How saldiaTools Came to Be – From a Favour Among Friends

Honestly, none of my products has ever started with a business plan, a market analysis or a slide with the word «scaling» on it. I don't need that kind of fluff – I'm a doer. If something pops into my head, I just build it. And that's exactly how saldiaTools came about too: with a glass of Appenzeller at our legendary saldia regulars' table – that apéro where the best ideas show up between the second and third sip anyway. I love telling this story, because it shows pretty much exactly how we tick at saldia: listen, roll up your sleeves, done.

The real spark: «I'm supposed to pay that much for this?»

The one who got the ball rolling was a friend who runs his own small business. He had a concrete, annoying problem in his daily work – and the only software that would have solved it was outrageously overpriced. «I'm supposed to pay that much just so one tool takes this one task off my hands?», he asked the table. And right then came the sentence we at saldia love to hear far too much: «You build software, right – couldn't you just make me a little, smart tool for it?»

The nice thing about an apéro is that sentences like that don't just fade away. By the time the glass was empty, it was settled: we'd build him something lean that solves exactly his problem – without the fat price tag of the competition.

Next at the table: «It's only about the electricity bill»

The idea had barely been spoken when the next one chimed in – a friend who rents out a few flats. For him it wasn't about a big utility-cost statement at all, but something far more mundane: every three months, splitting the electricity bill cleanly across his tenants. «It's only about the electricity bill», he said, «and yet every quarter I'm sitting there with a calculator.»

So we built him a small tool that does exactly one thing really well: upload an invoice, and the AI automatically reads out the provider, amount, period and meter readings, and distributes the cost cleanly across the tenants. At the end, a finished PDF statement comes out. His quarterly drama turned into a few clicks.

And then came the next one. And the one after that.

What began as two apéro ideas got around – that's how it works in a country where everyone knows everyone within two degrees. Suddenly the phone wouldn't stop ringing:

• The friend from the apéro – the same one who got the ball rolling in the first place – kept receiving ELDA/DAT files and had to pull them apart by hand to build quotes in bexio. He wanted a bridge between that electronic data delivery and his accounting – not a duct-tape solution, and above all not the overpriced program from the start.
• The operator with all those members no longer wanted to juggle his members, subscriptions and payments across three different lists – including a customer portal and those automatic confirmations that made his life hard every January.
• The fiduciary, who is out working across all his client mandates, needed time tracking that doesn't taste like corporate software: per mandate, pick a client and project and start a live timer – and at the end of the month export it cleanly as an invoice to bexio or CashCtrl.

Every time, the same pattern: not some grand pain-point chart, but one concrete, recurring task that's a nuisance in everyday business – and often a standard software that would have been far too expensive for it. And every time, the same answer from us: «Sure, let's build a lean tool for that.»

The moment the tools became a platform

At some point four of these little helpers were on the table – and we realised they had more in common than we'd first noticed. They all wanted Swiss data hosting. They all needed to be multi-tenant, so a property manager or a club's board could serve several clients cleanly separated. And wherever money actually changed hands – for example with the member subscriptions – saldiaPay was right there as a Swiss payment solution with TWINT, cards and QR invoice. Not every tool needed it, but whoever wanted it could connect it without a detour.

Instead of maintaining four island solutions, we put them under one shared roof. One platform, four specialised apps – each as focused as on day one, but with the same solid foundation underneath. That's how saldiaTools came about: not as a vision from above, but grown from below, one real use case after another.

What's in saldiaTools today

Four apps, one platform, all with Swiss data hosting – and saldiaPay wherever payments are actually needed:

• Billing for landlords – utility-cost statements with AI invoice recognition, automatic categorisation, tenant and meter management, and ready-to-send PDF statements.
• Member management – a complete solution for studios, associations and clubs: members, subscriptions, payments, customer portal and automatic confirmations.
• Time tracking – time tracking with clients, projects and a live timer, including export to bexio and CashCtrl as an invoice.
• ELDA / DAT bexio import – read in ELDA files and create quotes directly in bexio, the bridge between data delivery and accounting.

Four tasks that at first glance have nothing to do with each other – and yet deliver the same promise: turning an annoying, recurring duty from hours into minutes.

And that's how it keeps growing

The nice thing about this origin story is that it never really stopped. Even today, the best «roadmap feedback» doesn't come from a strategy workshop, but from a conversation that starts with «You know, I've got this thing …». That's exactly how we pick the next tools: which task keeps coming up? Where do smart people waste their time typing, copying and maintaining lists?

So here's the thing: if something here reminded you of your own day at the office – whether one of the four apps or some completely different task that keeps bugging you – that's no coincidence, it's a genuine invitation. And I mean that.

And now let me put it the way I actually like it: just come by our saldia regulars' table and have an Appenzeller with me. I mean it – sit down next to me, tell me about your problem over an apéro, and we'll spin the idea further together. Because I'm the kind of guy who'd much rather talk these things through person to person, glass in hand and a proper handshake – and definitely not over some sterile video call or other digital nonsense. The best tools are born over a drink and a good chat, not in a Google Meet or Teams call – that was already true for saldiaTools.

If it really can't wait until the next round, drop us a quick line in the meantime via the contact form – but the real conversation, we'll have over an Appenzeller. Looking forward to meeting you. See you soon, Bidu.

P.S. Want to know what we built this website – and pretty much everything else – with? Scroll all the way down to the footer. It says «Made in Switzerland, with …». Hover over the little graphic there and give it a click. Cheers! 🥃

The whole story as a comic

Because a story like this is best told in pictures, we had it captured as a comic – from the first Appenzeller to the finished platform:

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

How did saldiaTools come about?

Not on a drawing board, but at our saldia regulars' table: a friend who runs his own small business would have had to buy outrageously overpriced software for his problem – so we built him a lean, smart tool instead. At the same apéro the next ideas came up: a simple way to split electricity costs for a landlord, member management for an organisation with many members, time tracking. We built each of these small tools and realised they belonged together – that's how separate solutions became one platform.

Which apps are in saldiaTools today?

Four: billing for landlords with AI invoice recognition, member management for studios, associations and clubs, time tracking with clients, projects and a live timer, and the ELDA/DAT import into bexio. They all run multi-tenant in one platform with Swiss data hosting; saldiaPay can be connected wherever payments arise.

Who is saldiaTools for?

For Swiss SMEs, associations and freelancers who want to handle one specific, recurring task smartly, without rolling out a big ERP. If you recognise yourself in one of the four areas – renting out, managing members, tracking time, processing ELDA – you're in the right place.

Can I suggest my own tool for my daily business?

Yes, absolutely. That very path created saldiaTools. If you have a recurring task that costs you time and for which there's no fitting tool, reach out via the contact form. We'll look together at whether it can become a lean tool – on its own or as a new building block in the platform.

What does saldiaTools cost?

saldiaTools is offered as an individual solution with pricing on request, because each app covers a different use case. In a short conversation we clarify your needs and put together a fitting package – the easiest way is via the contact form. Prices may change.