RGS (Reference Chart of Accounts)
A nationally standardised ledger classification that makes financial data exchangeable between bookkeeping packages, accountants and government. RGS codes link accounts to the SBR taxonomy.
What does RGS mean?
A nationally standardised ledger classification that makes financial data exchangeable between bookkeeping packages, accountants and government. RGS codes link accounts to the SBR taxonomy.
The Reference Chart of Accounts (Referentie Grootboekschema) offers codes for exchanging and classifying ledger accounts. An RGS code does not independently determine whether an entry is correct in substance; the nature of the transaction must be established first.
How does it work?
RGS gives each type of ledger account a reference code: a letter code that is separate from the numbers a company uses itself. The code is built in levels. B stands for balance sheet and W for profit and loss account; BLim is cash and cash equivalents, BLimBan balances at banks and BLimBanRba the current account at the bank. The scheme also contains numbers, but they serve as an example (referentiegrootboekschema.nl).
Title 9 does not make RGS mandatory. Since 2015 the scheme has been under the governance of SBR and is revised periodically: version 3.8 is final and the alpha version of 3.9 appeared in July 2026. The RGS Taxonomy establishes the link with the SBR reports to the KVK, the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS). A code says where a balance belongs, not whether the amount is correctly valued.
Example
A BV uses its own numbers: 1110 Business account € 14,000 debit, 1120 Credit account € 6,000 credit, 1300 Accounts receivable € 22,000 debit and 1600 Accounts payable € 12,000 credit. The mapping: 1110 and 1120 receive BLimBanRba, 1300 receives BVorDebHad (trade receivables nominal) and 1600 BSchCreHac (trade payables nominal). Account 1120 has a credit balance, while BLimBanRba is a debit code. RGS has a reversal code for that: the balance of € 6,000 moves to BSchSakRba, current account with credit institutions, under liabilities. The balance sheet therefore shows € 14,000 cash and cash equivalents and € 6,000 bank debt, not € 8,000 net.
In the annual accounts
Technical source for the balance sheet and P&L; not a mandatory visible annual accounts line item.
Difference from the Dutch Taxonomy
RGS organises ledger accounts; the Dutch Taxonomy (Nederlandse Taxonomie) describes the data of a report, such as the cash and cash equivalents item in the annual accounts for the KVK. RGS sits on the bookkeeping side, the taxonomy on the message side. The RGS Taxonomy connects the two, where several codes can end up in one reporting item.
Common mistakes
- Using a code as a valuation rule
- Adopting a wrong mapping unchecked
What to watch for
- Map at the lowest level that fits; hanging a whole category on one code hides the difference between accounts receivable and other receivables.
- Check accounts that can change sign, such as bank, VAT and current account: is there a reversal code and is it applied?
- The size class does not change the code, but it does change the detail you show: a micro entity combines equity and liabilities each into one item (art. 2:395a(4) DCC). More in RGS mapping.
Legal basis and sources
no separate obligation in Title 9 Book 2 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Is RGS mandatory?
No. No law requires a company to set up its ledger according to RGS. The benefit lies in exchange: software can read an export with RGS codes without anyone having to interpret the accounts again.
Do you have to change your account numbers to fit RGS?
No. You can keep your own numbers and descriptions and only record the reference code per account.
Read more
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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