ERP and accounting software in Basel

Doing business in Basel

Basel-Stadt's statistics office counts about 186,000 residents in the city, but the economy reaches far beyond them: the pharmaceutical campuses draw staff from three countries, the Rhine ports at Kleinhüningen handle goods for customers across Switzerland, the Dreispitz has turned from warehouses into a mixed business quarter, and Kleinbasel and the Messe area host trade fairs, offices and shops.

Companies register with the Handelsregisteramt Basel-Stadt, visible through Zefix, file cantonal taxes with the Steuerverwaltung and federal VAT with the ESTV, and many belong to the Handelskammer beider Basel. A Basel SME typically buys in euros, sells in both currencies and reports VAT in francs. Skyline Nexus ERP records each document in its currency and posts the CHF value to the ledger.

Modules Basel businesses start with

• Accounting and branches
• CMMS and maintenance
• Inventory and warehouses
• Projects and job costing
• Manufacturing (MES)

Pharma and life sciences suppliers

Around the large pharmaceutical campuses of Basel work contract manufacturers, laboratories, packaging specialists and component suppliers. For these firms Skyline Nexus ERP plans production with bills of materials, routings and work orders in the MES module, holds raw materials and finished goods by lot, and values stock by FIFO, while the Stock Expiry Report shows which batches must be used or shipped first.

Technical service companies working on the campuses need permits and safety records before any job starts. The CMMS in Skyline Nexus attaches a permit to work, with hazards, controls and validity, to each work order, and the EHS area keeps incidents, risk assessments and corrective actions. GMP batch records stay in the client's quality systems; the ERP handles the supplier's operations and accounts.

Logistics and the Rhine port

Freight forwarders, warehouse operators and shipping agents at the Rhine ports and near the EuroAirport handle goods for Swiss, German and French customers. Skyline Nexus ERP gives each warehouse its own stock location, can flag customs warehouses as Free Zone or Bonded, and records every movement between sites as a stock transfer with carrier and status, so duty-paid and bonded goods are kept apart.

Invoices to customers across the border go out in euros at the rate entered on the document, while the ledger stays in francs, and Treasury bank accounts can be held in either currency. Cranes, forklifts and trucks sit in the asset register with depreciation, and their maintenance runs through CMMS work orders and PPM schedules in Skyline Nexus.

Finance and insurance firms

Basel's insurers and banks are surrounded by brokers, advisers, IT providers and back-office service firms that run lean finance teams. For them Skyline Nexus ERP keeps the ledger in francs, holds bank accounts in CHF and EUR in Treasury, and produces a Daily Cash Position and a Bank Balance Summary each morning, so liquidity is known without logging into several banking portals.

Receipts and payments are listed in the Receipt Register and Payment Register, customers' open items in the AR Aging Report, and bank statements are imported as files and reconciled until the variance is zero. Skyline Nexus records who changed what in the audit trail, which helps when an insurer's own auditors review a service provider.

Compliance for a Basel business

Swiss VAT applies in Basel as everywhere in the country. As of October 2026 the rates are 8.1% standard, 2.6% reduced and 3.8% for accommodation, and Art. 26 MWSTG sets the invoice content: your name, town and MWST number, the customer's name and town, the supply, the amount and the rate. Till slips up to CHF 400, such as at a fair stand, need no customer details.

Invoices in euros are allowed, provided the VAT is converted into francs at the ESTV monthly or daily rate. Books and vouchers are kept for 10 years. E-invoicing is only expected by federal customers above CHF 5,000. If an invoice includes a payment slip, it must be a QR-bill, which Skyline Nexus ERP does not produce yet, so Basel invoices go out with bank details instead.

Getting started from Basel

A Basel company moving to Skyline Nexus ERP sets up its business with CHF as base currency, enables EUR for cross-border sales and purchases, and imports its chart of accounts, contacts with open balances, and products with opening stock per warehouse or plant. GL opening balances are entered on a screen that only saves when debits equal credits.

During the free trial a Basel team can post a purchase in euros, invoice a German customer in euros and check the franc values in the trial balance. Support is by WhatsApp, phone and e-mail in English; Skyline Nexus ERP has no office in Basel. Firms with several warehouses or plants, and those that rely on QR-bill payment slips, should book a demo first.

1. Create the business in CHF with your MWST number and add EUR as a second currency with today's rate.
2. Set up each warehouse, plant or lab as a location and flag customs warehouses as Free Zone or Bonded.
3. Import products and opening stock by lot, then check the Stock Expiry Report against your shelves.
4. Add your CHF and EUR bank accounts in Treasury and import last month's statements for reconciliation.

Questions from Basel businesses

Can a Basel contract manufacturer track batches in Skyline Nexus ERP?

Yes. Skyline Nexus ERP lets a Basel contract manufacturer hold raw materials and finished goods by lot, plan production with bills of materials and work orders, and value stock by FIFO. The Lot Report and Stock Expiry Report show what each batch contains and what is close to expiry. GMP batch records stay in the client's quality systems.

Can a Basel freight company invoice German and French customers in euros?

Yes. Skyline Nexus ERP issues invoices in euros at an exchange rate entered on the document while the ledger of a Basel freight company stays in francs. Bank accounts can be held in CHF and EUR in Treasury, and the VAT on euro invoices is converted into francs using the ESTV rate you enter.

Does a Basel company have to send QR-bills?

A Basel company only needs a QR-bill when its invoice includes a payment slip. Skyline Nexus ERP does not produce QR-bills yet, so invoices from Skyline Nexus carry bank details without a slip; firms whose customers expect QR-bill slips should keep a separate tool for them for now and ask us about the roll-out.

How long must a Basel company keep invoices and books?

As of October 2026, a Basel company keeps its books and vouchers for 10 years from the end of the business year, and records on real property longer. Electronic storage is permitted if the records stay readable and faithful. Skyline Nexus ERP keeps posted journals with their source documents and exports an Excel audit pack for archiving.

Can service firms on a Basel pharma campus manage permits to work in Skyline Nexus ERP?

Yes. Skyline Nexus ERP attaches a permit to work, with hazards, controls and validity dates, to each CMMS work order, and its EHS area records incidents, hazards, risk assessments and corrective actions. A service firm on a Basel pharma campus can show the client the safety paperwork alongside the job's costs.

Is Skyline Nexus ERP available in French and German for a Basel team?

Skyline Nexus ERP is available in English and Arabic, with interface translations for many other languages, including German and French, and untranslated screens fall back to English. Each user picks a language, so colleagues from Baden and Alsace can work side by side in a Basel office, while the books are kept in Swiss francs.

How does a Basel company migrate to Skyline Nexus ERP?

A Basel company migrates to Skyline Nexus ERP by importing its chart of accounts, customers and suppliers with open balances, and products with opening stock from CSV or XLSX templates, then entering balanced GL opening balances in CHF. Open euro items should be settled or listed at the cut-over rate so the opening position is clear.

Skyline Nexus ERP is a cloud service run by Skyline Industrial Solution. We have no office in Basel; support is by WhatsApp, phone and e-mail.

Figures and rules on this page change. This is general information, not tax or legal advice: confirm the current position with the authority named above or your adviser.