The balance sheet of a BV in figures: which items, how large
What is actually on a filed balance sheet, from the micro BV with five lines to the large holding company with mainly participating interests, and what the law requires per class.
The short answer
A micro BV (private limited company) needs to show little more than fixed and current assets, one equity amount, provisions and liabilities by maturity. You can see that: for financial year 2024, receivables were shown separately on 22,5% of micro balance sheets and on 46,7% of small ones. On large balance sheets, financial fixed assets, where shown, were 71,7% of the total at the median.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Balance sheets | 851.125 for financial year 2024 |
| Measured | How often an item is shown separately, and its share of the balance sheet total when it is shown |
| Legal basis | Art. 2:364 up to and including 2:376 DCC, limited by art. 2:395a (micro), 2:396 (small) and 2:397 DCC (medium-sized) |
What the law requires on the balance sheet per class
| Size class | What is shown separately on the filed balance sheet | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | Fixed and current assets; formation and share issue costs; called-up payments; equity as one amount; provisions; liabilities as one amount, with the part falling due within a year | art. 2:395a(4) DCC |
| Small | In addition, among other things, intangible, tangible and financial fixed assets; inventories, receivables, securities and cash and cash equivalents; the equity items | art. 2:396(3) DCC |
| Medium-sized | A broader selection, including the types of tangible fixed assets and amounts owed to banks and group companies | art. 2:397(5) DCC |
| Large | All items of the balance sheet articles | art. 2:364 up to and including 2:376 DCC |
The law sets a minimum. More detail is always allowed, and an item without an amount need not be shown. The figures below concern the balance sheets as filed, classified by balance sheet total. A balance sheet class does not coincide with the statutory size class; that explains part of what follows.
Micro: balance sheet total up to and including € 450.000
| Item | Shown separately on | Median, as share of balance sheet total | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intangible fixed assets | 2,9% | 3,0% | 0,0% – 20,9% |
| Tangible fixed assets | 12,7% | 7,1% | 1,4% – 24,5% |
| Financial fixed assets | 11,8% | 32,9% | 3,0% – 72,6% |
| Fixed assets, total | 76,6% | 30,9% | 5,3% – 70,9% |
| Inventories | 4,5% | 7,8% | 1,1% – 29,0% |
| Receivables | 22,5% | 33,6% | 9,7% – 71,5% |
| Securities | 1,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% – 24,9% |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 22,2% | 19,2% | 3,8% – 51,5% |
| Current assets, total | 97,2% | 88,1% | 44,7% – 100,0% |
| Equity | 99,5% | 51,3% | −0,5% – 86,9% |
| Provisions | 20,9% | 27,2% | 0,0% – 85,4% |
| Non-current liabilities | 27,4% | 22,6% | 0,9% – 71,1% |
| Current liabilities | 92,9% | 25,7% | 6,1% – 75,5% |
Current assets are on almost every micro balance sheet and are 88,1% of the total at the median: a micro BV mainly holds cash and receivables. Receivables and cash and cash equivalents are shown separately on roughly one in five balance sheets. Part of that probably comes from entities that are legally small despite their small balance sheet, because turnover and staff exceed the micro limits; others voluntarily give more than the law requires.
Provisions are shown on 20,9% of micro balance sheets, and where they are shown they are large: the median is 27,2% of the balance sheet total. The micro balance sheet does not state which provision it concerns.
The two special items that the law also names for the micro balance sheet do occur: formation and share issue costs in 2,8% of all filings and called-up payments on issued capital, a receivable from the shareholders, in 2,9%.
Small: balance sheet total above € 450.000 up to and including € 7,5 mln
| Item | Shown separately on | Median, as share of balance sheet total | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intangible fixed assets | 8,8% | 3,1% | 0,3% – 14,8% |
| Tangible fixed assets | 35,9% | 9,4% | 1,9% – 32,6% |
| Financial fixed assets | 31,5% | 35,3% | 7,1% – 67,6% |
| Fixed assets, total | 94,1% | 59,1% | 21,2% – 86,3% |
| Inventories | 15,3% | 12,1% | 2,4% – 36,2% |
| Receivables | 46,7% | 19,7% | 5,1% – 45,6% |
| Securities | 3,4% | 15,8% | 1,1% – 42,7% |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 46,0% | 10,1% | 1,9% – 28,5% |
| Current assets, total | 98,4% | 45,3% | 15,5% – 84,9% |
| Equity | 99,7% | 73,4% | 40,0% – 94,0% |
| Provisions | 30,0% | 5,2% | 1,4% – 14,8% |
| Non-current liabilities | 42,4% | 18,5% | 5,2% – 44,1% |
| Current liabilities | 98,0% | 8,1% | 1,6% – 31,8% |
A legally small entity must split current assets into inventories, receivables, securities and cash and cash equivalents (art. 2:396(3) DCC, which refers to art. 2:364), insofar as it has those items. Even so, cash and cash equivalents are shown separately on only 46,0% of the balance sheets in this class. A likely explanation is the classification by balance sheet total: an investment holding company without subsidiaries with € 2 mln on its balance sheet but no turnover or staff can legally be micro and then file a micro balance sheet with totals only.
Fixed assets here are 59,1% of the balance sheet at the median. Financial fixed assets are shown separately on 31,5% of small balance sheets, with a median of 35,3%; for holding companies these are often the participating interests. Tangible fixed assets are shown on 35,9%, with a median of 9,4%.
