Document storage in Zurich: mandatory for 10 years

Folder by folder, year after year: anyone running a business in Switzerland must retain business documents for ten years. In Zurich, where every square metre of office space comes at a premium, a company archive quickly becomes a cost factor – or a pile in the meeting room. The clever alternative: a storage unit in Zurich as an external archive.

What the law requires

The Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 958ff CO) obliges companies to keep accounting books, vouchers, as well as business and audit reports for ten years. The period begins at the end of the respective financial year. Even though many documents may now be archived digitally: in practice, numerous paper records remain – such as signed contracts, personnel files or original receipts kept out of caution.

It is important that documents are kept properly, securely and legibly throughout the entire period and remain accessible when needed – for instance, during a tax audit. The law does not specify where the archive must be located, meaning it can easily be kept outside the office.

Why a storage unit is cheaper than office space

Do the math: an archive room in the office takes up space paid for at Zurich office rents – month after month, even if nobody touches the folders. A self storage unit fulfills the same purpose far more economically. Just 1 m³ holds around 15 lever arch files, while units at Squarefoot range from 1 to 40 m³ and grow with your archive. Rent is charged per month, excl. 8,1 % VAT, plus a one-off registration fee of CHF 40. The minimum rental period is 30 days, after which you can cancel monthly – and currently the first month costs just CHF 1 with a two-month minimum commitment. An overview is available on our self storage costs page.

How to organize your external company archive

To ensure your off-site archive provides quick information when needed, an organized system is key:

• Organise by financial year: Set aside one zone or shelf per financial year – so you can find any voucher in minutes.
• Label destruction dates: Write the expiry year on every archive box. Clearing out once a year keeps your archives lean.
• Shelves instead of stacks: Folders stored upright on shelving units remain accessible; cardboard stacks on the floor do not.
• Keep an inventory list: A simple spreadsheet with box numbers and contents saves you searching on site.
• Log access: Record who takes documents and when – ensuring the archive stays complete even with multiple authorised users.

Secure and discreet: access for authorised personnel only

Business records contain sensitive data. With self storage, your archive stays behind locked doors: access to the box is restricted to people with your personal PIN code – at many locations 24/7 from 00 to 24. Convenient for fiduciaries and accountants: access is possible at any time, without an appointment or handing over keys. With eleven locations in the city of Zurich, the archive is never far from your office.

Digitising – and still storing correctly

Many companies take a dual approach: they digitise active documents and outsource the paper originals. This is often the most pragmatic solution, as purely electronic storage carries its own requirements for immutability and legibility – not every SME wants to convert its entire filing system to it. An external storage unit is the ideal complement to digital filing: daily operations work with scans, while the originals rest affordably and neatly in your box – ready at hand for an audit or legal dispute. Discipline is all that matters: once digitised and filed, documents move to the archive quarterly in batches rather than piling up in the office.

Conclusion: duty fulfilled, office freed

The ten-year retention obligation cannot be cut short – but it can be solved intelligently. A storage unit in Zurich turns your space problem into a predictable monthly rent and folder chaos into an orderly archive. Book your archive box online and use your office space again for what actually makes money: your work. And if your company grows, your box simply grows with you – without any office move.