Keeping receipts: 10 years as accounting vouchers

Scope: what exactly applies

The practical difficulty with receipts is not the period but the material: thermal-paper slips often fade after one or two years and are regularly blank after ten. Yet legibility is exactly what retention requires. For thermal receipts a scan is therefore not merely convenient but the only form in which the voucher survives the period — the paper original may as a rule be discarded once scanned. A slip with no recognisable business connection, by contrast, remains a private receipt even when scanned and does not belong in the accounts.

When does the period start? An example

A document from March 2026 belongs to the 2026 financial year and remains subject to retention until the end of 2036 — the period runs from the end of the financial year, not from the document date.

In practice with bexio

Expense and cash receipts usually reach bexio via the app or the inbox. What matters is that the scan happens at capture time, while the slip is still legible. quintio continuously mirrors the captured documents into your own Google Drive, where Google's text recognition makes them searchable — long after the original has faded.

Related retention periods

• Invoices 10 years — insofar as they substantiate an entry
• Bank and credit-card statements 10 years
• VAT-relevant documents until the absolute limitation of the tax claim
• Contracts 10 years — insofar as they substantiate an entry
• To the retention period calculator
• Retention obligation in Switzerland: who, what, how long

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Must I keep cash-register slips for ten years as originals?

No. A scan suffices, provided it is complete and legible. With thermal paper it is in fact the safe option, because the original often does not survive ten years.

Does a receipt without a VAT statement count?

As an accounting voucher, yes — it substantiates the payment. For input VAT deduction, however, the particulars required by VAT law are needed; without them the deduction may be refused.

What about private receipts in the company folder?

They do not belong in the accounts. A document is subject to retention only insofar as it substantiates an entry.