SoloDesk vs. bexio

With SoloDesk — you scan or upload an invoice. The system reads the document and shows you a card: "Swisscom, CHF 95, Telecom." You tap confirm. The bookkeeping entry is created automatically — correct account, correct VAT rate, correct bank matching. You never see Debit/Credit. You never pick an account number.

The more you use it, the less you do. After a few invoices from the same vendor, SoloDesk already knows: Swisscom = Telecom, VAT 8.1%. Autopilot. After three months, most routine documents process without any input.

With bexio — the interface is built around accounting concepts. The navigation uses terms like Contact Management, Sales Process, Expenses, Accounting, Payroll. The posting screen asks you to pick accounts: 6510? 4400? 3000? If you don't know the difference between Debit and Credit, Debtors and Creditors, you either learn — or call your accountant. bexio Academy offers 29 courses for this reason.

With SoloDesk — you scan or upload a document. The system reads the full invoice — not just the total, but every line, every VAT rate, the payment details. You see a card: "Swisscom, CHF 95, 3 line items." If something needs your attention, it's highlighted. Otherwise — tap confirm. The bookkeeping is done, the bank transaction is matched, and the invoice is marked as paid. One tap, nothing left to do.

What this means in practice: a single Coop receipt isn't one line in your books. It's groceries, office coffee, and a client gift — read separately, each tagged to the right category with the right VAT rate. By quarter-end, you see exactly how much you spend and on what. No manual sorting. No end-of-month cleanup.

With bexio — you photograph a receipt in bexio Go. The app extracts the basics: date, amount, supplier, a single VAT rate. After that, the work is yours. Pick the correct account. Verify the VAT rate. If the document has multiple VAT rates — switch to desktop. Post the entry. Navigate to bank reconciliation in a separate module. Match the transaction. What started as a scan becomes five to ten manual steps across two devices — on Advanced at CHF 52/month.

With SoloDesk — you open the app. Everything that needs your attention is in one place: new invoices to confirm, payments to review, reminders to send. Eight items today. You work through them one by one. Tap, tap, tap — done. Close the app. Your books are up to date.

No jumping between screens. No wondering "did I finish that step?" No separate module for bank reconciliation, another for expenses, another for contacts. One list, one flow.

With bexio — the same work lives in different places. Expenses in one module. Accounting in another. Banking in a third. To process a single supplier invoice, you move through four screens, each with its own navigation and logic. For a sole proprietor doing this between client meetings, every screen change is friction.

With SoloDesk — open the dashboard. Your VAT liability is right there. Updated with every transaction. Not at the end of the quarter. Not after your accountant runs the numbers. Right now.

All three rates (8.1% / 2.6% / 3.8%), tracked per line. When the quarter ends, your ESTV Form 405 is already filled. You're confirming, not calculating.

With bexio — VAT exists, but you have to find it. There's no dedicated VAT page in the navigation. You click into Buchhaltung, scroll past journal entries and balance sheets, and eventually get there. bexio treats VAT as a byproduct of accounting, not something you need to see every day.

With SoloDesk Free — CHF 0. Not a trial. Not 14 days. The full working tool: scan documents, upload your bank statements, see your VAT balance, send invoices with reminders in four languages, manage everything from your phone. Up to 10 documents per month. For a sole proprietor with a low document volume, Free is the only plan you'll ever need.

If you grow beyond that, Mid at CHF 29 raises the cap to 25 documents. Full at CHF 59 extends it to 50 — with pay-per-use available on both paid tiers. You upgrade for volume — not to unlock basic features.

With bexio — Basic costs CHF 45/month. The pricing page looks reasonable: most features have a checkmark. But three are greyed out — and they matter. No receipt scanning. No bank connection. No expense management. You can create invoices and keep a general ledger. That's it.

To get what SoloDesk includes for free — scanning, bank reconciliation, expenses — you need bexio Advanced at CHF 52/month.

With SoloDesk Free — your data belongs to you. Export anytime in standard formats. No exit fees. No waiting period. Cancel when you want, take everything with you.

With bexio — leaving is more complicated. A full database export after cancellation costs CHF 400. After you cancel, your data is irrevocably deleted within 30 days — no recovery. Annual plans offer no prorated refund on early cancellation. And price increases under Section 15.3 of the GTC don't grant you a right to cancel. [VERIFIED — bexio GTC]

One is an accountant's tool — it expects you to think like one. The other is a business owner's tool — it does the accounting so you don't have to.