Medium-sized and large
| Item | Medium-sized: shown separately on | Medium-sized: median | Large: shown separately on | Large: median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intangible fixed assets | 13,8% | 1,9% | 11,3% | 1,2% |
| Tangible fixed assets | 42,1% | 11,5% | 26,9% | 5,7% |
| Financial fixed assets | 47,2% | 40,1% | 48,2% | 71,7% |
| Fixed assets, total | 96,3% | 82,2% | 96,1% | 95,1% |
| Inventories | 14,6% | 11,6% | 7,1% | 2,1% |
| Receivables | 58,1% | 8,2% | 53,4% | 2,9% |
| Securities | 5,9% | 15,2% | 4,7% | 7,8% |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 56,2% | 2,8% | 51,5% | 1,0% |
| Current assets, total | 97,7% | 19,7% | 95,8% | 5,6% |
| Equity | 99,7% | 76,7% | 99,6% | 84,9% |
| Provisions | 34,6% | 1,6% | 26,6% | 1,1% |
| Non-current liabilities | 50,4% | 21,9% | 50,1% | 32,0% |
| Current liabilities | 97,7% | 5,4% | 94,8% | 2,4% |
The larger the balance sheet, the more fixed assets. On large balance sheets, fixed assets are 95,1% of the total at the median and financial fixed assets, when shown separately, 71,7%. That fits an intermediate holding company or group head: shares in subsidiaries, financed with equity. The median solvency of large balance sheets is 84,9%. Cash and cash equivalents are 1,0% at the median.
Equity: which items and reserves
How often the equity items occur, counted over all 2.237.553 filings and all financial years. A micro balance sheet shows equity as one amount; partly for that reason, the share of the individual items is around or below half.
| Item | Mentions | Share of the filings |
|---|---|---|
| Paid-up and called-up capital | 835.874 | 37,4% |
| Share premium | 246.493 | 11,0% |
| Revaluation reserve | 35.467 | 1,6% |
| Other statutory reserves | 93.338 | 4,2% |
| Reserves under the articles of association | 20.830 | 0,9% |
| Other reserves | 685.531 | 30,6% |
| Retained earnings | 188.564 | 8,4% |
| Result for the financial year | 46.900 | 2,1% |
| Reinvestment reserve | 10.576 | 0,5% |
| Other tax reserves | 19.103 | 0,9% |
If a filing contains an item twice, for example in the company and the consolidated balance sheet, there are two mentions. For most items that makes little difference. The reinvestment reserve and other tax reserves belong to annual accounts on a tax basis, which micro and small entities may choose. An entity forms other statutory reserves among other things for capitalised development costs and for retained profit of participating interests that it cannot distribute itself; the revaluation reserve is shown separately. See equity in the annual accounts.
Why the medians do not add up to 100%
For micro, add the median of fixed assets (30,9%) to that of current assets (88,1%) and you get above 100%. That is not an error. Each median is calculated separately, over the balance sheets on which that item is shown. Fixed assets are on 76,6% of micro balance sheets; BVs without fixed assets do not count for that median, but they do for the median of current assets.
The tables therefore do not describe an average balance sheet. They say per item: this often is it there, and this large is it then. Anyone who wants to see a balance sheet of a certain type looks at one sector and one class at a time.
Worked example: a micro balance sheet next to the figures
A consultancy in a BV files this micro balance sheet as at 31 December 2024:
| Item | Amount | Share of total | Median micro 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed assets | € 40.000 | 26,7% | 30,9% |
| Current assets | € 110.000 | 73,3% | 88,1% |
| Total assets | € 150.000 | ||
| Equity | € 70.000 | 46,7% | 51,3% |
| Liabilities, maturity longer than one year | € 30.000 | 20,0% | 22,6% |
| Liabilities, maturity of at most one year | € 50.000 | 33,3% | 25,7% |
| Total liabilities and equity | € 150.000 |
Equity is slightly below the median, current liabilities slightly above. The current ratio is 110.000 / 50.000 = 2,20, against a median of 2,08 for micro balance sheets. Nothing about this balance sheet falls outside the middle half. What the balance sheet does not show: whether the BV makes a profit. It does not have to file that profit and loss account.
Source and licence
Source: KVK Business Register Open Dataset Annual Accounts, adaptation Jaarrekening.io, CC BY 4.0. Data downloaded and processed on 2 November 2026.
Calculation, definitions, limitations and the download of all cells: method and sources.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Which items are on the balance sheet of a micro BV?
According to art. 2:395a(4) DCC: fixed and current assets, formation and share issue costs, called-up payments on issued capital, equity as one amount, provisions and liabilities as one amount, with the part falling due within a year and the part falling due later. More detail is allowed, but not required. Only this limited balance sheet is made public (art. 2:395a(8) DCC).
Why do only half of small BVs show cash and cash equivalents separately?
In balance sheet class small (balance sheet total above € 450.000), cash and cash equivalents were shown separately on 46,0% of the balance sheets for financial year 2024. A likely explanation: many holding companies in this class have no turnover and no staff and can therefore legally be micro. They may file a micro balance sheet with only the total of current assets. An item without an amount also need not be on the balance sheet.
How much of the balance sheet consists of fixed assets?
That depends strongly on size. For financial year 2024, fixed assets, where shown separately on the balance sheet, were 30,9% of the balance sheet total at the median for micro, 59,1% for small, 82,2% for medium-sized and 95,1% for large balance sheets. Large balance sheets are often those of holding companies with participating interests.
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.
Get started