Bexio alternative: invoicing and accounting, offline and on a one-time payment

Why people look for a Bexio alternative

Bexio is a serious and very popular Swiss product, especially in German-speaking Switzerland. It does a lot. But that's exactly why people who work alone, or run a micro-business, sometimes look for something different, for three concrete reasons:

• It's a recurring subscription. Bexio is paid as a monthly fee, month after month. For someone who issues few invoices, paying every month for software they use only for that can feel out of proportion.
• It's a complete cloud suite. Invoicing, accounting, bank connection, payroll, document management: powerful, but far more than someone who simply needs to issue compliant invoices requires. More features also mean more to learn and more to set up.
• The data lives in the cloud. Bexio keeps your data on its servers (in Switzerland) and runs from the browser. Anyone who prefers to keep their own data on their own computer, with no account and without depending on a connection, looks for a desktop alternative.

If you want to manage your whole business online and integrated, Bexio does a good job. If you only need to invoice, offline and paying once, read on.

What Vidima does — and what it doesn't

Let's be honest, so we don't waste your time. Vidima is a desktop invoicing and accounting suite — not a cloud business management platform. It does QR invoices and double-entry accounting, but it doesn't handle payroll, it doesn't connect to e-banking, and it isn't multi-user in the cloud. If you need those things, Bexio is a better fit.

What Vidima does, it does in a simple, offline and thoroughly Swiss way:

• QR-Bill v2.2 compliant with the official SIX SPC 0200 standard, validated before every PDF export.
• AFC VAT with all current rates (8.1% / 2.6% / 3.8% / exempt), effective or balance (saldo) method.
• Unlimited customers and invoices, with Swiss validation (postcode, UID, VAT number).
• Payment reminders, credit notes and instalment payments.
• Import of the camt.053 bank statement to reconcile incoming payments.
• Double-entry accounting: preloaded Swiss SME chart of accounts, journal, balance sheet and income statement exportable to PDF.
• Guided migration from Bexio and Banana: import customers, invoices and chart of accounts.
• Cryptographic digital seal on every invoice, verifiable by your customers on verify.vidima.ch.
• Offline by default: your data stays on your own computer, with no account and no tracking. If you work across machines, Pro & Studio add an optional, end-to-end encrypted sync — the key stays on your devices, so not even we can read it.

Vidima and Bexio compared

An honest comparison: the two programs start from different philosophies. This table helps you work out which one is right for you.

Cloud and subscription versus desktop and one-time payment

This is the fundamental difference, and it's a choice — there's no absolute winner. With Bexio the data sits in the cloud, always on, always synced and accessible from any device, in exchange for a recurring fee and a required connection.

With Vidima the data sits on your own computer: no account, works even without internet, and you pay once only — CHF 149, v1.x updates included forever. And unlike Bexio's always-on cloud, syncing across your devices is optional and end-to-end encrypted on Pro & Studio — off by default, with the key on your devices, so the data stays unreadable to anyone but you. For someone who wants simplicity, control of their own data and no cost that comes back every month, it's often the more relaxed choice.

How to switch to Vidima

Vidima includes a guided migration from Bexio: you import customers, invoices and chart of accounts. The switch is simple:

• You download Vidima and start the 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
• You enter your customer records and your company details once.
• You start issuing invoices with the Swiss QR code and keep your accounting in the same place. Payroll and online banking, if you need them, stay wherever you prefer.

Many professionals use Vidima for their everyday invoices and accounting, and rely on their fiduciary only for the rest: simple, tidy, without paying for modules they don't use.