Digitally accessing government services at the home office in Switzerland

More and more government services are also available online. Many companies would like to benefit from this, but do not yet do so because the various offerings are difficult to find. In this article, we provide you with an overview of the most important points of contact on the Internet.

Large parts of the Swiss population are working from home these days due to the corona virus. It is possible that this development will permanently change our work culture and lead to an acceleration of digitalization. Exchanges with customers and colleagues largely take place online, and companies are now also dependent on digital communication in their exchanges with the authorities. As part of the “e-government strategy Switzerland“, the federal government cantons and municipalities have made many government services available digitally in recent years. Online access to the authorities offers various advantages:

• Submission of forms is possible 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Time and costs are saved by eliminating the need to send forms by mail
• Forms can be filled out by copy-and-paste or even automatically
• Less paper is used, thereby conserving natural resources
• Some platforms offer the possibility that different persons have access to the data and trustees or notaries can be consulted

Bundled online services

But where are these services located on the network? According to the National E-Government Study 2019 by E-Government Switzerland and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, many companies struggle to find the authority’s digital offerings. In fact, many cantons and even municipalities have built their own online desks. In order to be able to offer government services bundled online in federal Switzerland, EasyGov.swiss was launched at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, the portal bundles various frequently used services, such as commercial register mutations, debt enforcement, guarantees for SMEs, etc. (see catalog below). This concentration on one platform has the advantage that only one login is needed and the company data, once read in, can be used for various official procedures. The platform will be continuously expanded over the next few years.

At the federal level, the following important portals exist in addition to EasyGov.swiss:

• Arbeit.swiss for work permits, social insurance, etc.
• SuisseTax for the settlement of value added tax and withholding tax
• Agate for agriculture, animals and foodstuffs
• eLohnausweis for the electronic issuance of a wage statement
• ePortal as an online platform of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF)
• eMove for deregistration with the old municipality of residence and registration with the new municipality of residence
• QuickZoll for the declaration of goods for personal use at customs

An overview of the online services of the cantons

SECO offers an overview (German/Italian/French) of cantonal services for SMEs and the economy with a focus on eGovernment and digitization under Online Services. From the removal of waste and permits for fundraising campaigns to the application to cut down a tree, online services from numerous cantons are bundled there. The platform is constantly being expanded.

Valuable sources of information

Sometimes it is not the availability of online services that is a hurdle, but the lack of knowledge about how to start a business, for example. SECO has created the SME portal for this purpose. In addition to useful links, the website also contains a lot of practical knowledge from founding to developing to handing over an SME. Current topics such as social networks, e-commerce and entrepreneurial creativity are discussed and explored with case studies and interviews.

Government services on EasyGov.swiss

Company formation 

Registrations with:

• Commercial register
• AHV (Equalization funds)
• Value added tax
• Accident insurance (Suva and private insurers)

Commercial register mutations with cross-cantonal seat transfers and public notarizations

Debt collection and debt collection information for companies, associations, foundations, cooperatives and private individuals

Guarantees for SMEs 
Federally recognized guarantee cooperatives provide SMEs with easier access to bank loans. SMEs can contact the relevant guarantee organization via EasyGov.

Suva wage declarations 
Companies without their own payroll accounting software can enter their wage data directly in EasyGov and then transmit it to Suva.

Licensing database 
Overview of professions subject to licensing and regulated professions in Switzerland at federal and cantonal level.

EasyGov.swiss

EasyGov macht die Behördengänge einfach, schnell und effizient. Die sichere und zuverlässige Plattform ermöglicht Unternehmen das elektronische Abwickeln von Bewilligungs-, Antrags- und Meldeverfahren an einem einzigen Ort. Weitere Behördenangebote werden schrittweise integriert und das Portal laufend optimiert. EasyGov entlastet und spart Kosten – bei den Unternehmen und bei den Behörden.