Making your Dutch annual accounts yourself: may you, should you and when not?
Dutch law forbids it nowhere, but that does not make it a good idea for every BV. This article helps you decide: is it allowed, does it fit your situation and what do you need for it?
The short answer
Yes, you may. Dutch law only requires medium-sized and large entities to have their accounts audited by an accountant; preparing the accounts is always a task of the board. Doing it yourself suits a micro or small BV with up-to-date bookkeeping and a simple structure. It does not suit an audit requirement, a group, doubt about continuity or a lender that demands a report.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Legal basis | art. 2:210(1) DCC (the board prepares), art. 2:393(1) DCC (audit), art. 2:395a(6) DCC and art. 2:396(7) DCC (exemption for micro and small) |
| Allowed without an accountant | Micro (assets ≤ € 450.000, net turnover ≤ € 900.000, < 10 employees) and small (assets ≤ € 7,5 mln, net turnover ≤ € 15 mln, < 50 employees); two of the three requirements are enough |
| Accountant required | Medium-sized and large: statutory audit by an RA (registered accountant) or an AA authorised to do so |
| Always stays with the board | Accuracy of the annual accounts, signing and filing on time |
May you: what the law does and does not require
Dutch law places the preparation of the annual accounts with the board (art. 2:210(1) DCC). Nowhere does it say that an accountant or bookkeeper must compile them. What the law does regulate is the audit afterwards: a medium-sized or large entity commissions an examination of the annual accounts by a registered accountant (RA) or an Accountant-Administratieconsulent (AA) with the required authorisation (art. 2:393(1) DCC). For micro and small, that provision is switched off (art. 2:395a(6) DCC and art. 2:396(7) DCC).
Self-made annual accounts are therefore not legally inferior to accounts prepared by a firm. The law sets requirements for the content, not for the maker. The flip side is that for a micro or small BV there is also nobody who reviews your work: what you adopt and file stands.
Should you: when doing it yourself fits
Preparing it yourself works well if the annual accounts are mostly an ordering of figures that already add up. That is the case if the following points apply to you:
- The bookkeeping has been kept up all year and the bank reconciles with the statements.
- The BV has no subsidiaries, or only a simple holding relationship that you understand.
- There are few estimates: no work in progress, no complicated provisions, no revaluations.
- You know the difference between the commercial and the tax annual accounts.
- No party demands a report from an accountant.
The advantage is then not only money. If you prepare your own annual accounts, you know why equity has changed and what becomes public. How to go about it is explained step by step in the guide to making your BV's annual accounts yourself. A comparison of the routes is at do it yourself or outsource.
When you had better not do it yourself
| Situation | Why help is needed |
|---|---|
| The BV is medium-sized or large | Statutory audit; without an auditor's report the annual accounts cannot in principle be adopted (art. 2:393(7) DCC) |
| A bank, landlord or grant provider asks for a report | Only an accountant can issue a compilation or audit report; see compilation report |
| There is a group with a consolidation requirement | Eliminations and group accounting policies call for experience; see consolidation |
| Equity is negative or the financing is uncertain | The going concern assumption must be assessed and explained (art. 2:384(3) DCC) |
| Takeover, merger, revaluation or capitalised development costs | Valuation and statutory reserves are error-prone |
| Dispute with shareholders or with the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) | The annual accounts become evidence; independence then counts |
A middle way exists too: prepare it yourself and let an accountant or adviser read the drafts. See having self-made annual accounts reviewed.
What you need
- Figures: a balancing trial balance at the balance sheet date and the one for the year before, plus last year's adopted annual accounts.
- Knowledge: the statutory layout of the balance sheet and profit and loss account, the valuation principles and the disclosures that belong to your size class.
- Documents: articles of association, loan agreements, rental and lease contracts and security provided.
- A tool: a spreadsheet, the KVK portal (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) or annual accounts software.
- Access to the KVK: eHerkenning at level EH2 or higher, an account with authorisation or the entity's access code.
Mind the difference between the tools. The KVK portal Zelf Deponeren Jaarrekening lets micro and small companies fill in and file the publication documents. It does not produce an internal set of annual accounts with a profit and loss account from your bookkeeping. A spreadsheet can, but then you build all the checks yourself; see making the annual accounts in Excel.
