Invoicing and accounting software for fiduciary firms

The real challenges of a fiduciary firm

An invoicing and accounting application for fiduciary firms is not assessed in the same way as a tool for a single business. The firm works on behalf of others, with different everyday challenges: keeping dozens of sets of accounts separate, ensuring every document is compliant and doing so without a per-user subscription increasing costs with each new team member.

More clients, one interface

The most common difficulty is fragmentation. One client uses Bexio, another an Excel spreadsheet and a third a discontinued business application. Every switch between systems wastes time and creates a potential source of errors. The firm needs a consistent chart of accounts and a single way of working, regardless of how the data arrives.

Compliance that stands up to scrutiny

When you issue invoices or keep accounts for a client, the firm bears the responsibility. The QR invoice must comply with the SIX standard, VAT must use the correct AFC rates and the balance sheet must follow art. 959a CO. An error is more than an inconvenience: it can lead to a dispute and another call with the client.

Costs that grow with the team

Many cloud business applications charge per user, per month. For a firm with three or five team members, the bill becomes a fixed and growing expense. Yet a fiduciary's added value lies not in the tool, but in the expertise with which it is used.

Client data on third-party servers

The data a fiduciary handles is particularly sensitive: revenues, margins and the financial positions of other people and businesses. Entrusting it to a cloud service, often hosted outside Switzerland, is a choice worth considering carefully and one many clients would prefer to avoid.

What Vidima offers fiduciaries and accountants

Vidima is a Swiss suite that brings invoicing and accounting together in one desktop app for Windows and macOS, designed for people who work methodically. These are the points that matter most to a firm.

• Double-entry bookkeeping with a journal, income statement and balance sheet under art. 959a CO, plus a preloaded Swiss SME chart of accounts. This is the core of bookkeeping on behalf of others.
• QR invoice (QR-Bill v2.3) compliant with the SIX SPC 0200 standard and validated before every PDF export. You can try it now with the QR invoice generator.
• AFC VAT at rates of 8.1%, 2.6% and 3.8%, using the effective or net tax rate method, correctly calculated on the same invoice.
• Import from Bexio (via API) and Banana (JCSV format) to take over client work without re-entering customer details and accounts by hand.
• Reconciliation with camt.053 import (ISO 20022): upload the bank statement and match payments without ticking them off one by one.
• Verifiable cryptographic seal (ECDSA P-256): each document carries a signature that a client or auditor can check at verify.vidima.ch, without installing anything.
• Public-sector mode (MCA2) for those handling assignments involving harmonised municipal accounting.

All of this works offline by default. No mandatory account and no tracking: client data stays on the firm's computer. If you need to keep workstations in sync, multi-device synchronisation is optional and end-to-end encrypted—even we cannot read the data. It is a more reassuring starting point when confidentiality is essential, and one you can explain to your client.

Accounts compliant with the CO, compliant QR invoices and client data that only the firm can read.

Migrating client work from Bexio and Banana

The most common concern when changing tools is having to start from scratch for every client. Vidima reduces that friction: it imports data from Bexio via API and from Banana in JCSV format, so customer records and accounts arrive already structured. The firm can migrate assignments one at a time, at its own pace, without interrupting ongoing work.

To understand the scope of the comparison, read the dedicated pages: Bexio alternative and Banana alternative. The aim is not to claim that one product is always better than another, but to help you choose the right tool for the type of assignment you handle.

Multi-device licences and pricing

Vidima is bought once, with a one-time payment and no subscription. For a firm, the multi-device editions are central: one licence covers team members' workstations, with optional, end-to-end encrypted multi-device sync and no fee that grows with every new user.

Version v1.x updates are included forever with every edition. There is no per-user fee and no expiry date: the cost is a single amount known in advance.

You can try Vidima for 30 days free, with no credit card, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee on your purchase. Install the app, import a real client and check in practice whether it suits the way your firm works. Available at vidima.ch and on the Microsoft Store.

Frequently asked questions