Does annual accounts software work without an API link?

The short answer

Yes. A suitable file export can replace an API link. Check completeness, financial year and reconciliation before you import the figures.

Basis: art. 2:10 and 2:362 DCC

How does a file import without an API work?

A direct API link is not a legal requirement for preparing Dutch annual accounts. Files can carry the same necessary figures, provided the receiving program supports the format. So ask what the data transfer actually contains. The presence of a connection logo does not prove that all the data needed for the annual work is included.

On a file route you export, for example, a trial balance in a supported spreadsheet format or a financial audit file. Not every package, subscription or user right offers the same output. Have a sample file assessed beforehand. Check account numbers, descriptions, opening balances, closing balances and the period used. With a CSV, decimals, separators and negative amounts can be misread. After the import, therefore, reconcile a few known balances and the total. A technically successful import can still be incomplete in substance if, for example, only active accounts or one branch were selected.

When do you freeze the source export?

Agree on the moment the export becomes final. If the bookkeeper then books depreciation, the books change without the report changing automatically. Give every delivery a date and version number. On a re-import, record whether the program replaces, updates or adds earlier data. Adding in particular can lead to duplicate figures. Art. 2:10 DCC is relevant for books that keep rights and obligations transparent. A manual transfer is defensible if you keep the reconciliations. Without recorded versions it is hard to determine later which figures the annual work was based on.

An API can be useful with many files or repeated reports, but it also needs checking. A connection can expire, a selection can be too narrow and a change of rights can restrict the data flow. Ask whether the link only reads or also writes corrections back. With a file you know which moment was captured; with a continuously updated file it must be clear when a version is frozen. Choose the route your staff can follow and check. For one annual report, a checked export can be simpler than managing a permanent connection.

Which checks remain necessary?

Also think about the transfer of notes and supporting documents. Contracts, board resolutions and estimates of collectability do not come along automatically with a figures link. Keep a supplementary list of documents and confirm who requests missing information. Before buying, test one complete path from export to readable report. Then ask how you get the file out of the system on termination. This trial lets you judge whether the file route works in practice, without assuming an integration that does not exist. The choice between file and API is ultimately a choice about how work is organised; responsibility for the content of the annual accounts remains.

Sources

• Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst): setting up bookkeeping records
• KVK: what do the annual accounts consist of?

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