At the end of May, around 300 professionals from business and software development, as well as representatives from authorities and insurance companies, met at the Swissdec Forum. Our Swissdec team gained valuable insights into the strategic developments within the Swissdec ecosystem and the new Swissdec overall architecture, which forms a comprehensive digital ecosystem for payroll, social insurance, benefits, and financial data. For Swiss companies looking to modernize their HR, payroll, and financial processes, this opens up exciting new opportunities for automation, increased efficiency, and a reduced administrative workload.

Summary of the Forum Swissdec 2026: Now is the right time to expand your payroll digitalisation

The Forum Swissdec 2026 highlighted that the digital Swiss payroll administration is evolving from isolated reporting standards into a fully connected ecosystem. KLE, EO, eBilanz, and the new basic services are changing the way companies communicate with insurers, authorities, and financial institutions.

Swissdec Roadmap and Key Dates

• June 2026: End-of-Life for ELM 4.0, support ends on 30.06.2026.

• August 2026: Distributor release of the next major version ELM 6.0 is planned.

• March 2030: Publication of Swissdec major version and shutdown of ELM 5.0.

Companies that are already investing in the digitalisation of their HR processes, or planning a switch to a modern ERP platform like Odoo, can benefit immediately from these developments.

With over ten years of experience in Swissdec projects and a leading role in implementing Swissdec in Odoo, braintec is the go-to partner for Swiss companies looking to sustainably modernise their payroll accounting, HR processes, and digital reporting procedures.

 Presentation Forum Swissdec 2026

1. Swissdec basic services provide the foundation for all standards

One of the most significant innovations is the Swissdec basic services. They will form the common technical and procedural basis, or 'Single Source of Truth', for all Swissdec standards. This transforms Swissdec from a collection of individual standards into a comprehensive digital infrastructure for Switzerland with the following advantages:

• Standardised processes

• Less integration effort

• Faster implementation of new standards

• Higher investment security for companies and software manufacturers

2. Modular Swissdec certification

The certification process is being restructured. It will now begin with a one-time technical certification of the Basic Services, which can be partially automated using the Swissdec Quality Tool. This is then followed by the subject-specific system tests for the individual standards.

3. The new Swissdec EO standard is coming

The Income Compensation Ordinance (EO) will be fully digitised. The goal is productive reception starting in 2027. The new standard is based 100% on the basic services, which means that no further technical additional efforts are expected. With over 615,000 EO reports annually, this standard offers enormous potential for the digitisation of administrative processes:

• Fewer manual reports

• Faster processing

• Higher data quality

• Fewer sources of error

4. KLE is gaining massive importance

The performance standard CH (KLE) is growing rapidly, and in the first quarter of 2026, more reports were processed via KLE than in the entire year of 2025. This clearly shows that digital communication between employers, insurers, and authorities is increasingly becoming the standard.

5. Expansion of eBalance

Following a pilot phase in 2026, productive operation within the financial data space and the productive transmission of corporate financial data via the XBRL standard are planned to launch in 2027.

Odoo and Swissdec: A milestone since Odoo 17

Since Odoo 17, the business software has its own Swissdec certification. This means that Odoo offers a fully integrated and certified Swissdec solution for Swiss companies with the following advantages:

• Swissdec-certified payroll accounting

• Electronic payroll reports (ELM)

• Integration of HR, payroll, finance, and ERP

• Centralised data management without isolated, standalone systems

braintec: Your reliable partner for Swissdec in Odoo since 2013

The technical Swissdec certification alone is not a guarantee for a successful Swissdec implementation. What matters is practical experience in implementing complex Swiss payroll and HR processes. This is where we have a unique advantage in experience.

For more than ten years, braintec has been supporting Swiss companies in the implementation and further development of their Swissdec-certified Odoo payroll accounting. Benefit from our Swissdec experience:

• braintec has been actively following Swissdec developments for years and implements new requirements early.

• As an expert in Odoo and Swiss payroll accounting, we know the technical installation of the Swiss payroll solution as well as the corresponding processes, reporting channels, and the requirements of social insurance and compliance.