How to Monitor a Swiss Company for Changes, Free
You pitched a company six months ago and want to know when the timing changes. A new board member, a capital increase, several new vacancies, or a trademark filing might give you a reason to look again. These events are public, but each source shows a different part of the story.
Here is what the free Swiss sources can monitor and which checks remain manual. It also shows when a paid tool becomes useful.
| Source | Best for | Automatic alert | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SHAB | Published register changes | No company-level alert | Requires repeated searches |
| Zefix | Current register record | No | Changes require manual comparison |
| Swissreg | Trademark, patent, and design publications | Saved-search email | Covers intellectual property only |
| Cantonal register | Register events within one canton | Varies by canton | Coverage and features differ |
| Moneyhouse | Consolidated register monitoring | Paid | Covers selected commercial signals |
Commercial-register monitoring: SHAB, Zefix, and cantonal options
The Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (shab.ch) publishes notices arising from commercial-register changes across Switzerland. These include new registrations, changes to registered people or capital, moves of registered office, and liquidations. SHAB is searchable. Company-level email alerts and feeds are unavailable.
A change may be published several days after it takes effect. Repeated manual checks add another delay, especially when the watchlist grows. A daily search is manageable for one important account. With ten companies, it is easy to lose track of what you checked and when.
Zefix is the federal search portal for the 26 cantonal commercial registers. It shows the company's current registered details and links to its historical SHAB publications. You must compare the record with your last visit and spot changes yourself, so Zefix works best for one-off checks.
Some cantonal register sites offer email notifications, but the feature varies by canton. Check the register for the company's registered office and confirm what the alert includes. A branch registered in another canton may need a separate check.
Swissreg: email alerts for intellectual-property publications
Swissreg publishes Swiss trademark, patent, and design information. Saved searches can send email notifications when a new publication matches the chosen criteria. This is useful for following filings by a company or watching activity in a product category.
The alert covers intellectual-property publications. Board appointments, capital changes, and moves of registered office still need a commercial-register source.
Moneyhouse
Moneyhouse combines commercial-register and management information in company profiles. Basic searches are free, while company-change alerts require a paid subscription. Its monitoring may suit a team focused on register mutations. Before subscribing, compare the current source coverage with the events you need to follow. Check separately how the plan handles financial statements.
Website edits, job postings, trademark filings, and product announcements require other sources.
When a manual setup is enough
For one company, a recurring SHAB search plus a Swissreg alert may be enough. Cantonal alerts can also work when the relevant register offers them. Moneyhouse is a practical option if register mutations are your main concern and its paid plan fits your budget.
Cross-source monitoring becomes useful once the list is large enough that checks get skipped, or when hiring and website changes matter as much as register events.
When cross-source monitoring helps
A capital increase may be routine. If the same company also starts hiring for a new team and publishes a new product page, the combination is worth investigating. Those events live in separate systems, so a manual watch needs a checklist for every company.
That can work for a handful of priority accounts. At 50 companies, missed checks become the main risk.
How Prospex monitoring works
A Prospex watch follows the commercial register, job postings, company websites, trademark publications, and news for the companies you select. It checks each source daily. When something changes, the update appears against that company, with enough context to decide whether it deserves follow-up.
Suppose a capital increase is followed by a Head of Sales vacancy. Seeing both on the same company record saves you from reconciling separate searches. The events may be related. The alert gives you a timely reason to check.
Prospex does not monitor annual accounts. If those filings are your priority, Moneyhouse may be a better fit.
Start by describing the Swiss companies you sell to and adding a few customers as examples. Prospex builds a market and explains why each company matches. Create a watch from that market to follow the current matches and companies found later.