Client portal for annual work: questionnaire, documents and approval
A client portal takes delivery out of the mailbox: the client answers the questionnaire, uploads documents and gives approval. That approval is a fact in the file, not an adoption.
The short answer
A client portal for annual work does three things: asking for information with a fixed questionnaire, receiving documents in a structured way and recording the client's approval. In Jaarrekening.io that is the Client portal module. It is built, but is not yet in the app menu; use is possible on request.
The questionnaire for the year-end close
The portal has three fixed question sets: a short set of three questions, a set per VAT period and a set for the year-end close. The annual set contains the period questions plus questions that only belong to the annual work.
Questions at year-end
Value of inventory on 31 December; jobs that were not finished or not invoiced on 31 December; private withdrawals and deposits (for sole proprietorship, vof and maatschap); business costs paid privately; the 1,225-hour criterion for income tax entrepreneurs.
Questions per period
Private use of a company car; private use of goods and services; purchases above € 450 excl. VAT; business assets sold; changes in staff; uncollectable invoices; transactions abroad; subsidies received; the cash balance; and an open question.
A fixed questionnaire has one advantage over an e-mail: every answer ends up in the same place, with the same client and the same year. That makes building the file easier and the review faster.
Requesting and receiving documents
- The firm sets a task: a question or a requested document. The client receives an e-mail about it.
- The client uploads documents in seven categories. The firm sees for each document whether it is new or processed.
- Per year, the firm downloads all documents in one zip file.
- A portal user only ends up in the client portal, and only at the entities they have been invited to.
The client is invited by e-mail with the role Client. The firm determines per entity who has access.
Approval and signing: what it is legally
Via the portal, the firm asks the client for approval of a tax return worksheet, a payroll run or the annual accounts. The client answers with approved or not approved. That answer is a fact in the file, not a submission. For annual accounts, the firm states the balance sheet total, equity and result in the request; the firm enters those amounts itself. It can also create a draft adoption resolution as a PDF.
An approval in the portal is not the same as preparing or adopting. The board prepares the annual accounts and signs them. The body competent under the law and the articles of association adopts them; for a foundation (stichting) that is not necessarily a general meeting. For the adoption resolution of the shareholders of a BV there is a template for the shareholder resolution.
Documents in the portal can be signed with a simple electronic signature, with a trail of who, when and which file (via a SHA-256 fingerprint). That is not a qualified signature. An electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature if the method is sufficiently reliable given its purpose (art. 3:15a DCC).
What else the client can do
If the firm enables it per entity, the client can also create invoices in the portal and submit hours and kilometres. The firm can show the portal in its own house style and sees an activity log. The client can sign an authorisation for the firm in the portal. An authorisation at Logius remains manual work for the client.
The Client portal is a module you can add, which is currently not yet in the app menu. If you want to use the module, please contact us; the amounts for the modules you can add are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is an approval in the client portal an adoption of the annual accounts?
No. The approval records that the client agrees with the draft. Adoption is a decision of the competent body, for a BV the general meeting (art. 2:210(3) DCC), which you record separately.
Is the electronic signature in the portal legally valid?
It is a simple electronic signature. It has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature if the method is sufficiently reliable given its purpose (art. 3:15a DCC). Where a qualified signature is required, it is not sufficient.
Can my client upload documents themselves?
Yes. The client uploads documents by category, and the firm sees for each document whether it has been processed.
Does the client see the firm's whole environment?
No. A portal user only enters the client portal and only sees the entities they have been invited to.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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