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Finance | base4 min readUpdated:

Export data from bexio: a guide for switching

Export contacts, items, invoices, journal and payroll from bexio: step by step with menu paths – or directly with an access key.

KMU | base editorial team

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Stacked cardboard boxes, ready for the move

Anyone moving from bexio to other software needs their data as files: contacts, items, invoices, accounting and payroll. This guide shows where to find the exports in bexio. With KMU | base it is even simpler: you enter an access key and we fetch the data ourselves.

Before you start: what you need

Sign in with a user who can see all areas: contacts, sales, accounting and payroll. Create a folder in which to collect all the files. Export before you cancel bexio: once the contract ends, access is gone, yet you must keep the accounting records for ten years (Art. 958f of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO).

Step by step: exporting from bexio

Menu names stay as they appear in the German-language bexio; a short explanation is given in brackets.

  1. Contacts: in the contacts, tick the entries you want and choose the action «Excel-Export» (Excel export) on the right. For a filtered selection, filter at the top first and then choose «Excel-Datei» (Excel file) at the top right.
  2. Items: in the products, export via the three-dot menu at the top right with «Alle Produkte exportieren» (export all products). Stock levels and stock movements come with «Aktuelle Liste exportieren» (export current list).
  3. Invoices, quotes and orders as a list: in the relevant list, choose «Aktuelle Liste exportieren». You get an Excel file.
  4. Invoices as PDF: tick the invoices and choose «Multi-PDF (Mit Logopapier)» or «Multi-PDF (Ohne Logopapier)» (with or without letterhead) at the bottom right, then «GO».
  5. Open items: under Buchhaltung › Berichte › Offene Posten (accounting › reports › open items), choose the reference date and export receivables and payables as Excel.
  6. Journal: under Buchhaltung › Berichte › «Journal», filter by financial year at the top right and click the Excel icon. Repeat this for every year you want to bring across.
  7. Balance sheet, income statement and account ledgers: under Buchhaltung › Berichte, download «Bilanz» (balance sheet), «Erfolgsrechnung» (income statement) and «Kontenblatt» (account ledger) as Excel or PDF. These give you the opening balances at the reference date.
  8. VAT: under Buchhaltung › Mehrwertsteuer › «MWST Journal» (VAT journal), choose «Alle Ziffern als Exceldatei downloaden» (download all figures as an Excel file).

The bexio help does not describe a dedicated button for the chart of accounts. The journal and the account ledgers do, however, contain every account you have used.

Payroll and documents

Once all payslips for a month are finalised, they can be exported under Lohnabrechnung (payroll) as Excel or PDF. Salary certificates are in the «Dokumente» tab under «Lohnausweise», as a PDF for all employees. Documents from the inbox are downloaded one at a time via the three-dot menu with «Herunterladen» (download).

The direct route: an access key instead of files

bexio offers a programming interface. Through it, KMU | base can fetch your data itself: you create a personal access key in bexio and enter it in KMU | base. No app approval at bexio is needed. Data that is awkward to export as a file also comes across, such as reminders with PDF, projects and archived contacts.

Practical example: Muster Elektro GmbH

Muster Elektro GmbH is a fictitious installation firm with six employees. It switches on 1 January. In December it enters the access key. KMU | base fetches contacts, invoices with PDF, the journal and the payroll data. Until the end of December the firm keeps booking in bexio; anything new arrives every night. On the reference date the balance reconciliation shows for each account: old balance equals new balance. Only then does the firm give the go-ahead.

How KMU | base helps

1. We take over for you. The data transfer is free and takes at most 24 hours on working days. Everything else is on the page From bexio to KMU | base.

2. Trial run before the transfer. You see what will be created and what already exists. Nothing is transferred until you approve it, and a transfer can be rolled back.

3. Payroll included. Employees, holidays, absences and payslips as PDF go into HR | base.

If you would like to try it yourself, take a look at the Demo or open a test account.

Sources

  • bexio Help: «Daten sichern / Export der Dokumente», «Kontakte exportieren (Serienbrief)», «Offene Posten exportieren» and «Lohnabrechnungen exportieren», accessed 9 November 2026: help.bexio.com
  • bexio API documentation, accessed 9 November 2026: docs.bexio.com
  • Swiss Code of Obligations (CO, SR 220), Art. 958f: fedlex.admin.ch (German original)

This guide describes the bexio menus according to the manufacturer's help; names may change. Information as of 9 November 2026.

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