Are you preparing to launch a business in Switzerland? Here are the steps in order, the minimum capital for a Sàrl and an SA, and the registrations that follow the arrival of your first employee.
Reading time: 12 min
In 2026, the minimum capital is CHF 20,000 for a limited liability company (Sàrl) and CHF 100,000 for a company limited by shares (SA). Starting a business in Switzerland generally follows these steps: you choose a legal form, you set up the company, you register it in the commercial register where the law requires it, and then you register with the social insurance schemes as soon as you employ staff.
In brief
- Choose your legal form based on the capital you have available, the number of founders and the liability you are prepared to take on.
- It is best to have the company registered before acting on its behalf: for a Sàrl as for an SA, anyone who acts on behalf of the company before its registration can be held personally and jointly liable (art. 779a and 645 CO).
- Prepare your social insurance registrations before the first salary: compensation fund, accident insurance and, depending on the salary, occupational pension.
The steps to start a business in Switzerland, in order
To start a business in Switzerland, seven common steps take you from the idea to the first salary; the following sections explain them in detail.
- Test your idea: market analysis and the business plan, that is, the document that describes your project and its figures, are among the preliminary advice given by the Swiss Confederation's SME portal.
- Choose the legal form (see "Choosing the legal form").
- Decide on the company name: for a sole proprietorship, it includes your surname.
- If you are setting up a Sàrl or an SA, deposit the cash contributions with a bank, in what is known as a capital deposit account (see "Registration in the commercial register").
- Execute the public deed, which is mandatory for a Sàrl and for an SA.
- Have the business entered in the commercial register.
- Register with the social insurance schemes before paying a first salary (see "Social insurance").
The exact order of steps 3 to 5 may vary depending on the legal form: confirm it with your canton's commercial register office before depositing the contributions.
Depending on your field of activity, a special permit may be added to these steps. The section on permits and support covers this.
Are you setting up your business from abroad?
This case is covered in a dedicated article: creating a company in Switzerland when you come from abroad.
Choosing the legal form: four forms, different thresholds
The choice of legal form in Switzerland depends on three parameters: the number of founders, the capital available and the liability you are prepared to accept. The Code of Obligations (CO) sets the rules for each form.
The guide How to Establish a Swiss Entity: A Practical Setup Guide covers limited liability companies and companies limited by shares in detail (GmbH and AG in German).
Sole proprietorship
You are starting out alone, under your own name. The CO provides that a person who is the sole owner of a business must use, as the essential element of their business name (the name under which the business operates), "their surname, with or without first names" (art. 945).
Registration in the commercial register becomes mandatory from a turnover of CHF 100,000 in the previous financial year. See "Registration in the commercial register" for details.
General partnership
A general partnership brings together at least two natural persons under a business name. Its partners do not limit their liability towards the partnership's creditors (art. 552). This form therefore means accepting unlimited liability towards creditors.
Its members are required to have the partnership entered in the commercial register (art. 552).
Sàrl
The capital of a Sàrl cannot be less than CHF 20,000 (art. 773). Its debts are secured only by the company's assets (art. 772), which sets this form apart from partnerships.
The founders establish the company by a public deed. In this deed, they declare that they are founding a Sàrl, adopt the articles of association (the rules on how the company operates) and appoint its governing bodies (art. 777). A contribution corresponding to the issue price must also be paid in for each capital contribution share (art. 777c).
SA
The share capital of an SA cannot be less than CHF 100,000 (art. 621). Its formation also requires a public deed (art. 629).
At formation, the subscribers pay in at least 20% of the nominal value of each share. In all cases, the contributions must cover at least CHF 50,000 (art. 632). These CHF 50,000 therefore set a minimum amount to be paid in, not the capital required.
