What to give your fiduciary
At the end of each fiscal year, your fiduciary (accountant or tax advisor) needs a complete set of accounting data to prepare your tax return and statutory financial statements. Gäld's Fiduciary Export bundles everything into a single ZIP file.
When to generate the export
Generate the export after completing the year-end closing (Accounting → Year-End Closing). Sending pre-closing data to your fiduciary leads to corrections and delays.
The correct sequence is:
- ✅ All bank statements reconciled
- ✅ All expenses and invoices posted
- ✅ Depreciation entries recorded
- ✅ Social charges (AVS/LPP) recorded
- ✅ Final VAT declaration filed and posted
- ✅ Year-end closing run in Gäld
- → Generate Fiduciary Export
How to generate the export in Gäld
- Go to Accounting → Fiduciary Export
- Select the fiscal year to export
- Click Generate ZIP
- Wait for Gäld to compile the files (typically under 30 seconds)
- Click Download
Instead of downloading and emailing the ZIP, use Share → Send link to fiduciary to give your accountant a time-limited download link.
What's in the ZIP
| File | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
journal.csv | CSV | Full journal — every posted entry for the year |
balance-sheet.pdf | Balance sheet as of 31 December | |
income-statement.pdf | Profit & loss statement for the year | |
trial-balance.csv | CSV | Account-by-account debit/credit totals |
accounts.csv | CSV | Chart of accounts used |
vat-reports/ | Folder of PDFs | All VAT declarations filed during the year |
invoices/ | Folder of PDFs | All issued invoices |
expenses/ | Folder of PDFs | All expense receipts |
README.txt | Plain text | Description of each file for the fiduciary |
Under Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) Art. 958f ↗, you and your fiduciary must retain these documents for 10 years. Gäld stores the source data indefinitely; the ZIP is a snapshot for external use.
What your fiduciary will do with these files
| File | Fiduciary use |
|---|---|
journal.csv | Import into their accounting software (e.g. Abacus, SAP) for review and adjustments |
balance-sheet.pdf + income-statement.pdf | Basis for the statutory financial statements (Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) Art. 959 ↗) |
trial-balance.csv | Reconciliation and year-end audit checks |
vat-reports/ | Cross-check that VAT was declared correctly |
invoices/ + expenses/ | Supporting documents for deductible expenses |
Frequently asked questions
My fiduciary uses Abacus — can they import the CSV?
Yes. The journal.csv uses a standard column layout (date, account debit, account credit, amount, description) compatible with most Swiss accounting software. Your fiduciary may need to map column names on first import.
Can I export for a custom date range (not a full year)?
Yes — use Accounting → Fiduciary Export → Custom Range and enter the start and end dates. Useful for mid-year fiduciary reviews.
My fiduciary asked for a DATEV export — does Gäld support this?
DATEV export (used by German-speaking fiduciaries) is available under Accounting → Fiduciary Export → Format → DATEV. Note: DATEV is less common in Switzerland; most Swiss fiduciaries accept the standard CSV format.