CV Commercial Clerk: Example and Template
This is what a convincing CV as a Commercial Clerk looks like - with figures from accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and inside sales instead of general phrases.
Currently 83 open Commercial Clerk positions in Switzerland, across 14 cantons, 13 of them from the last 7 days. Apleona Switzerland advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
What qualification do I need as a Commercial Clerk - and how do I present it in my CV?
The standard qualification is the Federal VET Diploma (EFZ) as Commercial Clerk, complemented by sector, profile and further training such as edupool.ch or a Diploma in Commerce.
Write the qualification exactly as it appears on the certificate: 'Commercial Clerk EFZ, Profile E' or 'Profile M with Vocational Baccalaureate in Business'. Always state the training sector, because HR staff read your prior knowledge from it: Service and Administration, Banking, Insurance, Fiduciary/Real Estate, Trade, Public Administration or Transport. A Commercial Clerk from the Banking sector brings different fundamentals than one from the Trade sector - this information belongs in the first line of your education section, not in an appendix.
Further training is your most important differentiator, because the EFZ is awarded thousands of times each year. State specifically what you have completed: Accounting Specialist or HR Specialist edupool.ch, Diploma in Commerce VSH, HR Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education, Financial and Accounting Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education, Executive Assistant with Federal Diploma of Higher Education, or Technical Commercial Clerk. Ongoing training may be listed with the planned exam date, for example 'Federal Diploma HR Specialist, exam autumn 2025'.
If you learned the commercial profession through another route - such as a business school, adult education under Art. 32 VPETO, or a foreign diploma - state this transparently and, for foreign qualifications, add the recognition status with SERI (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation). Equally important: permit status or citizenship in the contact details, since commercial positions at SMEs are often checked without further inquiry.
How do I structure my professional experience as a Commercial Clerk convincingly?
Organise each position by area of responsibility, volume and system - i.e. how many documents, which software, what level of closing.
The most common mistake is a list like 'correspondence, telephone, filing'. This says nothing about what you actually are responsible for. Instead, quantify: number of accounts receivable and accounts payable documents per month, number of payroll statements, number of mandates managed, number of orders in inside sales, amount of overdue items you reduced. Also state where your responsibility ends - for example 'closing through to trial balance, annual financial statements by fiduciary' or 'VAT settlement independently, approval by Head of Finance'.
Name the systems explicitly, because job postings for commercial positions filter specifically for them. Abacus, SAP, Bexio, Sage 50, Sesam, Navision or an industry-specific ERP often determine whether you get invited to an interview. Add the professional standards you are proficient in: QR-bill, eBill, ISO 20022 with camt.053 and camt.054, Swissdec payroll standard ELM, customs declaration via e-dec or Passar, dunning process up to debt collection request under the SchKG.
Add a short context line to each position with sector, company size and revenue. A Commercial Clerk who does everything alone at a company with 12 employees has a different profile than a specialist at a corporation with a shared service centre - HR staff need to be able to classify this at a glance. Explain gaps of more than three months factually in one line, such as maternity leave, language stay, or full-time further training.
How long should the CV be, and does it need a photo?
Two pages is the standard; a professional portrait photo is still customary in Switzerland and is usually expected for commercial positions.
Keep to two A4 pages. Entry-level candidates right after the EFZ do well with one page; from around eight years of experience, two pages is appropriate. The last two to three positions should each get four to five bullet points; summarise older positions in one line. Include your apprenticeship employer, gap years and temporary assignments, but keep them concise - an unbroken chronology is more important in Switzerland than every detail.
A professional photo in business attire with a neutral background belongs at the top right or left next to the contact details. Add your place of residence, citizenship or permit type, year of birth; marital status is optional. Also state your earliest starting date and desired workload, since 60, 80 and 100 percent positions are advertised in a mixed way in the commercial field, and the notice period is a scheduling factor.
Expect to be asked about salary. Commercial positions typically range between CHF 62'000 and CHF 85'000 at 100 percent, depending on region, sector and responsibility, and can be higher in finance or fiduciary roles with a federal diploma. Do not state a salary figure in the CV, but have a well-reasoned range ready for the interview. Also submit reference letters and diplomas as a separate PDF, and name the file following the pattern 'CV_Zbinden_Ramona.pdf'.
