Choosing an annual accounts program
An annual accounts program is an installation on your computer, a module in your bookkeeping package or a web application. What you need depends on legal form and size class.
Which annual accounts program do you need?
Which annual accounts program you need depends on your legal form and size class. For a BV or NV, the program must prepare annual accounts under Title 9 Book 2 DCC and prepare the publication documents for the KVK. That can be an installed program, a module of your bookkeeping package or a web application in the browser.
For a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) or vof it is different. They do not file annual accounts. The balance sheet and profit and loss account for the income tax return you usually prepare in the bookkeeping package itself; a separate annual accounts program then adds little.
Three kinds of annual accounts programs
| Form | Runs on | Updates of rules and taxonomy | Collaboration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed program | Usually Windows, sometimes via your firm's server | Through a new version that you install yourself | Sharing files or a shared server |
| Module in a bookkeeping package | Wherever the package runs, often in the browser | By the package supplier | With the users of the same administration |
| Web application | Any current browser on Windows, macOS or Linux | Centrally by the supplier | Through roles and invitations |
An installed program also works without internet and keeps the files with you. On the other hand you take care of updates and backups yourself. A web application is the same on every computer, but you depend on the supplier for availability and security. So ask about hosting and the data processing agreement.
Why the version year of your program matters
Annual accounts rules change more often than you think. For financial years starting on or after 1 January 2024, the threshold amounts of the size classes were raised: micro up to € 450.000 balance sheet total and € 900.000 net turnover, small up to € 7,5 mln and € 15 mln (Stb. 2024, 52). A program that still calculates with the old limits may place you in too heavy a class.
The same applies to digital filing. Every financial year belongs to a version of the Dutch Taxonomy (Nederlandse Taxonomie): NT20 for financial year 2025, NT21 for financial year 2026. The final version of NT21 has been on nltaxonomie.nl since 14 October 2026; the KVK accepts it from 1 January 2027. Ask the supplier when that version will be in the program, certainly if you want to file early in the year.
Annual accounts program for Mac
If you work on a Mac, first look at the system requirements. Part of annual accounts software is made for Windows or for a firm's server. Such a program runs on a Mac through virtualisation or a remote workstation, but that costs extra licences and administration.
A web application or the annual accounts module of an online bookkeeping package does not have that problem: they work in Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Edge. Do check whether the export files, such as PDF, Word and Excel, open properly in the programs that you and your accountant use.
Is there an annual accounts app?
A full-fledged phone app that prepares annual accounts is rarely seen. Mobile apps of bookkeeping packages are mainly meant for receipts, invoices and bank transactions. The annual accounts work itself, with long tables and notes, you do in practice on a large screen.
Jaarrekening.io is also not an app in the App Store or Google Play, but a web application that you open in the browser on your laptop or desktop.
What an annual accounts program must at least do
- Balance sheet and profit and loss account under the Besluit modellen jaarrekening (Decree on annual accounts formats), with the choice between a nature-based and a function-based profit and loss account.
- The figures of the previous financial year next to those of this year art. 2:363(5) DCC.
- Notes and accounting policies that fit your size class.
- A publication version alongside the full version.
- Export to PDF and to a format that your accountant can edit.
- A route to digital filing: yourself via SBR, through an intermediary or via the KVK portal.
- A complete export of your file, because you must keep the documents for seven years art. 2:10(3) DCC.
Jaarrekening.io as a program
Jaarrekening.io runs entirely in the browser. You install nothing and work on Windows, macOS or Linux. The primary database is in the EU. Signing in uses two-step verification, and you invite colleagues or your accountant by e-mail with their own role.
You import the trial balance as Excel, CSV or XAF audit file. The program maps the accounts, derives the size class and prepares the balance sheet and profit and loss account with fixed calculation rules. You export as PDF via the print window, as Word or as Excel. You create an account yourself.
More about annual accounts software
Updated 30 October 2026. Jaarrekening.io prices exclude VAT.
Frequently asked questions
Which program do I use to prepare annual accounts?
For a micro or small BV, the annual accounts module of your bookkeeping package or an online annual accounts program is usually enough. For a medium-sized or large entity you work with your accountant, who uses their own annual accounts software. A sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) does not need a separate annual accounts program.
Is there an annual accounts program for Mac?
Yes. Web applications and online bookkeeping packages work in any current browser on macOS. Installed annual accounts software is often made for Windows; you then need virtualisation or a remote workstation.
Is there an app to prepare annual accounts?
A full-fledged phone app for annual accounts work is rare. Apps of bookkeeping packages are meant for receipts and invoices. Jaarrekening.io is a web application that you open in the browser.
May I prepare my annual accounts in Word or Excel?
You may; the law does not prescribe a program. You then take care yourself of the right layout, balancing figures and the disclosures per size class. For filing you additionally need an XBRL file, an intermediary or the KVK portal.
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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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