Many bexio users still use bexio exclusively for offers, customer invoices and the dunning process. In these cases, the accounting is managed autonomously in another software. The consequences are duplications, additional work for reconciliation with the fiduciary and financial figures that are not up to date.
This does not have to be the case: activate your bexio accounting per 1.1.2021. Here you will find the 5 steps for activation:
- Activate the setup wizard (set up accounting) from bexio (email to support@bexio.com «Hello. Please activate the “setup wizard (set up accounting)” so we can set up the accounting per 1.1.2021»).
- Before making the first entry, the VAT accounting method must be entered correctly (e.g. «effective, collected»). Clarify which method you are using. Here are the telephone numbers of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration: Contact FTA
We often see that the basic setting has never been changed. Since the VAT statement was not previously created on the basis of bexio.
(Path to VAT settings: Settings/All Settings/Accounting/Basic VAT settings)
Also check the VAT rate for completeness (for more information please check our VAT Cheat Sheet). - For a correct reconciliation of your accounts payable at the beginning of the year, enter all invoices which were outstanding on 31.12.2020, using «Bills». You don’t have to enter the customer invoice (debtors) because they are already managed in bexio.
- Set up your bank account in bexio Banking. On January 1st 2021 enter the balances of your bank accounts using the setup wizard. This means you can already start with the accounting in bexio and reconcile the bank balances with the e-banking, although the annual accounts for 2020 are not yet available.
- As soon as the financial statements 2020 have been finalized, you can enter all the balances of the balance sheet and the income statement via the setup wizard. Then you can generate your income statement and balance sheet with comparison to the previous year.
Other important points you should pay attention to when changing your accounting software:
- Save all the documents and information of your existing accounting software which you will not have access to later on: balance sheet and income statement, accounting ledger, company data etc.
- The same applies to payroll accounting: employee data, payroll records/journals, pay slips, salary statements etc.
- If you plan to change the fiduciary simultaneously, please check in advance whether notice periods have to be observed.
- Create a list of pending matters with your current fiduciary, which shows which tasks still need to be done (e.g. salary declarations and statements, GM-minutes, tax return, VAT return etc.).
- ESTV SuisseTax and power of attorney: Check all powers of attorney deposited with the tax authorities to ensure that they are up to date.
- Adjust postal address for letter delivery.
- Access to your bexio accounting: Note, if you remove the access of your former fiduciary, he or she will be automatically notified by bexio.
Bonus tip: Take advantage of this moment and optimize your existing chart of accounts in terms of simplification, standardization and relevance to the business model and data collection (reporting, interim financial statements, etc.). We are happy to show you our “lean Chart of Accounts”.
Do you need our support in activating your bexio accounting? Book your meeting with us now.