Vandenberghe Boekhouders & Fiscalisten

Vandenberghe Boekhouders & Fiscalisten, or VDBS, is an accounting and tax firm registered with the ITAA under number 50.793.038. It has two offices, on Roombaardstraat in Nazareth and on Bagattenstraat in Ghent, both within walking distance of train and bus. The team has fourteen bookkeepers, accountants, tax specialists and tax advisers, backed by a network of independent external experts. Its mission is to support entrepreneurs and liberal professionals in their financial goals, wealth building and tax, social security and financial protection.

Each client has a dedicated file manager who knows the file from A to Z and gives regular updates. The file managers have built particular experience in construction and property, the liberal professions, consultants and service providers, and the firm takes this into account when assigning each file. The firm invests in continuing education and digitalisation, aiming for paperless operations, and its job offers mention the Expert/M accounting software.

The VDBS Online platform is at the heart of how it works: easy input, digital archive, near real-time reports, payment module, mobile app and permanent cloud access. It lets the firm give proactive advice and spot problem areas sooner. The VDBS Invoice tool, linked to the platform, is used to produce invoices, quotes and purchase orders, manage customers and stock, follow up debtors with payment reminders, and send e-invoices via Peppol.

For sole traders, the firm keeps single-entry accounts, prepares the income statement and reports provisional figures every quarter or as needed. Clients can also enter their own bookkeeping in VDBS Online, with the firm handling review and tax formalities. For companies, it helps form or transfer a private limited company, cooperative, public limited company, general or limited partnership or partnership, keeps double-entry accounts, prepares the balance sheet and income statement, prepares and files the annual accounts with the National Bank, files the corporate income tax return and defends the file in a tax audit.

Start-ups are invited to a first meeting without commitment, where the firm looks at the project's feasibility and compares sole trader and company options. Within two to three working days it sends an estimate of annual costs and a proposal, then provides template documents such as an invoice, terms of sale or contracts if needed. The firm also runs free training sessions for clients: bookkeeping and expense basics, reading a balance sheet, acquiring property, estate planning, social security rights and pensions, and why to form a company.

Its rates are published: from 65 euros an hour for a junior file manager to 110 euros for the manager, excluding VAT. Billing is either a fixed fee or time spent, monthly or quarterly, under clear arrangements made in advance. The office is open Monday to Thursday during the day and on Friday until 3 pm.