The summary
| Form | What the CO sets | Registration: obligation and effects |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | Surname in the business name (art. 945) | Mandatory from CHF 100,000 of turnover in the previous financial year, optional below (art. 931) |
| General partnership | At least two natural persons, unlimited liability (art. 552) | The members are required to have it registered (art. 552) |
| Sàrl | Capital of at least CHF 20,000 (art. 773), public deed (art. 777) | Before registration, personal and joint liability of anyone acting on behalf of the company (art. 779a) |
| SA | Share capital of at least CHF 100,000 (art. 621), 20% paid in and at least CHF 50,000 (art. 632), public deed (art. 629) | Legal personality acquired through registration (art. 643) |
Key takeaway
Two thresholds of CHF 100,000 exist side by side, with no connection between them. The first is the minimum share capital of an SA (art. 621). The second is the turnover in the previous financial year from which a sole proprietorship must register in the commercial register (art. 931). One is measured in capital, the other in turnover.
Registration in the commercial register: what it changes
In Switzerland, the commercial register is the public register in which businesses are entered; registration in the commercial register does not have the same effects depending on the form chosen.
For an SA, the rule is clear: "The company acquires legal personality only by being entered in the commercial register" (art. 643). Persons who act on behalf of an SA before its registration are also personally and jointly liable (art. 645 CO). Before registration, the company therefore does not yet exist as a legal entity.
For a Sàrl, the CO deals with the period before registration. Persons who act on behalf of the company before its registration are personally and jointly liable (art. 779a). It is therefore best to wait for registration before signing contracts on behalf of the company, or you may be held personally liable.
For a sole proprietorship, everything depends on turnover. A natural person who runs a business and who achieved a turnover of at least CHF 100,000 in the previous financial year must apply for registration (art. 931). Below this amount, registration remains optional.
The cash contributions of a Sàrl or an SA follow a specific route. They are deposited with a bank and held exclusively at the company's disposal. The bank releases the funds only after the company has been registered (art. 633). For a Sàrl, this rule applies by analogy (art. 777c para. 2). This bank deposit is the capital deposit account.
Permits, support and contacts
A special permit does not concern every activity. According to the SME portal, only certain regulated fields require one. At federal level, it cites the medical, teaching and social professions, and at cantonal level, transport, architecture and the legal professions, among others.
If your activity falls within one of these fields, check which permits are required before you start.
On the administrative side, SECO, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, supports company formation through its EasyGov.swiss portal.
On the financing side, the SME portal states that the State does not provide direct financial support for setting up new businesses. Plan your start-up financing accordingly, without counting on direct public aid.
Social insurance: what starting a business triggers from the first salary
As soon as you pay remuneration to persons who are compulsorily insured, you are an employer within the meaning of old-age and survivors' insurance (AVS) (art. 12 of the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance, LAVS). Three registrations or affiliations follow from this: AVS, accident insurance and occupational pension.
The same duty to register applies to the self-employed: if they are not already affiliated, they too must contact the cantonal compensation fund (art. 64 para. 5 LAVS).
AVS: registering with the compensation fund
AVS is old-age and survivors' insurance. Employers who have a permanent establishment in Switzerland or who employ people in their household are required to pay contributions (art. 12 LAVS).
If you are not already affiliated, you must register with the cantonal compensation fund (art. 64 para. 5 LAVS). Employers who are members of an association that founded a professional compensation fund are, however, affiliated with that fund (art. 64 paras. 1 and 2 LAVS).
Social contributions are calculated on the determining salary, which includes any remuneration for dependent work (art. 5 para. 2 LAVS). They are deducted from each payroll. You then pay them periodically, together with the employer's contribution (art. 14 LAVS). The annual salary declaration has its own page: AVS Salary Declaration: What Employers Must Report.
Accidents (LAA): identifying the competent insurer
The Federal Act on Accident Insurance (LAA) includes employees working in Switzerland among the compulsorily insured. Under art. 1a, this compulsory insurance also extends to people who work from home, as well as to apprentices, trainees and volunteers.
Accident insurance is managed by Suva (the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund, CNA in French) or by other authorized insurers, depending on the categories of insured persons (art. 58). The relationship with the insurer differs depending on the case:
- With Suva, the insurance relationship is based on the law. The employer must notify Suva within fourteen days of the start of operations, if its employees are subject to compulsory insurance (art. 59 para. 1).
- With another authorized insurer, the insurance relationship is based on a contract between the employer and the insurer (art. 59 para. 2).
Persons whom Suva is not competent to insure are insured by a private insurance company, a public accident insurance fund or a health insurance fund (art. 68 para. 1). Ask the insurer or the competent authority which one applies to you, then complete the corresponding formalities.
