas. Replace the sample data, enter your own expenses, done.
03Filling in the Template — Step by Step
Download the Excel file and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc.
Replace the name, company and period at the top of the document with your own details.
Delete the pre-filled sample rows and enter your own expenses. One row per expense: date, description, category, amount and receipt number.
Every expense needs a receipt — a till receipt, invoice or bank statement. Number the receipts (R-001, R-002, etc.) and file them physically or digitally. More on this in our article Storing Receipts.
The total row sums up all amounts automatically. Check the total, print the report or save it as a PDF.
04Typical Expense Categories
The following categories cover the most common business expenses. You can adapt them in the template to suit your industry:
- Travel costs: Train tickets, fuel, parking fees, flights, hotels — everything related to business travel. Details on mileage allowance and travel costs
- Office supplies: Paper, printer cartridges, pens, folders, postage
- Software: Subscriptions for tools such as Adobe, Microsoft 365, accounting software
- Client entertainment: Business meals with clients or partners (not your private lunch!)
- Professional development: Courses, conferences, technical books
- Phone/Internet: Business share of your mobile phone and internet subscription
05Track Expenses Digitally with einzly
Instead of maintaining Excel spreadsheets by hand, you can record business expenses with einzly in seconds — including receipt uploads and automatic categorisation. At year-end, everything is ready for your tax return.
- Record expenses in seconds: Amount, category and receipt — done. No Excel spreadsheets needed
- Receipt upload: Photograph receipts with your phone and upload them directly
- Automatic reports: Analyse expenses by category, month or quarter — one click
- Tax return ready: All business expenses are neatly documented and exportable