Why is turnover missing?

Companies below the size thresholds file an abbreviated or micro format, and the law exempts them from publishing turnover. The income statement then starts at gross margin.

What is good solvency?

Equity divided by total assets. Above 35% is solid; below 15% the company lives on its debts — with large differences between sectors.

Are the accounts up to date?

They are filed within seven months of the year-end; when you read them, they are between seven and nineteen months old. The filing date and the Gazette publications are more recent.

Reading Belgian SME accounts: the five figures that count

Most Belgian SMEs file an abbreviated or micro format: the law exempts them from publishing their turnover and the detail of the income statement. It is neither an anomaly nor secrecy — it is the normal regime. You can still read the essentials in it, provided you know where to look. The item codes quoted below are those of the Belgian standard format; they are identical from one company to the next, whatever the language of the filing (French, Dutch or German).

The balance sheet at a glance: what the company has (assets) and what it owes (liabilities). Equity is what is left once everything is paid.

Step by step: where to look, what to read

Equity — what the company really owns

Item 10/15

The difference between what it has and what it owes: the capital contributed by the shareholders, plus the profits retained over the years, minus accumulated losses.

Positive, risingThe company is getting richerIt keeps part of its profits.

FallingIt is losing money, or paying out more than it earnsRead it with the profit figure.

NegativeIt has used up more than its capitalCreditors are financing what comes next. The figure to read first, over three years.

Profit or loss for the year — does it make money?

Item 9904

Profit or loss for the year, after tax. One figure on its own says little; the sequence says it all. Three modest profits are better than one large profit followed by two losses. Set it against equity: a €40,000 loss does not weigh the same with €50,000 of equity as with €500,000.

Cash and debts due within one year — will it hold next month?

Items 54/58 and 42/48

Cash at bank and in hand is the till and the bank accounts. Debts due within one year are what must be paid soon: suppliers, bank, social security, VAT. Add the receivables within one year (what customers owe): if receivables + cash cover the short-term debts, the company holds without new credit. If not, it depends on its bank or its suppliers to get through the month.

Solvency — the ratio everyone looks at

Equity ÷ total assets (20/58)

> 35%Solid structureThe company largely owns itself.

15 – 35%CommonRead it with cash.

< 15%Lives on its debtsThese bounds vary by trade: a wholesaler runs with little equity, an equipment-heavy business needs a lot.

Overdue debts to social security and the tax authorities — the figure nobody wants to show

Notes, items 9072/9076

An amount here means the company has not paid its contributions or taxes on time. It is the strongest signal of all: a company pays the National Social Security Office (ONSS/RSZ) before anyone else, because it pursues quickly. If it no longer does, it is choosing its creditors.

Every ratio used here is defined in the glossary, and the complete check of a Belgian company — register, Official Gazette, VAT, Peppol — is in How to check a Belgian company.

Reading abbreviated accounts in five minutes

Equity (10/15): sign and trend over three financial years.
Profit or loss (9904): the last three in a row.
Cash + receivables against debts due within one year.
Solvency: equity ÷ total assets.
Overdue social security and tax debts in the notes.
Filing date: within seven months?

Sources of the publications cited: company register (CBE), filed annual accounts (NBB — Central Balance Sheet Office), Belgian Gazette. This guide is general information, not advice for a specific case. How the soundness score is computed