Three BVs, three outcomes
The figures apply to two consecutive balance sheet dates and are fictitious.
| BV A (consultancy) | BV B (installer) | BV C (wholesaler) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | € 180.000 | € 1.400.000 | € 8.200.000 |
| Net turnover | € 420.000 | € 3.100.000 | € 16.500.000 |
| Employees | 2 | 18 | 41 |
| Class | Micro | Small | Medium-sized |
| Particularity | No bank credit | Bank requires a compilation report every year | Two limits for small exceeded |
| Outcome | Preparing and filing it yourself is possible | Preparing it yourself is possible; the report requires an accountant | Statutory audit; you prepare the file |
BV C has fewer than fifty employees and is still medium-sized: two of the three limits are enough. BV B shows that the law is not the only source of obligations. A credit agreement can ask for more than Title 9.
What is allowed per size class
| Item | Micro | Small | Medium-sized | Large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparing it yourself allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes, but the audit follows | Yes, but the audit follows |
| Statutory audit | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| What you file yourself | Limited balance sheet | Limited balance sheet and notes | Annual accounts with the accountant's files | Annual accounts with the accountant's files |
| What is possible in the KVK portal | Prepare and file | Prepare and file | Upload adopted files | Upload adopted files |
The risk you take over
If you prepare it yourself, you bear the consequences of errors without an intermediary. Three points weigh heaviest. Filing late is an economic offence (art. 1 under 4° WED, the Dutch Economic Offences Act). If the BV goes bankrupt and has not filed, or filed late, it is established that the board has performed its task improperly and it is presumed that this is an important cause of the bankruptcy (art. 2:248(2) DCC). And what has been filed stays public: a correction is placed next to it, see correcting filed annual accounts.
Preparing it yourself with Jaarrekening.io
Jaarrekening.io is meant for those who prepare it themselves but do not want to build everything themselves. You import an XAF audit file or a trial balance, the software derives the size class and puts the figures in the statutory layout. You pay once per financial year according to size class: micro € 250 and small € 500, excluding VAT. The software does not check annual accounts the way an accountant does and submits nothing to the KVK.
Sources
- Art. 2:210 DCC: the board prepares the annual accounts (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:393 DCC: statutory audit and consequences for adoption (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:395a DCC: micro: section 9 (audit) not applicable (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:396 DCC: small: art. 2:393(1) not applicable (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:248 DCC: director liability in bankruptcy (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Wet op de economische delicten (Dutch Economic Offences Act), art. 1 under 4°, art. 2(4) and art. 6 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- KVK: Filing your annual accounts yourself
- KVK: Deadline for filing annual accounts
Frequently asked questions
Are self-made annual accounts enough for the corporate income tax return?
They are the starting point, not the return itself. The return follows tax rules and is a separate calculation next to the annual accounts. Dutch law sets no requirements for who prepares the annual accounts, but it does for the records behind them: the board keeps those for seven years (art. 2:10(3) DCC).
Can I make the annual accounts entirely in the KVK portal?
Only the publication documents. The portal is there to fill in and file the balance sheet to be made public, and for small entities the notes. The internal annual accounts with profit and loss account, which the general meeting adopts, you make elsewhere.
Do I need a compilation report?
Not under the law. Banks and other lenders ask for such a report. If your bank asks for it, you need an accountant, even if you prepare the figures yourself.
What if I discover an error after filing?
If the annual accounts seriously fall short of the required view, the board informs the shareholders and files a notice with the Business Register (art. 2:362(6) DCC). Another material error you correct in equity at the start of the financial year, with adjusted comparative figures and the differences in the notes (RJk A3.305 and A3.308; art. 2:363(5) DCC). A non-material error you process in the profit and loss account of the next annual accounts (RJk A3.306).
Can I prepare it myself this year and outsource it again next year?
Yes. The law does not bind you to a way of working. Do keep the layout and the accounting policies the same, because deviating from the previous year is only allowed for well-founded reasons and must be explained (art. 2:363(4) and 2:384(6) DCC).
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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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