Activity ID: where to find it and how to capture it per client

The activity ID is in your net tax rate approval from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (ESTV), or in the ESTV ePortal next to the approved activity — not in bexio. During the XML export, “quintio for bexio” asks for it automatically as soon as it is missing for a client: one ID of exactly 5 characters per tax rate, stored for this client only. You can adjust it later at any time via right-click on the quintio icon → “Options”.

What is the activity ID in the first place?

For reporting periods from 01.01.2025, the ESTV requires for net and flat tax rate returns that every reported tax rate is assigned to an approved activity — identified by an activity ID of exactly 5 characters. In the electronic reporting format eCH-0217, the ID belongs to every turnover position; without it, the ePortal rejects a net or flat tax rate declaration. If you report using the effective method, you do not need an activity ID.

Where do I find the activity ID?

• In your net tax rate approval from the ESTV — the letter with which the ESTV approved your reporting with net or flat tax rates. Every approved activity is listed there with its ID.
• In the ESTV ePortal (eportal.admin.ch) — in the “MWST abrechnen” (report VAT) area, under the reporting modalities, your company’s approved activities and rates are stored.
• When in doubt, ask the ESTV. The IDs are approved per taxpayer — the extension’s note puts it plainly: “Die IDs sind pro Steuerpflichtigem bewilligt und dürfen nicht von einem anderen Mandanten übernommen werden.” (the IDs are approved per taxpayer and must not be taken over from another client)

How does quintio capture the activity ID?

Directly in the export flow, not in a separate settings dialog: if the ID for a tax rate is missing when you click “XML”, the dialog “Tätigkeits-ID für diesen Mandanten erfassen” (capture the activity ID for this client) opens — with the client’s company name and UID (the Swiss business identification number) in the header, so it is clear who you are capturing for. All missing tax rates appear in one pass, each with its own input field. The extension checks the length (“Tätigkeits-ID ‹…› muss genau 5 Zeichen haben.” (activity ID ‹…› must have exactly 5 characters)) and saves after “Übernehmen” (apply) — for this client only. If you cancel, the export ends with “Tätigkeits-ID fehlt” (activity ID missing); clicking “XML” again opens the dialog anew.

How do I adjust the activity ID later?

1. Right-click the quintio icon in the browser toolbar and choose “Options” — the settings page opens in a new tab.
2. Go to the card “Saldo-/Pauschalsteuersatz: Tätigkeits-IDs pro Mandant” (net/flat tax rate: activity IDs per client). It lists every client with name and UID and its rows of activity ID + tax rate.
3. Add, correct or remove rows — the change applies on the next export. As long as nothing is captured yet, the page says: “Noch keine Tätigkeits-ID erfasst. Die Erfassung erfolgt beim XML-Export direkt in bexio.” (no activity ID captured yet; capture happens during the XML export directly in bexio)

Success check: the XML export runs through without any prompt, and the card “Saldo-/Pauschalsteuersatz: Tätigkeits-IDs pro Mandant” (net/flat tax rate: activity IDs per client) shows, for each of the client’s tax rates, the correct ID from the client’s ESTV approval.

What is the “old, cross-client capture”?

An earlier version of the extension stored the activity IDs globally — the same for all clients. This mapping is no longer applied: at most it still appears as a suggestion in the capture dialog, clearly marked there (“Vorschlag aus Ihrer bisherigen, mandantenübergreifenden Erfassung — bitte gegen die ESTV-Bewilligung dieses Mandanten prüfen.” (suggestion from your previous, cross-client capture — please check it against this client’s ESTV approval)). On the options page you can view it in the card “Alte, mandantenübergreifende Erfassung” (old, cross-client capture) and remove it with “Alte Erfassung löschen” (delete the old capture) — this also protects older installations on other devices that would still apply it via browser sync.

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The whole export flow is shown in “Exporting the VAT return as XML” — and if the extension is still missing: installing “quintio for bexio”.