13 answers for owners and founders of a Switzerland company, from ordering to banking, annual compliance and what happens after incorporation. General information, not legal or tax advice; your specialist confirms how it applies to you.
The name must include the legal form, GmbH, and must not duplicate a name already in the commercial register. Search Zefix, the central business name index, before you choose. We check your three options there before the notary drafts the deed.
Source: GmbH: Haftung, Stammkapital, Gründung, SME Portal, Swiss Confederation (SECO)
On entry in the commercial register, which is then published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SHAB). Signing the notarial deed alone does not create the company. Hold off on contracts in the company's name until the entry is made.
Source: GmbH: Haftung, Stammkapital, Gründung, SME Portal, Swiss Confederation (SECO)
The Swiss SME Portal puts notary fees for a GmbH at about CHF 700 to CHF 2,000, and the register entry at CHF 600 for capital up to CHF 200,000. Your quote shows which of these sit inside the Quote price and which are passed on at cost. The share capital itself is not a fee.
Source: GmbH: Haftung, Stammkapital, Gründung, SME Portal, Swiss Confederation (SECO)
30 days from the start of the tax liability, and you must register on your own initiative. The Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) will not contact you first, so we check the turnover forecast with you when the company is formed.
Source: Federal Act on Value Added Tax (MWSTG, SR 641.20), Art. 66, Fedlex, Swiss Confederation
The federal Transparency Register started operating on 1 October 2026, and companies must report their beneficial owners within the legal deadlines and keep the data current. For a newly registered company, plan on reporting within about one month of the commercial register entry (confirm with your specialist).
Source: Schweizerisches Transparenzregister, Federal Office of Justice
At least a year in most cases. The liquidator publishes a call to creditors in the SHAB, and deletion from the register can be filed no earlier than one year later. If a licensed audit firm confirms that all debts are paid and no third-party interests are at risk, that wait drops to three months.
A registered office in Switzerland, share capital of at least CHF 20,000 that is fully paid in, and at least one managing director or other authorised signatory who is resident in Switzerland and can represent the company. If you have no one locally, tell us at the start so that we can include a resident signatory in your quote.
Source: Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 773, 777c and 814
By quote, for formation and for each following year. The cost depends on the notary, the commercial register fee, the registered office, whether you need a resident signatory, and the accounting work. The share capital is the company's own money and is not a fee. Tell us what the company will do and we send an itemised quote before you pay anything.
Switzerland is priced by fixed quote. The price depends on the canton, the legal form and whether you need a Swiss-resident signatory, and your quote shows year 1 and each later year before you pay. The share capital is your own money and stays in the company.
A clear ownership chart, certified ID and proof of address for each owner and signatory, and documents showing where the capital and your wealth come from, such as tax returns, sale agreements or employment records. Describe the business model, main counterparties and expected volumes. Swiss banks may ask for a video or in-person meeting before they decide.
It depends on the canton. Federal profit tax is 8.5%, and cantonal and communal taxes bring the combined rate to about 12% in the lowest-tax cantons and about 20.5% in the highest.
It sits in a blocked capital deposit account opened in the company's name. The bank releases it only once the entry in the commercial register is published. After that it becomes the company's working money.
Source: GmbH: Haftung, Stammkapital, Gründung, SME Portal, Swiss Confederation (SECO)
The minutes of the shareholders' meeting that appointed them and a certified specimen signature. The signature can be certified by a notary or municipal office, or in person at the register office with a passport or ID. We prepare the minutes and the register application for you.
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