Filing using Standard Business Reporting

Most companies have to file their annual financial statements digitally via Standard Business Reporting (SBR). Legal entities in the micro and small business categories have been obliged to do so since 2016, and medium-sized business categories since 2017 financial year. Legal entities in the large business category will most likely have to file using SBR with effect from the 2024 or 2025 financial year.

You can use SBR to file financial statements quickly and easily, whether you are an intermediary, who handles the filing of financial statements for your clients, or an entrepreneur.

What is SBR?

SBR is the national standard for the digital exchange of business reports, such as tax returns and financial statements. The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce KVK is one of the parties that uses this method. SBR can also be used for reports to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration, Statistics Netherlands and various banks. Read more about the government's SBR programme.

How does it work?

There are various methods for filing via SBR. The method best suited for your business partly depends on your business category. 

Businesses in the micro and small business categories only have to file a limited set of financial statements. If you only file a few financial statements each year, you can use SBR, but you can also enter them manually via the online service for filing your financial statements yourself. 

Medium and large companies have to file more extensive financial statements. For these companies, it is quicker and easier to use SBR. To do so, you will need suitable software and a PKIoverheid certificate. If your company is medium-sized, but you are not equipped with SBR software, you can draw up an XBRL annual financial statement and file it using the KVK XBRL tool.

Advantages

Filing with SBR is a quick and easy process that ensures good quality. After filing, you will immediately receive confirmation in your software and e-mail, without having to wait for processing by KVK and publication of the financial statements in the Business Register. Moreover, as this is an automated process, the likelihood of errors (for instance in additions or in the KVK number) is significantly reduced.

Use the correct KVK number

Be careful to use the correct KVK number when filing via SBR. An incorrect KVK number may have unpleasant consequences:

  • You think you have files your financial statements, but they cannot be found under your KVK number in the Business Register;
  • The company or organisation that the KVK number belongs to is unable to file their own statements, because there is a file already there.

Switching to SBR

All information about switching to SBR is available on the SBR website of the Central government (only in Dutch), where you will also find a software check and a practical step-by-step plan (only in Dutch).

Frequently asked questions

If the company is required to file financial statements, you can use Standard Business Reporting (SBR). You file financial statements for companies in the (size) classes micro, small, medium-sized, and large.

If you have filed a financial statement that has not been adopted yet, you can replace it with a more recent version (still not adopted), or with the adopted financial statement. You cannot replace a filed financial statement once it has been adopted. 

Does an adopted financial statement contain grave errors? Then you can file a statement of disavowal with the Business Register (a désaveuverklaring).

The erroneous financial statement will not be removed. We are not allowed to remove financial statements once they have been adopted, unless KVK has made a publication error. 

There are no charges for filing your financial statements via SBR. But the software you use and the PKIOverheid certificate do cost money. Consult your software provider to find out more.

There are several possible causes for an error message. We cannot list them all, but we do have a few tips.

  • Check the KVK number, is it correct? Does it exist?
  • Check if an adopted financial statement has already been submitted for this financial year.
  • Some software does not support special characters in financial statements. If this is the case, contact your software supplier.
  • Check the error message using the (Dutch) documentation about the Nederlandse Taxonomie (NT).

Do you suspect a technical error? Contact your software supplier.

As soon as we receive your financial statement, a number of checks are carried out automatically. If there are no errors, you will receive a Digipoort notification by email. 

If we cannot process the financial statement, you will receive an error notification. After fixing these errors, you can upload your financial statement via Digipoort again.Â