Installation company annual accounts: projects, service contracts and G-account
An installer does three things at once: projects lasting months, breakdowns lasting an hour and maintenance per year. Each has its own rule for turnover.
The short answer
An installation company accounts for projects under RJ 221: revenue and costs in proportion to progress if the result can be estimated reliably. If not, you recognise turnover up to the recoverable costs, without profit. An expected loss you take immediately. Separate deliveries and service contracts fall under RJ 270. As contractor you are liable for your subcontractor's payroll taxes.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Projects | RJ 221: in proportion to the performance delivered (paragraph 301) |
| Result cannot be estimated | Revenue up to the recoverable costs, no profit (paragraph 314) |
| Expected loss | Immediately and in full as an expense (paragraph 323) |
| Service and separate deliveries | RJ 270 |
Project, breakdown or service contract: which rule applies?
RJ 270 excludes project revenue and refers to RJ 221 for it (paragraph 103). So first determine which category a job falls into.
| Type of work | Rule | Turnover in the financial year |
|---|---|---|
| Climate, electrical or sanitary installation on commission, over several months | RJ 221 | In proportion to progress |
| Breakdown or small repair | RJ 270, paragraph 115 | When the work has been carried out |
| Maintenance or service contract per year | RJ 270, paragraph 120 | Evenly over the contract period |
| Delivery of a separate boiler or inverter without installation | RJ 270, paragraph 110 | On transfer of the risks to the customer |
Projects under RJ 221: progress, zero profit and loss
What is colloquially called work in progress is, for an installer, usually a project in progress. If you can estimate the result reliably, you account for project revenue and costs in proportion to the performance delivered at the balance sheet date (RJ 221, paragraph 301). Instalment invoices say little about that: payments and instalments invoiced need not reflect progress (paragraph 311). Material that is on the building site but has not yet been installed is not yet performance.
If the result cannot be estimated reliably, which is often the case at the start of a project, you recognise revenue only up to the amount of the project costs incurred that you can probably recover. You then recognise no profit (paragraphs 314 and 315). For practical reasons you may also use this zero-profit method for a flow of projects that mostly last less than twelve months, provided that does not materially distort equity and result (paragraph 316).
If you expect the total project costs to exceed the revenue, you take the whole loss immediately as an expense, regardless of the stage of the project and regardless of the profit on other projects (paragraphs 323 and 324). On the balance sheet, each project shows the balance of revenue realised, losses recognised and instalments invoiced: an asset if you are ahead of the invoices, a liability if the customer has paid in advance (paragraph 409).
Subcontractors, chain liability and the G-account
If you engage a subcontractor for piping or insulation, you are liable for the payroll taxes he has to remit on that work. The scheme makes each link in the chain liable for the next. You limit the risk by paying part of the invoice into the subcontractor's G-account. If you yourself work for a main contractor, you receive part of your turnover in your own G-account. You can use that balance only for payroll taxes and VAT. If you are medium-sized or large, you state in the notes that it is not freely available (art. 2:372(2) DCC); a small or micro BV is not obliged to make that disclosure.
Worked example: heat pumps and a service contract
A fictitious installation BV installs heat pumps in an apartment complex for € 50.000. On 31 December 60% has been carried out, € 20.000 of instalments have been invoiced and the project costs to date are € 25.000.
- Revenue: 60% × € 50.000 = € 30.000.
- Result on the project so far: € 30.000 − € 25.000 = € 5.000.
- Balance sheet: € 30.000 − € 20.000 = € 10.000 project in progress, an asset.
If the result could not yet be estimated reliably, revenue would have been € 25.000, equal to the costs, and the project balance € 5.000. The same BV sells a service contract of € 1.200 per year on 1 October: € 300 is turnover of this financial year and € 900 stands as an amount received in advance under accruals and deferred income.
Four mistakes in project administration
- Counting material on site as progress.
- Offsetting a loss-making project against the margin on service contracts.
- Booking the service contract in one go as turnover on the invoice date.
- Including additional work without a written order.
Sole proprietorship, vof or BV, and the size class
Self-employed fitters and small installers often work as a sole proprietorship or vof; these are normally not covered by Title 9. For an installation BV, balance sheet total, turnover and staff determine the class, and a project balance that is on the balance sheet as an asset counts towards that balance sheet total. The limits are at the size criteria; the audit requirement check shows whether you need an accountant.
What BVs in this sector file
Installers fall under SBI division 43, specialised construction activities, and therefore count in section F, construction. The figures cover the whole section, contractors included; the dataset does not give a separate figure for installers.
| Balance sheet class, financial year 2024 | Filings | Solvency: p25 – median – p75 | Current ratio: p25 – median – p75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (balance sheet up to and including € 450.000) | 8.847 | 1,1% – 47,4% – 79,0% | 0,90 – 1,79 – 4,25 |
| Small (balance sheet above € 450.000 up to and including € 7,5 million) | 8.773 | 22,5% – 47,4% – 70,1% | 1,17 – 1,84 – 3,57 |
| Medium-sized (balance sheet above € 7,5 million up to and including € 25 million) | 810 | 13,6% – 35,5% – 59,3% | 0,81 – 1,50 – 2,82 |
| Large (balance sheet above € 25 million) | 218 | 4,0% – 28,1% – 64,1% | 0,52 – 1,29 – 3,89 |
In the small balance sheet class, section F had a median solvency of 47,4% for financial year 2024, lower than the 73,4% of all balance sheets in that class together; the median current ratio was 1,84, lower than nationally (3,28). The national figure is high because of the many holding companies.
The balance sheet class follows only the balance sheet total, not the statutory size class. The dataset does not state a legal form; it covers all filings in XBRL with this SBI section, mostly from BVs. Source: KVK Business Register Open Dataset of annual accounts, processed by Jaarrekening.io, CC BY 4.0. Data downloaded and processed on 2 November 2026. Explanation and all sectors: solvency by sector and current ratio by sector.
Jaarrekening.io and an installer's projects
You determine the progress per project and the cut-off of service contracts yourself, in your project or bookkeeping package. Jaarrekening.io takes over the trial balance from an XAF audit file or an Excel or CSV file, proposes the classification into annual accounts line items and writes a draft of the notes, which you adapt to your own method.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
When may I use the zero-profit method?
If you cannot estimate the project result reliably (RJ 221, paragraph 314). In addition, for practical reasons it is allowed for a flow of projects that mostly last less than twelve months or are completed at an even pace, as long as the effect on equity and result is not material (paragraph 316).
How do I account for an instalment invoice that runs ahead of the work?
The instalment is not turnover. You deduct the instalments invoiced from the project revenue realised; if the balance is negative, it stands on the balance sheet as a liability to the client (RJ 221, paragraph 409).
Does a service contract fall under RJ 221?
No. Periodic maintenance is a service over an agreed period and falls under RJ 270. You spread the revenue evenly over the term, unless a different allocation better reflects the actual effort.
Can I open a G-account as a sole proprietorship?
Only if you are liable to withhold payroll taxes, that is, you have staff on the payroll. For a self-employed person without staff (zzp'er) who works as a subcontractor, the Belastingdienst does not cooperate, even if the client asks for it.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
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