For business families
Software for business families
Updated: · Leutrim Miftaraj, FLIORE · Editorial standards · Other languages: Deutsch · Français · Español
Short answer
In business families, most of the wealth is often tied up in the family business, alongside a holding, real estate, private wealth and foundations. Software for business families must bring these parts together in an overall view and at the same time keep them cleanly separated: company data stays in the company, family wealth in the family office. Governance, liquidity for inheritance taxes and preparing succession are added to this.
The particular starting point
For business families, the company is identity, source of income and concentration risk at the same time. Distributions finance living costs, the holding company holds participations and real estate, a foundation secures continuity. Decisions in the company have a direct effect on the family's wealth – and conversely, succession planning requires clarity about values, liquidity and rights.
What the software must do
- A structure with the company, holding, foundation and private persons, including percentages and roles.
- Total wealth with look-through, with the company included at a traceable valuation.
- A clear separation of company and family data, with rights of their own.
- Liquidity planning for taxes, distributions and succession.
- Documents on articles of association, shareholders' agreements, wills and marriage contracts.
- Deadlines for general meetings, resolutions and powers of attorney.
Preparing succession
Transferring the business is, for many families, the most important financial decision of a generation. Tax relief for business assets exists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in different forms and often depends on holding periods or payroll requirements. An up-to-date overall view of values, participations and liquidity is the prerequisite for advisers to calculate robust scenarios.
Governance between family and business
The family council, the shareholders' meeting and the board of directors or advisory board have different roles. Software helps by giving each body the information that suits it: the family council sees the total wealth, the company only what concerns it. Passive shareholders in particular value clear, regular information.
Typical mistakes
Private expenses run through the company, unclear loans between the family and the firm, no valuation of the participation, succession arrangements that do not match the articles of association and the will, and a family that only learns how its wealth is structured when a death occurs.
In FLIORE
FLIORE links persons, holding, company and foundations through participations with percentages, consolidates wealth through the structures and keeps documents, deadlines and powers of attorney per mandate. Separate organisations and roles keep family and company data apart.
At a glance
| Core problem | The company as the most valuable and least liquid asset |
|---|---|
| Requirement | Overall view and clean separation at the same time |
| Focus | Succession, liquidity, governance |
Frequently asked questions
Does the family business belong in the wealth overview?
Yes, with a traceable valuation. Without the company, any statement about allocation, risk and succession is incomplete.
How often should the company be valued?
For the ongoing overview, an annual valuation is sufficient; before succession steps or transactions, a current, often external valuation is needed.
Who sees the company data?
Only those who need it. Family members without a role in the company usually see aggregated values, not business details.
Does the software replace the company's accounting?
No. The accounting stays in the company. The family office software shows the participation within the total wealth and links it with structure, documents and succession.
How are the company's distributions planned?
With a distribution policy that takes into account the family's needs, the company's investments and taxes. Liquidity planning for the family shows which distributions are needed so that the company is not burdened for private purposes.
Sources
- German Inheritance and Gift Tax Act (ErbStG), sections 13a, 13b – relieved assets
- Governance Code for Family Businesses
- Swiss SME portal of the Confederation – business succession
This page provides orientation and does not replace legal or tax advice. The cited legal sources in their applicable version are authoritative.
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