BOOX Accountants & Adviseurs

BOOX is an accounting firm and advisory partner formed through a merger in 2016, with offices in Hasselt and Leuven. It calls itself a 'business boutique' and targets owner-entrepreneurs in Limburg, Flemish Brabant and the Kempen. Its audience is clearly defined: business owners who act from a clear 'why' and mainly work through companies. Its driving force, Gert Engelen, worked until 2000 at Bank J. Van Breda & C° and taught business strategy at UHasselt, along with accountancy, financial management and tax at PXL and UCLL.

The organisation relies on complementary skills. Accountants, business economists, lawyers, tax specialists and assistants form a team offering 360-degree support. The firm also works with partners: the tax specialists at Tiberghien, the subsidy experts at a-Chief and the software specialists of Yuki and Odoo. It speaks of sustainable wealth, taking account of people, profit and planet, and not only the company's financial health.

The central service is called Real Time Accountancy. Invoices are processed continuously rather than quarterly, so results stay up to date and available at any time. The aim is to turn figures into a management tool: checking whether income and expenses follow the plan, how returns are moving and whether clients pay on time. Bookkeeping and administration run through digitalisation and automation in the cloud.

Business navigation completes this follow-up, with a set of performance indicators to keep the overall picture of operations in view. On tax, the firm uses the available benefits and sets up strategies for building transparent wealth. Lawyers and paralegals provide tailored legal advice.

Director remuneration has its own service. The firm works on the level of pay, puts together a tax-efficient package, compares meal vouchers with flat-rate daily allowances and calculates benefits in kind such as a smartphone, laptop or company car. It optimises social contributions, looks into supplementary pensions and advises on pension savings and insurance, backed by simulations.

Finally, BOOX takes on an assurance role, which Belgian law also opens to certified accountants. This covers assisting shareholders with their right of inspection, statutory reports on conversions, mergers, demergers or voluntary dissolutions, and verification of the annual accounts. The firm also provides private and court-appointed expert work on company accounts, as well as analyses of creditworthiness, profitability and risk for third parties.

An Caeyers, a member of the management team, explains that the sector matters less than the profile: the firm looks for passionate entrepreneurs who want to build something and pass it on.