Doing business in DACH: rules for small firms

Germany and Austria use the European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. It counts employees plus either annual turnover or balance sheet total — meeting one of the two money limits is enough.

Switzerland has no money limits. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and the federal SME portal classify by employees only; the limit of 250 employees is the same as in the EU.

“Small business” here means size. The VAT small business scheme is something else and depends on turnover only — more on that below.

• Employees are counted in annual work units: one full-time employee for the whole year counts as one, part-time and seasonal staff count as a fraction, apprentices and trainees not at all.
• Turnover is counted without VAT.
• If the firm belongs to a group, partner and linked enterprises are added.
• The class only changes once a limit is exceeded or no longer reached in two consecutive financial years.

Limited companies (GmbH, AG and similar) have their own size classes in commercial law: § 267 and § 267a HGB in Germany, § 221 UGB in Austria. They decide which rules apply to the annual accounts.

The count differs from the EU: a company belongs to a class if it does not exceed at least two of three limits — balance sheet total, turnover in the twelve months before the balance sheet date, and average number of employees. A new class only applies once this holds on two consecutive balance sheet dates, for a new company already on the first.

Germany also has the SME definition of the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn. It counts only employees and turnover and allows medium businesses up to 499 employees instead of 249; the turnover limits of €2, 10 and 50 million are the same as in the EU.

Germany and Austria call it Umsatzsteuer, Switzerland Mehrwertsteuer (MWST). Which reduced rate applies to a product is set by each country's law. The price calculator converts gross and net with the rates of all three countries.

With low turnover you can sell without VAT. The thresholds differ a lot. The invoice then carries a note on the exemption — the invoice generator adds it for Austria and Germany.

• In Switzerland, some services of foreign firms are exempt from VAT registration (Art. 10 para. 2 let. b MWSTG) — but not telecommunications and electronic services to private customers.

All three countries ask for the same core details. The invoice generator checks them for Austria and Germany as you fill in; it does not create Swiss invoices in francs.

• Name and address of you and your customer — in Switzerland, name and town are enough.
• Your tax number: the VAT ID (UID number) in Austria, the tax number or VAT ID in Germany, the VAT number in Switzerland.
• Invoice date and a sequential invoice number (Germany, Austria).
• Date or period of the supply or service.
• Quantity and description of the goods, or type and scope of the service.
• Net amount, tax rate and tax amount — or, if exempt, a note saying so.

Small amounts need fewer details. In Austria this also applies to every invoice from a small business under the VAT exemption. Above €10,000 to another business, an Austrian invoice must also show the customer’s UID number.

Germany is moving to e-invoicing: invoices between two businesses established in Germany must come in a structured electronic format. Paper or PDF (with the customer’s consent) is only allowed during a transition — for supplies up to the end of 2026, and in 2027 only if the issuer’s turnover in the previous year was no more than €800,000. Invoices from small businesses under the exemption and invoices up to €250 may still come on paper or as PDF. The invoice generator creates PDF invoices, not e-invoices.

Every business website needs details about who runs it. The laws have different names in each country but ask for much the same.

The email signature generator puts the same company details under every email.

• In Austria, prices online must be clearly marked as gross or net, and it must say whether shipping costs are included (§ 5 para. 2 ECG).
• In Switzerland, the same law also requires online shops to explain the steps to the contract, let customers correct input errors before ordering, and confirm every order electronically without delay.

Germany and Austria pay in euros, Switzerland in francs (CHF). An invoice may be issued in the other currency; for tax purposes it is then converted into the local currency.

Among the free tools: the price calculator works in euros and francs, and print labels also sets prices in Swiss format (CHF 1'299.00). The QR code for bank transfers is for euros only — the Swiss QR-bill is a different format.

Germany and Austria are in the EU, Switzerland is not. For goods there are therefore two routes.

• To private customers in another EU country: up to €10,000 in the previous and the current year, the VAT of your own country applies. All sales to other EU countries count together, plus telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services to private customers there. Above that, the VAT of the customer’s country applies; it is reported in one return through the One-Stop Shop (OSS) in your own country.
• To businesses with a VAT ID in another EU country: the supply is exempt in your own country (intra-Community supply). For services to businesses, the customer usually owes the tax (reverse charge).
• To Switzerland: for firms from Germany and Austria this is an export and exempt at home. At the Swiss border, import VAT is due — unless it comes to no more than CHF 5 per customs assessment.
• Anyone who sends such tax-free small consignments worth at least CHF 100,000 a year to customers in Switzerland becomes liable for Swiss VAT.
• From Switzerland to the EU: for Swiss firms, supplies abroad are exempt from Swiss VAT; in Germany and Austria, import VAT is due on import.

All figures on this page were read in the official texts in October 2026. Thresholds and rates change; the version in force is what counts. This overview does not replace advice from a tax adviser.

Size classes: Recommendation 2003/361/EC, § 267 and § 267a HGB, § 221 UGB, Federal Statistical Office, federal SME portal, IfM Bonn (German-language sources except EUR-Lex and IfM Bonn).

VAT: Germany § 12 and § 19 UStG; Austria § 6 and § 10 UStG; Switzerland Art. 10 and 25 MWSTG and the ESTV rates.

Invoices and currency: Germany § 14, § 16 and § 27 para. 38 UStG, § 33 and § 34a UStDV; Austria § 11 UStG; Switzerland Art. 26 MWSTG, Art. 45 and 57 MWSTV.

Legal notice: § 5 ECG, § 25 MedienG, § 5 DDG, Art. 3 UWG.

Shipping: § 3c, § 4, § 6a and § 13b UStG, European Commission One-Stop Shop, Art. 7, 23 and 53 MWSTG, BAZG guideline R-69-02.