Schoch alternative · Messerli alternative

An alternative to Schoch and Messerli?

Schoch, Messerli and elektro.box compared: what each program does according to its own website, where it runs and what it costs — with no guesses about the others. Whether elektro.box is the right alternative for your business takes five minutes to see.

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At a glance6.10.2026
  • In the browser, no installationSchoch: Announced, on request or in preparationon requestMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
  • App for the site, offline tooSchoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
  • NPK, ELDAS and VSASSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Announced, on request or in preparation
  • AI features, available todaySchoch: Availableroute calculationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
  • Financial accounting and payrollSchoch: Availablevia INFONIQAMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
  • Price on the websiteSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available

As of 6 October 2026 · sources at the foot of the page

Feature overview

What each program does, according to its own website

Six areas, thirty-three features. A tick for Schoch or Messerli means the vendor names it on its website. The sources are at the foot of the page.

  • Available
  • Announced, on request or in preparation
  • No information

A dash for Schoch or Messerli only means their website says nothing about it — not that it is missing. If in doubt, ask the vendor.

QuestionSchochMesserlielektro.box
Quotes and calculation
Quote, invoice and RapportSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Steiger calculationSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
NPK and SIA 451Schoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Announced, on request or in preparation
ELDASSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Announced, on request or in preparation
VSASSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Announced, on request or in preparation
Supplier and wholesaler termsSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Quantities from the CAD modelSchoch: No informationMesserli: AvailableBIM2NPKelektro.box: No information
Artificial intelligence
Automatic route calculationSchoch: Availablewith AIMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Availablewithout AI
Voice input with AISchoch: Announced, on request or in preparationannounced for 2027Messerli: No informationelektro.box: No information
AI features in the quoteSchoch: Announced, on request or in preparationannounced for 2026/27Messerli: No informationelektro.box: Available
An email becomes an OrderSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Delivery note, tender and fuse box read from a photoSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Supplier invoices read and codedSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Assistant that carries out tasksSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
On site
App for RapporteSchoch: AvailableSchochSERVICE mobileMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Works offlineSchoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Customer signature on siteSchoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Photos on the RapportSchoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Time trackingSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Appointments and dispatchSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Certificates
Safety certificate (SiNa)Schoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Measurement and test recordSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
SiNa emailed to the grid operatorSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Inspection periods under the NIVSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Finance and payroll
Job costingSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Electronic supplier invoicesSchoch: AvailableMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
Financial accountingSchoch: Availablevia INFONIQAMesserli: Availableelektro.box: Available
PayrollSchoch: Availablevia INFONIQAMesserli: AvailableSwissdec-certifiedelektro.box: Available
Interface to bexioSchoch: Announced, on request or in preparationannouncedMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Operation and price
In the browser, no installationSchoch: Announced, on request or in preparationon requestMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Hosted, no server of your ownSchoch: Availablee.g. AzureMesserli: Availablein a data centreelektro.box: Available
Updates at no extra costSchoch: AvailableMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available
Price on the websiteSchoch: No informationMesserli: No informationelektro.box: Available

Side by side

Nine questions, three answers

What is said about Schoch and Messerli comes from their own websites. Where a website says nothing on a question, the cell says so.

Who it is for

Schoch

Electrical software for installers, electrical planners, municipal utilities and power companies.

Messerli

Software for the construction industry, with its own solution for electrical planners and installers.

elektro.box

Business software for electrical contractors, from the first call to the paid invoice.

Where the software runs

Schoch

Installed: locally, on a network, on a terminal server, Citrix or Microsoft Azure. Schoch offers a browser-based cloud solution on request.

Messerli

Installed, or hosted in a data centre and reached over the internet.

elektro.box

In the browser, with no installation and no server of your own. The data is kept in Switzerland and the EU.

On the move and on site

Schoch

SchochSERVICE mobile: an app for service Rapporte, online or offline, with the customer's signature and photos.

Messerli

The page for electrical installers shows a video titled «Arbeiten Sie unterwegs» (work on the move); it gives no details.

elektro.box

The same software on the phone. Without reception, work carries on and syncs later.

Calculation data

Schoch

Steiger, NPK, Eldas and VSAS, plus the firm's own articles and supplier terms.

Messerli

NPK from EIT.swiss, Steiger, VSAS, ELDAS, IGH and own catalogues. BIM2NPK takes components from the CAD model.

elektro.box

Steiger and wholesaler prices on your own terms. NPK, ELDAS and VSAS are in preparation.

Safety certificate and measurement record

Schoch

Safety certificate (SiNa) and measurement and test record in the service Rapport module and in the app.

