TILL as a Klara alternative: open source instead of a subscription

Klara brings accounting, payroll, invoicing and sales together in one Swiss cloud and has its own MCP server. TILL is an alternative if you want the software open source and the books in one file on your own computer rather than in a subscription. TILL is a public beta and has no payroll of its own.

Get TILL, free See everything TILL does

In what respect TILL is an alternative

As of 28 October 2026, Klara details from klara.ch

Both keep the books of a Swiss SME, with QR invoices, projects and time tracking, and both can be driven by an AI agent through an official MCP server. With KLARA MCP, a write only prepares a change, and you approve it in the browser. With TILL: By default, your agent waits for your OK before it books anything, moves your money, grants access or deletes your data for good.

The difference is the model. Klara is a subscription: Business Basic is listed by Klara at CHF 55 a month billed yearly, excl. MWST, and payroll is charged per pay slip. TILL is free under the MIT licence, runs on your computer and keeps the books in a file that belongs to you.

TILL and Klara side by side

TILL and Klara, as of 28 October 2026. Every cell links its source.
What is compared	TILL	Klara
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	Not confirmed
Price
Free tier and its limit	YesFree, no limit Note MIT licence: no limit on users, companies or bookings, and no subscription. Source	NoNo free plan found 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	Business Basic, CHF 55 a month billed yearly (CHF 69 monthly), excl. MWST Note KLARA's own comparison page says all accounting features, VAT reporting included, are in Business Basic. KLARA states its prices excl. VAT. Source
Swiss obligations
Issues QR-bills	YesWith structured addresses On the capabilities page	Yes 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 A KLARA article describes downloading an XML file for the ESTV portal; we could not confirm the eCH-0217 version. 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	YesELM 5.3 Note Listed by Swissdec. 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.053 upload Source
Writes pain.001 payment files	Yes On the capabilities page	Not confirmed
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	YesWith some banks Source
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	Yes Note eBill is one of the delivery channels in KLARA's API documentation. Source
Openness and agents
Public API	YesMCP, and a local REST twin of every verb On the capabilities page	YesREST 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	YesRead and write Note KLARA MCP: a write only prepares a change, and you approve it in the browser. 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	Not confirmed
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	PartlyInventory, projects and time, CRM 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 Klara is the better choice

As of 28 October 2026

When you want to run payroll in the same program. Klara is listed by Swissdec for ELM 5.3; TILL hands payroll to your payroll provider.

When invoices should go out as eBills or your bank should be connected directly. The TILL beta does neither yet.

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

Switching

TILL does not read Klara’s exports directly yet. 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 Klara, 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.

Get TILL, free See everything TILL does

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.