Accounting and tax guides

Starting a business in Belgium comes down to eight steps: choosing between a sole proprietorship and a company, drafting the financial plan, opening the bank account, going to the notary (companies only), registering with the CBE through a business counter, activating VAT, joining a social insurance fund, and then sorting out health insurance, the UBO register and insurance cover. As a sole proprietor, the whole process costs around €200 and fits in a week. For an SRL/BV, budget €1,600 to €3,900 excluding contributions and two to four weeks.

Since 1 January 2026, the first question to ask of accounting software in Belgium is no longer its price but its ability to issue and receive invoices over the Peppol network. The Belgian market splits into three families that are often confused: practice software, accounting and invoicing solutions for SMEs, and the exchange components that feed the first two. The right choice depends first of all on who keeps your books.

You can change accountant at any time: no law ties you to a firm, only your engagement letter sets any notice period. In practice, the new firm contacts the previous one to arrange the handover, and the transfer of documents is formalised with an inventory dated and signed by both parties. The best moment remains just after the annual accounts have been filed.

Yes. Since 1 January 2026, every VAT-registered business established in Belgium must issue and receive structured electronic invoices for its B2B transactions with other Belgian taxable persons, over the Peppol network. The tolerance period covering the first three months of 2026 ended in April 2026. Certain categories remain outside the scope, notably taxable persons exempt under article 44 of the VAT Code.

There is no official scale in Belgium: accounting fees are freely set and written into the engagement letter. The ranges observed in 2026 run from roughly 40 to 250 € a month for a self-employed person, and from 2 000 to 5 500 € a year for a small company, depending on the volume of documents and the services included. What drives the bill is not the professional's title but the exact scope of the engagement.

Accountant and tax accountant are professional titles protected by law, governed by the ITAA since 30 September 2020. « Fiduciaire », the common Belgian word for an accounting firm, is not a title: it names a business that employs one or the other of these professionals. The practical difference between the titles concerns the assignments the law reserves for certified professionals, not the quality of routine accounting work.