Where Commercial Clerk are hired in Switzerland
How the 83 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Bern | 5 |
| Graubünden | 5 |
| St. Gallen | 5 |
| Luzern | 4 |
| Aargau | 3 |
| Zürich | 2 |
| Zug | 2 |
| Thurgau | 2 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 76 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 76 (75) |
| English | 19 (1) |
| French | 15 (1) |
| Mathematics | 1 (0) |
Who hires Commercial Clerk in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Apleona Switzerland | 5 |
| Wincasa | 3 |
| Graubündner Kantonalbank | 3 |
| Kanton Basel-Landschaft | 2 |
| Endress+Hauser Group | 2 |
| Welti-Furrer AG - Pneukran & Spezialtransporte | 2 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 78 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 1 |
| Temporär | 1 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Ramona Zbinden
Commercial Clerk EFZ (Service & Administration sector) with Accounting Specialist edupool.ch
Commercial Clerk EFZ with eight years of experience in finance and accounting, order processing and HR administration at SMEs with 40 to 120 employees. I independently manage accounts receivable and accounts payable through to VAT settlement (effective method) and prepare monthly and annual financial statements for the fiduciary office. My strength is combining accurate numbers work with direct customer and supplier contact in German, French and English.
What sets me apart
Closing through to VAT settlement: I prepare the quarterly VAT settlement using the effective method, including input tax corrections and acquisition tax, and deliver a reconciled account sheet to the fiduciary - external effort for the annual financial statements dropped from 22 to 14 hours.
Dunning process with debt collection experience: Three-stage dunning process including payment order via the debt collection office under the SchKG (Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act); I reduced overdue items over 90 days from CHF 240'000 to CHF 76'000.
Payroll and social insurance under control: Monthly payroll runs for 95 employees including withholding tax, child allowances, BVG (occupational pension) changes and year-end work using the Swissdec payroll standard (ELM) for AHV, SUVA and tax offices.
Order processing with export exposure: Inside sales for 300 orders per month including customs declarations via e-dec, certificates of origin and Incoterms clarification with freight forwarders in Germany, France and Italy.
Key achievements
Digitalised accounts payable workflow. Introduced the digital invoice approval workflow in Abacus for 4'200 accounts payable documents per year; reduced processing time from 11 to 3 days and secured cash discount income of CHF 18'000 per year.
Introduced QR-bill and eBill. Switched from payment slip to QR-bill and eBill for 620 customers; automatic posting via camt.054 increased the payment matching rate to 94 percent and saved 6 hours per week.
Apprentice supervision and cost control. As a training officer, supervised two commercial apprentices (Service & Administration sector) through their final exams, both achieving a grade of 5.0 or higher; in parallel, reduced office supplies and telephony costs by CHF 12'400 per year through supplier comparison.
Experience
Finance and HR Administration Specialist — Lindtal Haustechnik AG, Olten, 03/2021 - present
SME in the building technology sector, 120 employees, revenue of around CHF 34 million, Abacus as ERP, closing with external fiduciary.
- Independently managed accounts receivable and accounts payable with 1'800 outgoing and 4'200 incoming invoices per year, reconciled monthly
- VAT settlement for 4 quarters with no correction request from the FTA (Federal Tax Administration); monthly closing delivered by working day 5 each time
- Payroll processing for 95 employees including 210 hourly wage statements per year as well as sick pay and accident reports to SUVA
- Reduced overdue items over 90 days from CHF 240'000 to CHF 76'000 and progressed 9 cases to payment order
Commercial Clerk, Inside Sales and Administration — Novaris Textil GmbH, Zofingen, 08/2018 - 02/2021
Trading company with exports to the EU, 40 employees, SAP S/4HANA SD module, customer base of 620 specialist retailers.
- Processed 300 customer orders per month from quotation to invoice, with an error rate below 1 percent
- Prepared 180 customs declarations per year via e-dec and certificates of origin, with no objections from customs authorities
- Shortened quotation processing time from 48 to 8 hours through templates and price lists in the CRM
- Handled complaint processing for 140 cases per year; reduced refunds by 22 percent
Commercial Clerk EFZ - Apprenticeship and first position — Treuhand Bärenmatt AG, Aarau, 08/2015 - 07/2018
Fiduciary office with 14 employees, mandates ranging from sole proprietorships to SMEs with 50 employees, Service and Administration sector.
- Managed bookkeeping for 25 small mandates in Bexio and Sage 50, including net tax rate settlements
- Recorded 600 payroll statements per year and prepared annual wage reports for AHV and the family allowance fund
- Managed reception and switchboard with around 60 calls per day, scheduling appointments for 3 mandate managers
- Completed final apprenticeship examination with an overall grade of 5.3 and Vocational Baccalaureate in Business, part-time
Education
Accounting Specialist edupool.ch, Finance and Accounting — KV Bildungsgruppe Mittelland · 2020
Commercial Clerk EFZ, Profile E, Service and Administration sector — Berufsfachschule Aarau · 2018
Vocational Baccalaureate in Business, Business and Services — Berufsfachschule Aarau · 2018
Certificate in HR Administration (HR Specialist, in training until 2025) · Trainer course for training companies (40 lessons), Canton of Solothurn 2022 · Swissdec payroll standard training, Abacus Payroll 2023 · Cambridge English B2 First 2019