Astro Tax

Astro is an online accounting firm founded in 2023 in Leuven, where its office is on Bondgenotenlaan. It is certified by the ITAA under number 53.280.581 and presents itself as the largest digital accounting firm in Belgium. Its founders are two brothers, Thomas Aertgeerts, a former tax lawyer whose career includes Stibbe, Tiberghien and KPMG Law, and Ruben Aertgeerts, a physicist and developer, together with Anton Van Uytsel, an experienced Leuven accountant. The team now numbers more than thirty-five people: ITAA-certified accountants, tax specialists, lawyers, business engineers and developers.

The model is based on a fixed monthly fee rather than hourly billing. The firm quotes starting prices of 250 euros a month for a company and 150 euros for a sole trader or non-profit, the exact amount depending on legal form and turnover. Company formation and switching from another accountant are charged separately, at a fixed price known in advance. Each file is handled by a dedicated accountant, with a backup who knows the file during holidays or sick leave, and Astro promises to reply within twenty-four hours on working days, by e-mail, chat, WhatsApp or phone.

The package covers full bookkeeping: purchase and sales invoices, bank reconciliation, depreciation schedules, and preparing and filing the annual accounts with the National Bank. It includes monthly or quarterly VAT returns, personal income tax and corporate income tax, the client listing, the intra-community listing, tax forms, UBO registration and the calculation of advance payments. Clients upload documents through an online platform or a mobile app that scans receipts, and can issue their own invoices via Peppol, included in the subscription.

Tax advice is part of the package and is meant to be proactive: the accountant gets in touch when a decision can still make a difference, in November rather than May. Annual accounts are discussed on a video call, with a yearly review of figures and plans. For company directors, the firm fine-tunes remuneration every year: the balance between salary, dividends and VVPRbis, company car, home office, meal vouchers and pension building through supplementary schemes. Online tools let users compare a sole trader with a company, or calculate net income from copyright.

For company formation, Astro models the choice between a private limited company, a general partnership and a sole trader, drafts the financial plan and articles of association, and handles registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, for VAT and with the social insurance fund. It also takes on non-profits. Switching from another accountant happens at the start of a quarter, with Astro arranging the handover directly.

The firm targets specific profiles: freelancers and consultants, creative professionals, medical and liberal professions, tradespeople and management companies. It reports more than a thousand entrepreneurs as clients and publishes its Google and Trustlocal ratings. It was featured in De Tijd's "Jong geweld" series. Part of the reviews and website content is in English.