Setting up a Sàrl in Geneva: what it costs, what takes time, and what gets regretted.
Amounts and rules verified on 21 September 2026.
The incorporation itself is a well-oiled formality. What gets paid for later are the decisions taken in ten minutes at the notary: the split of the shares, the financial year, the statutory purpose.
Sàrl or SA: the real difference
The minimum capital of a Sàrl is CHF 20,000, and it must be fully paid up. That of an SA is CHF 100,000, of which at least half must be paid in at incorporation.
The difference that actually matters lies elsewhere: the partners of a Sàrl are listed by name in the commercial register, so they are public. The shareholders of an SA are not. And a Sàrl share is transferred by written contract with the approval of the partners’ meeting, where a share in an SA changes hands far more simply.
In other words: the Sàrl is cheaper to set up and heavier to move around. If you expect someone to join the capital in two years, that point weighs more than the CHF 80,000 difference.
The steps, in order
None of them is complicated. They go wrong when taken out of order.
- Check that the company name is available and compliant.
- Open an escrow account with a bank and pay in the capital.
- Draft the articles, then sign the incorporation deed before a notary.
- File the registration with the Geneva commercial register.
- Once the registration is published, release the capital into the company’s current account.
- Affiliate the company with an AHV compensation fund, and take out accident insurance from the first employee.
- Look at VAT registration: compulsory from CHF 100,000 of annual turnover, optional below that.
Allow a few days between the notarial deed and publication, provided the file is complete. What causes delay is almost always the bank, not the register.
The choices people regret
They are always the same, and correcting them later costs another notarial deed.
- A statutory purpose drawn too narrowly, which has to be amended as soon as the activity evolves.
- A fifty-fifty split between two partners, with no agreement covering how one of them leaves.
- A financial year aligned with the calendar year when the activity is seasonal.
- Capital set at the legal minimum when the first months consume more: the company starts undercapitalised.
- Domiciliation with a third party without a written contract, which becomes a problem at the first audit.
None of these costs anything to deal with at incorporation. All of them cost a notarial deed afterwards.
What starts the day of registration
The company exists, so its obligations do too.
- The books, double-entry from the first entry for a Sàrl.
- Payroll filings and notifications to the funds, from the first salary paid, including the managing partner’s.
- VAT returns, if registration applies.
- The company’s first tax return, then the personal returns of the partners drawing salary or dividend.
That is where the difference is made between a well-kept company and one that will have to be caught up: the first three months set the habit for the first three years.
Can a Sàrl be set up alone?
Yes. A Sàrl can be incorporated by a single partner, who can also be the manager. The remaining practical requirement is that a person resident in Switzerland can represent the company.
Is the CHF 20,000 capital locked up?
It is held in an escrow account until registration in the commercial register, then released and becomes the company’s working capital. It is not immobilised: it funds the business.
Is an auditor required?
A small Sàrl can waive it if it meets the opting-out conditions, notably a limited headcount and the agreement of all partners. That is a decision to take at incorporation, not three years later.
And if I start as a sole trader?
That is often the right order: you test the activity as a sole proprietorship, then convert. The conversion has to be prepared, because moving to a Sàrl has tax consequences on hidden reserves.
Before you go to the notary.
An hour spent framing the purpose, the split, the financial year and the capital avoids most corrective deeds. Tell us where you stand.