Decide this rule before importing. It usually makes sense to keep your own verified details and not to treat missing import values as a deletion instruction. Test the field mapping on a copy and check your system’s preview.
Export
Before a real import, check how your application handles the export fields. The fictitious sample file helps you test separators, umlauts, accents and text columns such as the UID. CSV is the standard format; XLSX, JSON and different columns are agreed before delivery. A direct integration with a particular CRM is not promised.
File structure
Each row is one company, each column one item. The structure is the same for all industries, so you can merge several exports or load them into the same CRM template.
| Column in the CSV | Name | Content |
|---|---|---|
firmenname | Company name | name according to the commercial register or source, including the legal form suffix. |
rechtsform | Legal form | for example AG, GmbH, sole proprietorship, general partnership, cooperative, association, foundation or branch. |
uid | UID | business identification number in the format CHE-123.456.789 where available; empty for records without an assigned UID. |
mwst_nr | VAT number | UID with the suffix MWST, only if the company publishes it or the UID register shows it as VAT-registered. |
strasse | Street and number | business address according to the source (registered office or place of business). |
plz | Postcode | four-digit postcode, stored as text. |
ort | Town | locality of the business address. |
gemeinde | Municipality | political municipality with its FSO municipality number for a finer regional selection. |
kanton | Canton | canton abbreviation (ZH, BE, GE …), derived from the municipality; the main filter for regional selections. |
sprachregion | Language region | German, French, Italian or Romansh, derived from the municipality (FSO language areas). |
branche | Industry | assignment to one of the 22 industries of kontaktdatenbank.ch. |
noga_code | NOGA code | economic activity type according to NOGA 2008, where it can be derived from the source. |
telefon | Phone | publicly listed business number in international format (+41 …). |
sternvermerk | Asterisk marking | check against the asterisk marking currently not available; the column stays empty (not checked). Phone numbers are not intended for sales calls. |
email | publicly listed general business address, typically from the legal notice; for matching in your CRM, not for advertising emails without consent. | |
website | Website | address of the company website including the protocol. |
An empty field means the information was not available in the sources; we never fill it with an estimate. As of 4 November 2026, the records in the database do not yet have an industry or a NOGA code. UID, company name, legal form, registered office and address from the commercial register (Zefix) are only available for entities in the commercial register, not for places from Overture Maps without a match; for those, name, address and contact fields come from Overture Maps. The VAT number depends on the planned individual look-ups in the UID register. We do not currently offer a check against the asterisk marking; that column stays empty. The quotation states which fields your selection contains.
Import guide
plz, telefon, uid and mwst_nr in particular as text, so that dots, hyphens and spaces are kept.A large file may be of little use for your purpose if a field you need is often missing. Compare the agreed mandatory fields and the confirmed size of the selection. The page Database status explains what the published figures say and what they leave open.
Preview
The following rows are sample data. The companies in the table and in the sample file are entirely fictitious so that you can see the structure. UIDs and phone numbers are deliberately invalid, and the email addresses end with the reserved domain .example. This is neither a real extract nor a list of contacts to approach.
| Company name | Legal form | UID | Canton | Industry | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musterbau Brunner AG | AG | CHE-000.000.010 | ZH | Construction and finishing trades | +41 00 000 00 01 | info@musterbau-brunner.example |
| Elektro Beispiel GmbH | GmbH | CHE-000.000.029 | BE | Construction and finishing trades | +41 00 000 00 02 | info@elektro-beispiel.example |
| Treuhand Ahorn GmbH | GmbH | CHE-000.000.037 | LU | Fiduciary, consulting and business services | +41 00 000 00 05 | info@treuhand-ahorn.example |
| Präzisionsteile Weber SA | AG | CHE-000.000.045 | NE | Manufacturing and industry | – | – |
| Hotel Zum Fiktiven Steinbock | Sole proprietorship | – | GR | Hospitality and tourism | +41 00 000 00 15 | info@hotel-fiktiver-steinbock.example |
| Transporte Weitblick AG | AG | CHE-000.000.053 | AG | Transport and logistics | – | info@transporte-weitblick.example |
| Softwarehaus Codewerk GmbH | GmbH | CHE-000.000.061 | ZG | IT, software and technology | +41 00 000 00 22 | info@codewerk-software.example |
| Garage Beispielmotor AG | AG | CHE-000.000.070 | SG | Motor trade and garages | +41 00 000 00 29 | info@beispielmotor.example |
In a real export every row contains all sixteen columns where the information is available. The sample file itself uses German column values.
Technical details
The standard format is CSV in UTF-8 with BOM, semicolons as separators and CRLF line endings. Excel and LibreOffice Calc open this combination without character errors if you use the CSV import.
UTF-8 with BOM, semicolon, header row with the column names
ready-made Excel workbook; very large selections are split across several sheets or files
for direct import into your own applications
name the fields you need
You receive the file by email as a download link. Other ways of handover or regular deliveries are agreed individually.
Price
Exporting a whole industry costs CHF 219 to CHF 439 depending on the industry. Selections by canton, municipality or your own filters are quoted on request. All prices are final prices. Prices per industry are under Prices.
FAQ
Decide this rule before importing. It usually makes sense to keep your own verified details and not to treat missing import values as a deletion instruction. Test the field mapping on a copy and check your system’s preview.
An identical or similar name alone is not enough. Use the UID as the key and additional address information. Missing or contradictory identifiers require a separate check; unregistered sole proprietorships often have no UID.
Do not open the file by double-clicking, otherwise Excel may display umlauts and accents incorrectly and reformat the UID as a number.
In an empty workbook choose Data › From Text/CSV, set the file origin to Unicode (UTF-8) and the delimiter to semicolon. Set the columns postcode, UID and phone to text and confirm with Load. In LibreOffice Calc the import dialogue opens automatically.
We deliver CSV in UTF-8 with BOM, semicolons as separators and CRLF line endings. Excel and LibreOffice recognise this combination reliably. If your application expects commas or tabs, we prepare the file accordingly.
Exports are compiled per request; we state the reference date with every quotation. The creation date of an export is not the check date of every single contact.
We do not promise a fixed update interval for all sources. Details are on the page Data sources and methodology.
Yes. By default we deliver all sixteen columns; on request you receive a file with only the fields you need for importing into your CRM. Records without a phone number or website can also be excluded.
It is intended for the result of a check against the asterisk marking in the telephone directory. We do not currently offer such a check; the column stays empty (not checked), and the phone numbers are not intended for sales calls. Sales calls are only allowed to numbers without an asterisk; you may not call numbers with an asterisk or without a directory entry for advertising (Art. 3 para. 1 let. u UWG).
Not without the recipients’ prior consent. In Switzerland, mass advertising by email without consent is unfair competition, also towards businesses (Art. 3 para. 1 let. o UWG). The email column serves matching and maintaining business contacts, for example in a CRM, not sending advertising.
We state the size after filters, price, reference date and delivery date before you order.