The lock
A question
of residence.
Nothing else.
A Swiss company cannot be entered in the commercial register unless someone resident in Switzerland can represent it: art. 718 para. 4 CO for the SA, art. 814 para. 3 CO for the Sàrl. Not nationality, not a permit: residence. Without a resident director, there is no company.
If no registered director lives here, the file is returned. A company that later loses its last resident director falls under art. 731b CO — see organisational default.
Many arrive searching for a nominee director. Not what we do: a lent name leaves the liability where the law puts it, and a bank sees through it.
Raphaël Quiblier, director, is resident in Switzerland. The qualification the law requires.
The other pages of this site are in French. Write to us in English — we answer in English.
The other side
What the director
really commits.
The law holds him answerable for what the company does not pay.
The guide to sham seatsHe answers for loss caused by a breach of duty, even negligent, out of his private assets.
Contributions withheld and unpaid: the fund pursues the directors jointly and severally, on their own wealth.
Liability from CHF 100’000 of turnover, at 8.1 %. Officers answer for unpaid tax.
On over-indebtedness, the board must notify the court. Delay is a breach in itself.
No corporate body, or unreachable at its seat: the court orders dissolution, liquidated under bankruptcy rules.
We do not lend a signature. We sit.
We convene, hold meetings, draft minutes, read the accounts and check the AVS statements. Otherwise a mandate is a name for rent.
Fees
The price is published.
So is the risk premium.
The application is free.
Director of an SA, manager of a Sàrl
from CHF 1’500 / month
CHF 18’000 a year, risk premium in addition
The base case: no staff here, below the VAT threshold, beneficial owner in Switzerland or the EU. Complexity becomes a risk premium. Invoiced on top of the Circle: CHF 1’300 / month.
Free application, then due diligence
CHF 0 · application
You apply without paying. The interview follows, then a deep review before liability is assumed.
The risk premium — four factors
Supplements add to the CHF 1’500 base. The amount is settled after the review.
| Factor | Band | Monthly supplement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Capital | Up to CHF 20’000 | + CHF 0 |
| CHF 20’001 to 500’000 | + CHF 150 to 300 | |
| More than CHF 500’000 | from + CHF 600 | |
| 2 · Turnover | Below the VAT threshold | + CHF 0 |
| CHF 100’000 to 2 million | + CHF 150 to 400 | |
| More than 2 million | from + CHF 800 | |
| 3 · Sector | Consulting, software, B2B trade | + CHF 0 |
| Trading, e-commerce, real estate, construction | + CHF 200 to 400 | |
| Activity subject to licensing | + CHF 700 | |
| 4 · Beneficial owner’s country | Switzerland, EU, EFTA, United Kingdom | + CHF 0 |
| Other countries, off the FATF lists | + CHF 200 to 450 | |
| FATF call-for-action or sanctioned country | declined |
Consulting Sàrl, partner in France: CHF 1’650 / month. E-commerce SA, 3 million turnover, owner outside the OECD: CHF 3’250 / month. Same calculation in the eligibility questionnaire.
No security deposit, no provision. Fees are invoiced monthly in advance.
When a company stops paying, the fund does not pursue the shareholder abroad. It pursues the director who lives here. That risk is covered by the premium above, not by blocked funds.
Comparison
The market and us.
The gap is deliberate.
The market rarely publishes this price. When it does, the mandate runs between CHF 2’400 and 4’800 a year. We charge four to seven times that: at 200 francs a month, nobody reads your accounts.
| What is compared | Market, CHF 2’400 to 4’800 / year | Pavillon, from CHF 18’000 / year |
|---|---|---|
| Review of the file | A form and a passport copy | In-depth review, right to decline |
| Meetings and minutes | One annual meeting signed remotely | Notices, meetings held, minutes drafted |
| AVS and VAT monitoring | None; you find out at year-end | Quarterly check of the statements |
| Mandates per director | Not disclosed, sometimes dozens | Twelve companies. Not thirteen. |
| Notice of termination | 30 days, or immediate resignation | 6 months |
The person who sits is named: Raphaël Quiblier, resident in Switzerland, more than 150 million francs of transactions.
Admissibility
Our refusals,
written in advance.
A provider who accepts everything protects no one.
Test my fileFormed to carry an address and a number, it needs a director only to pass a counter.
Decisions, staff and clients elsewhere, the seat reduced to letterhead: a reclassification awaiting its audit. Case law.
An opaque ownership chain, no individual named at the top. Without identification we can neither keep the register nor answer a bank.
Honesty
Three alternatives
to our mandate.
For some files they beat ours.
Hire a resident salaried officer
Clean, and real substance. But such an executive costs more than CHF 120’000 a year, and his departure puts you back in default.
Move to Switzerland yourself
The soundest answer: the lock falls away, effective management stops being a question. But it takes a real home and taxes paid here, and a third-country national meets the quotas.
Appoint someone close who lives in Switzerland
Free, immediate, formally compliant. But you hand unlimited liability (art. 754 CO) and joint AVS liability (art. 52 LAVS) to someone you care about.
A fourth route circulates and is not one: entering a resident who signs a liability waiver. No effect on third parties.
Questions
Six questions,
six clear answers.
Can I set up a Swiss company if I am not resident in Switzerland?
Yes, but not alone. A foreigner may hold 100 % of the capital. But art. 718 para. 4 CO (SA) and art. 814 para. 3 CO (Sàrl) require someone resident in Switzerland able to represent the company. Without one, the register refuses.
Why CHF 1’500 a month when the market quotes 2’400 to 4’800 francs a year?
Risk, not hours. He answers personally (art. 754 CO) and jointly and severally for AVS contributions (art. 52 LAVS). At 200 francs a month, nobody reads your accounts.
What does it cost to apply?
Nothing. The application is free and without obligation, and the interview is not invoiced.
Is a security deposit required?
No. No security deposit and no provision are required. The mandate fees are invoiced monthly in advance.
What signing authority does the resident director hold?
Settled in writing before the entry and published in the register. At a minimum, joint signature by two on the bank and the capital. We also refuse to be entered with no authority at all.
Are the Circle and the director mandate invoiced together?
They add up: the Circle at CHF 1’300 is the domiciliation, the mandate from CHF 1’500 a corporate office. Both together, from CHF 2’800 a month before the premium.
See also: registered office · The Circle · a Sàrl · fees · who signs · the method.
Application
We do not lend
a signature.
We sit.
Free application, an interview, a decision within five working days. Twelve companies: not thirteen.