Template

Valuation policies template: model text per balance sheet item

The accounting policies section of a fictitious landscaping company, item by item, with the choice behind each sentence and calculation examples for depreciation and uncollectable receivables.

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The short answer

In the accounting policies you set out for each item how you value assets and liabilities and determine the result (art. 2:384(5) DCC). The choice is between acquisition or production cost and current value. Below is a model text for each item, with the decision behind it. Rewrite each sentence to fit your own balance sheet.

Updated 30 October 2026

Key facts

Statutory requirement	Set out the accounting policies for each of the items (art. 2:384(5) DCC)
Permitted bases	Acquisition or production cost and current value (art. 2:384(1) DCC)
Changing	Only for well-founded reasons, with the significance for equity and result (art. 2:384(6) DCC)
Tax-based policies	Permitted for micro and small, provided all tax-based policies are applied (art. 2:395a(7) DCC and art. 2:396(6) DCC)

The example: Hoveniersbedrijf Meerzicht B.V.

Hoveniersbedrijf Meerzicht B.V. was made up for this page: a small BV with machines, a delivery van, a stock of plants and a warranty arrangement. The texts are an example and not legal advice. A sentence that does not fit your balance sheet, you delete.

There is no document to download. Copy the sentences from the table and adapt them.

Model: accounting policies per item

Item	Model text (adapt)	Your choice	Basis
General	The annual accounts have been prepared in accordance with Title 9 Book 2 DCC and the Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ) guidelines for micro and small legal entities (RJk). Assets and liabilities are valued at acquisition or production cost, unless stated otherwise below. Income and expenses are attributed to the year to which they relate.	Cost or current value	art. 2:384(1) DCC and art. 2:362(5) DCC
Continuity	The valuation assumes continuation of activities.	Different only in case of serious doubt; then set out the effect on equity and result	art. 2:384(3) DCC
Tangible fixed assets	Valued at acquisition cost, less straight-line depreciation over the expected useful life, taking residual value into account. Machinery: 7 years. Vehicles and equipment: 5 years.	Method, useful life and residual value	art. 2:386(2) and (4) DCC
Inventories	Valued at acquisition cost on the FIFO basis, or at the lower current value.	FIFO, weighted average prices or LIFO	art. 2:385(2) DCC and art. 2:387(2) DCC
Receivables	Valued at nominal value, less a provision for uncollectability determined item by item.	Assess item by item or by age	art. 2:387(2) DCC
Provisions	The warranty provision has been formed for repair costs of gardens delivered in the financial year, based on experience figures.	Which obligations and how estimated	art. 2:374(1) DCC
Net turnover	Revenue from construction and maintenance is recognised in the year in which the work was performed, excluding VAT and discounts.	The moment at which you recognise turnover	art. 2:377(6) DCC and art. 2:384(2) DCC
Taxes	Tax is calculated on the result before tax, taking non-deductible costs into account.	None	art. 2:384(5) DCC

If there are amounts in foreign currency, you add how you translate and where the exchange differences end up; that is required by the second sentence of art. 2:384(5) DCC.

The figures behind the policy

A policy can only be checked if the calculation underneath is right. For Meerzicht the annual depreciation follows from three lines.

Category	Acquisition value (€)	Residual value (€)	Useful life	Depreciation per year (€)
Machinery	48.000	6.000	7 years	6.000
Delivery van	36.000	6.000	5 years	6.000
Equipment	12.500	0	5 years	2.500
Total	96.500	12.000		14.500

The provision for uncollectability is determined item by item: one invoice has been written off in full and half of a second.

Trade receivables	Amount (€)
Nominal value according to the open-items list	86.400
Invoice of a bankrupt customer, fully provided for	-1.700
Disputed invoice of 2.400, half provided for	-1.200
Value on the balance sheet	83.500

Keeping the policies in a spreadsheet

Create a sheet with one row per balance sheet item: the name, the amount (a reference to the balance sheet) and the policy text.
Add a column that shows whether the amount in this year or the previous year is not zero. Only those rows go into the document.
Check 1: the number of balance sheet items with an amount minus the number of policies is zero.
Check 2: the useful life in the text is the same as in the depreciation schedule.

Accounting policies per size class

Class	Include policies	Particularity
Micro	No	The provisions on disclosures in the notes do not apply (art. 2:395a(6) DCC). If the BV applies tax-based policies, it states that (paragraph 7).
Small	Yes	Tax-based policies are allowed, provided all are applied and this is stated (art. 2:396(6) DCC)
Medium-sized and large	Yes	No choice for tax-based policies

Mistakes in accounting policy sections

Leaving a policy for an item that does not appear on the balance sheet.
Making do with one general sentence. The law requires the policies for each of the items.
Writing straight-line while the depreciation schedule works with a fixed percentage of the carrying amount.
Mixing tax and business-economic bases: depreciating one asset on a tax basis and the rest not. Whoever chooses tax-based policies applies them all.

The accounting policies in Jaarrekening.io

Jaarrekening.io writes an editable draft of the accounting policies for the items that end up on the balance sheet from your XAF audit file or trial balance (Excel or CSV). The amounts follow from fixed calculation rules, not from the language model. Which valuation fits remains a judgement of the board. Interested parties create an account themselves.

Sources

Dutch Civil Code Book 2, division 6 of Title 9: art. 2:384 to 2:388, with art. 2:395a(6) and (7) and 2:396(6) (in Dutch)

Legal notice: this information is general in nature and does not replace tax or legal advice or an audit by an accountant. The substantive correctness and completeness of the annual accounts remain the responsibility of the board.

Frequently asked questions

Does a micro BV have to include accounting policies?

No. For a micro legal entity the provisions on disclosures in the notes do not apply (art. 2:395a(6) DCC). Only if it values on tax-based policies does it state that (paragraph 7).

May a small BV value on tax-based policies?

Yes. Art. 2:396(6) DCC allows a small legal entity to use the policies for determining taxable profit, provided it applies all tax-based policies applicable to it and states that in the notes.

Can I switch to a different depreciation method later?

Yes, if another method better matches the way the asset benefits you. That is a change in estimate, not a change in accounting policy: you process the effect from this year in the same item of the profit and loss account and do not adjust the comparative figures (RJk A3.202, A3.205 and A3.207).

Do I have to state the depreciation percentages?

The law requires the methods by which the depreciation was calculated (art. 2:386(2) DCC). A method without a useful life tells the reader little; therefore state the period or percentage for each category.

Notes template →Depreciation schedule template →Valuation policies →Term: accounting policies →Term: consistent practice →Term: tax-based annual accounts →Valuing inventories →

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