TILL as a CashCtrl alternative: local and open source

CashCtrl’s FREE plan already covers the books, QR invoices and the VAT report at no cost, for one user and one organisation, in the cloud. TILL is an alternative if you want the books on your own computer, under an open-source licence, with an AI agent through MCP and no limit on users or companies. TILL is a public beta.

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In what respect TILL is an alternative

As of 28 October 2026, CashCtrl details from cashctrl.com

Both are Swiss accounting software with a free way in. CashCtrl FREE is limited to one user and one organisation. More users, quotes and dunning, camt import, payroll and the API belong to PRO.

TILL has no plans: everything the beta does is free under the MIT licence, for any number of companies. The books sit in one SQLite file on your computer rather than on CashCtrl’s servers in Switzerland.

TILL writes the MWST return as an eCH-0217 file for the ESTV ePortal. For CashCtrl we could not confirm such a file; CashCtrl’s roadmap lists one.

TILL and CashCtrl side by side

TILL and CashCtrl, as of 28 October 2026. Every cell links its source.
What is compared	TILL	CashCtrl
The basics
Licence	MIT Source	Proprietary Source
Where it runs	Your Mac or Linux computer, or a server you run Note There is no Windows app and no mobile app; TILL is not tested on Windows. On the capabilities page	Vendor cloud Source
Where the data is stored, as the vendor states it	One SQLite file on your computer On the capabilities page	Switzerland Note Its terms of service say the servers are exclusively in Switzerland. Source
Price
Free tier and its limit	YesFree, no limit Note MIT licence: no limit on users, companies or bookings, and no subscription. Source	YesFREE: 1 user, 1 organisation Source
Cheapest plan with the MWST returnList price, as the vendor states the VAT basis and billing period	CHF 0, no plan Note There is no subscription. TILL prepares the return from the postings and writes the eCH-0217 file; you upload it in the ESTV ePortal yourself. On the capabilities page	FREE, CHF 0 Note The FREE plan includes VAT booking with a tax report, whose figures you transfer to the ESTV form. An eCH-0217 file is not confirmed. Source
Swiss obligations
Issues QR-bills	YesWith structured addresses On the capabilities page	YesAlso on FREE Source
MWST return as an eCH-0217 fileThe format the ESTV ePortal accepts for upload	YesEffective and Saldo Note Version 2.0.0. The beta computes on agreed consideration (vereinbarte Entgelte) only, and you upload and file the return in the ESTV ePortal yourself. On the capabilities page	Not confirmed Note CashCtrl's roadmap lists an E-MWST XML file; we could not confirm that it has shipped. Source
Swissdec-certified payroll	NoA hand-off Note TILL exports your employee data for your payroll provider and books the wage journal you bring back. Pay slips, AHV and Swissdec filings stay with the provider. On the capabilities page	Not confirmed Note Payroll is part of PRO; we could not confirm a Swissdec certification. Source
Bank and payments
Imports camt.053/054 statements	Partlycamt.053 Note camt.054 notifications are not read; import the day-end camt.053. On the capabilities page	Yescamt.052, .053, .054 Plan: PRO Source
Writes pain.001 payment files	Yes On the capabilities page	PartlyFor salaries Plan: PRO Note Payroll pays salaries with a pain.001 file. A pain.001 run for supplier bills was not confirmed. Source
Direct bank connection	NoNot in the beta Note The EBICS client is built, but the module that connects it to your bank ships later. Until then you import camt.053 files from your eBanking. On the capabilities page	Not confirmed
Sends eBills	NoNot in the beta Note TILL packages an invoice as an eBill, but sending it is not in the beta. On the capabilities page	Not confirmed
Openness and agents
Public API	YesMCP, and a local REST twin of every verb On the capabilities page	YesREST Plan: PRO Source
Official MCP server for AI agentsMade by the vendor itself, not a community project	YesRead and write Note By default, your agent waits for your OK before it books anything, moves your money, grants access or deletes your data for good. On the capabilities page	None found Note A community server uses the CashCtrl API; we found none published by CashCtrl. Source
Full data export without a subscription	YesThere is no subscription Note A whole company exports in an open, documented format, and the books are a file you hold. On the capabilities page	PartlyExports on the FREE plan Note The FREE plan exports to PDF, Excel and CSV; a complete export of all data was not confirmed. Source
Beyond the books
Inventory, projects and time, CRM, fixed assets, multi-currency	YesAll five Note Inventory with lots, projects and time, a sales pipeline, fixed assets with depreciation, and multi-currency. On the capabilities page	PartlyFixed assets, stock items, multi-currency Note Multi-currency needs PRO. We found no projects or time tracking. Source

Key:YesPartlyNoNone found(we looked in what the vendor publishes, on the date read, and found none)Not confirmed(we could not confirm it from a vendor source)

When CashCtrl is the better choice

As of 28 October 2026

When you want nothing to install and the vendor to run the service and take the backups.

When you need payroll in the same program: CashCtrl PRO has a payroll module, and TILL hands payroll to your payroll provider.

When you need a finished product today without a parallel run. TILL is a public beta.

Switching

TILL has no ready-made preset for CashCtrl. Its migration reads Excel and CSV files, you map columns, accounts and tax codes in a step you confirm, and everything loads into a trial company first. Keep your current program running until the figures match.

What TILL does not do yet

TILL is a public beta. These are its limits today, in the same words on every page:

No payroll of its own. TILL exports your employee data for your payroll provider and books the wage journal you bring back.
No MWST filing from TILL. It writes the eCH-0217 file, and you upload it in the ESTV ePortal.
No MWST on received consideration (vereinnahmte Entgelte): TILL computes the return on agreed consideration only.
No email sending yet. TILL makes the PDF of an invoice, quote or reminder, and you send it from your own mail program.
German (de-CH) and English only. No French or Italian yet.
Runs on macOS and Linux; Windows is not supported (we do not test on it), and there is no mobile app.
No direct bank connection in the beta. You import camt.053 statements from your eBanking.
On your own computer, backups run when you start them, not on a schedule.
Several people in one book only on a server you host yourself. The local app is for one computer.
No eBill sending, no e-signature and no online customer portal.

TILL is an independent project. It is not derived from CashCtrl, and it is not affiliated with its vendor.

Try it

TILL is free, with no account and no subscription. Keep your current program running until the figures match.

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About this comparison

Every statement about another product on this page rests on what its vendor publishes (website, price list, documentation or source code), read on the date shown with it. Where we could not confirm a point from such a source, the table says “Not confirmed”. Prices are published list prices, with the VAT basis and billing period the vendor states, and without promotions. Products and prices change, so check with the vendor before you decide.

If something here is wrong or out of date, write to hello@tillbooks.ch with the subject “Comparison correction”. We check every report and correct confirmed errors within 5 working days, with the date of the change.

This page is published by Nomadik GmbH, which builds TILL, so it is not neutral. TILL is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any vendor named here.

bexio, Banana, CashCtrl, AbaNinja, Abacus, Klara, Infinity, Run my Accounts, Odoo, ERPNext, Frappe, erpnextswiss, GnuCash, Manager.io, Gäld, Infoniqa, Swiss21.org, DeepCloud, 21.AbaSalary, libracore, Swissdec, bLink, QuickBooks, Intuit, Lexoffice, sevDesk and DATEV are trademarks or registered trademarks of their owners and are used here only to name their products.