Occupational pension (LPP): the CHF 22,680 threshold
The Federal Act on Occupational Retirement, Survivors' and Disability Pension Plans (LPP) makes insurance compulsory for employees over the age of 17 who receive an annual salary of more than CHF 22,680 from the same employer (art. 2). This threshold applies to an annual salary.
An employer who employs such employees must be affiliated with a pension institution entered in the register for occupational pension plans (art. 11 para. 1). For how it works in practice, read LPP in Switzerland: What Every Employer Needs to Know.
Mistakes to avoid
Sorting out the occupational pension after the first salary is a mistake. Waiting does not exempt you from the obligation: under art. 11 para. 3 LPP, "affiliation takes effect retroactively". Choose your pension institution before an employee's salary exceeds the threshold.
Accounting: the CHF 500,000 threshold
The CO links the form of accounting to the nature of the business and its turnover. Sole proprietorships and partnerships that achieved a turnover of more than CHF 500,000 in the last financial year keep double-entry accounts, which record each transaction in two accounts (art. 957 para. 1).
Below this threshold, accounting can be limited to income, expenditure and assets (art. 957 para. 2). Legal entities, such as the Sàrl and the SA, keep accounts and present annual financial statements.
Do not confuse it with the CHF 100,000 threshold that determines registration.
Before the first salary: what to prepare
Before hiring, gather the following. The first three points repeat the registrations covered above; the next two prepare payroll and hiring:
- Register with the cantonal compensation fund, unless a professional fund already covers you.
- Identify the competent accident insurer (LAA) and complete the corresponding formalities.
- Identify your pension institution, if an employee over the age of 17 exceeds the threshold of CHF 22,680 a year.
- Choose the payroll tool that will produce the payslip for each payroll.
- Draft the employment contract for your first employee, relying on the applicable legal provisions or on an employment lawyer.
To estimate what contributions represent, read Employer Social Contributions in Switzerland: What Does an Employee Really Cost?
Numeriq Payroll is a Swiss provider specializing in payroll management, supporting Swiss SMEs with contracts, social contributions and mandatory insurance.
Sources
- SME Portal of the Swiss Confederation, Starting your own business: preliminary advice and agencies providing assistance (undated page, consulted on 30 September 2026)
- Fedlex, Code of Obligations, status as of 1 January 2026, art. 552, 621, 629, 632, 633, 643, 772, 773, 777, 777c, 779a, 931, 945 and 957
- Fedlex, Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (LAVS), status as of 1 January 2026, art. 5, 12, 14 and 64
- Fedlex, Federal Act on Accident Insurance (LAA), status as of 1 January 2026, art. 1a, 58, 59 and 68
- Fedlex, Federal Act on Occupational Retirement, Survivors' and Disability Pension Plans (LPP), version of 1 January 2025, art. 2 and 11
Frequently asked questions
Do you need capital to start a business in Switzerland?
It depends on the form. A Sàrl requires capital of at least CHF 20,000, and an SA share capital of at least CHF 100,000. For the sole proprietorship and the general partnership, the articles of the Code of Obligations presented above do not provide for minimum capital.
What happens if you act on behalf of a Sàrl before its registration?
Persons who act on behalf of a Sàrl before its entry in the commercial register are personally and jointly liable (art. 779a CO). For an SA, legal personality is acquired only through registration (art. 643 CO), and the same liability applies (art. 645 CO). It is therefore best to sign after registration.
Can you hire an employee as soon as the business is set up?
Yes. As soon as you pay a salary, you are an employer within the meaning of AVS and your obligations begin (art. 12 LAVS). You register with the cantonal compensation fund, unless you are affiliated with a professional fund. You identify the competent accident insurer. You affiliate the business with a pension institution if an employee over the age of 17 receives more than CHF 22,680 a year.
Does the State finance the creation of a business?
No. According to the SME portal, the State does not provide direct financial support for setting up new businesses. SECO does, however, offer the EasyGov.swiss portal to support company formation.
Is a special permit required?
A special permit is only required in certain regulated fields, at federal or cantonal level, according to the SME portal. Check with the competent authority whether your activity is one of them.
.png)