Messerli

Measurement and test records as a document type of their own.

elektro.box

SiNa on the VSE 2018 form as PDF/A, emailed to the grid operator; measurement record as PDF, readings per circuit.

Accounting and payroll

Schoch

Sales partner of INFONIQA, with interfaces to other accounting packages. An interface to Bexio is announced for 2026.

Messerli

Its own financial accounting; payroll tested and certified by Swissdec.

elektro.box

General ledger built in, or hand-over to bexio and Abacus. Payroll run with withholding tax, salary certificate and AHV declaration.

Price

Schoch

Modules can be bought one at a time. According to Schoch, no maintenance or support fees and free updates. No prices on the website.

Messerli

No prices on the website.

elektro.box

CHF 100 per seat per month, every feature included. Apprentices free, 20-day trial without a card.

Vendor

Schoch

Schoch Informatik Hinwil AG, Hinwil. Since 1991.

Messerli

Messerli Informatik AG, Spreitenbach. Over 40 years on the market, over 1,200 active customers.

elektro.box

Kundenbox, Kloten. New to the market.

Artificial intelligence

Schoch

Automatic route calculation with AI is available. AI features in SchochAUFTRAG are announced for 2026/2027, voice input with AI for 2027.

Messerli

The page for electrical installers names no AI feature. The AI assistant Luna belongs to ELITECAD, the CAD software for architects.

elektro.box

An email becomes an Order. On the Beleg the AI proposes positions and texts; only what you tick is added. Delivery notes, supplier invoices and fuse boxes are read from a photo.

Which fits whom

Not which is better, but for which business

  • Schoch

    If you want proven electrical software, installed

    Schoch has served the electrical trade since 1991 and reads Steiger, NPK, Eldas and VSAS. A fit if your business runs a server or terminal server and wants to add modules one at a time.

  • Messerli

    If planning and installation sit under one roof

    Messerli comes from construction administration and offers financial accounting and payroll from the same vendor. A fit if you price tenders from the CAD model or also do planning.

  • elektro.box

    If the office and the site should share one piece of software

    elektro.box runs in the browser and on the phone, with no server and no installation. A fit if Rapporte, measurements and SiNa should be written where the work is done — at one price per login.

What we do not have yet

Where Schoch and Messerli are ahead today

Both read NPK, ELDAS and VSAS today; at elektro.box these three catalogues are in preparation. If you price tenders from NPK specifications, the other two already do that. And both have decades of experience with Swiss businesses — we are new.

Ask us in a conversation what already works for your business today, and what does not yet.

Frequent questions

Schoch or Messerli alternative: what businesses ask

What is an alternative to Schoch?
For electrical contractors who want to work in the browser and on the phone, without a server of their own, elektro.box is an alternative to Schoch: quote, Rapport, invoice, safety certificate, accounting and payroll in one subscription. If you need NPK, ELDAS and VSAS today, Schoch already has them; at elektro.box they are in preparation.
What is an alternative to Messerli for electricians?
Messerli is software for the construction industry, with a solution for electrical installers. elektro.box is built only for electrical contractors, runs in the browser and on the phone, and costs CHF 100 per seat per month. Messerli in turn offers Swissdec-certified payroll and BIM2NPK, which takes components from the CAD model.
Can I take my data with me from Schoch?
We read your articles with prices and hourly rates from a Schoch master data sheet, and your customers from a CSV or Excel file. Quotes, invoices and history stay in the old program for as long as you need them. The article on switching from Schoch says exactly what comes across.
What does elektro.box cost compared with Schoch and Messerli?
elektro.box costs CHF 100 per seat per month, with every feature; apprentices are free. Schoch and Messerli publish no prices on their websites. According to Schoch, there are no maintenance or support fees with Schoch.
Do Schoch and Messerli have AI features?
Schoch offers automatic route calculation with AI and has announced further AI features for 2026/2027, voice input among them. Messerli's page for electrical installers names no AI feature. At elektro.box an email becomes an Order, and on the Beleg the AI proposes positions and texts.

Switching

What comes with you when you switch?

We read your articles with prices and hourly rates from a Schoch master data sheet, and your customers from a CSV or Excel file. Quotes, invoices and history stay in the old program for as long as you need them.

Switching from Schoch: what comes across, what stays

Sources

What is said about Schoch and Messerli comes from these pages, read on 6 October 2026. If something is no longer right, write to us and we will correct it.

Better seen than read

We show you elektro.box on a job from your own day and tell you what comes across from your current program.

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