Doing your own bookkeeping as a sole proprietor? Here’s how to get started the right way

Simplified accounting: simple and legally compliant

In Belgium, every self-employed activity requires you to keep accounting records. However, when operating as a sole proprietorship, you do not need to use double-entry bookkeeping. Instead, you can opt for simplified accounting.

In practice:

• you only record your purchases and sales;

• you prepare a profit and loss statement each year;

• you do not need to maintain a balance sheet or financial journal as companies do.

This structure makes administrative management much more accessible, especially if you use digital tools like PIA Go!.

Your basic administration: purchases and sales

In simplified accounting, your administration mainly relies on two registers.

1. The purchase journal

This register includes all incoming invoices and credit notes.

Did you purchase something that is partly used privately, such as a mobile phone subscription? Only the professional portion should be recorded in your accounting.

Tip: Always check that your enterprise number appears on every purchase invoice. This precaution can prevent discussions during a tax audit.

2. The sales journal

This register includes all invoices issued to your clients.

Some businesses sell directly to consumers without issuing invoices, such as hair salons or retail shops. In that case, you must keep a daily revenue journal.

In this journal, you record each day’s total sales without invoices, including €0 on days when no sales occur. These daily totals are then transferred to your sales journal.

The daily revenue journal is included by default in the PIA Go! platform, allowing you to automatically comply with legal requirements.

Cash payments: an additional obligation

Do you accept or make cash payments?

If so, you must also keep a cash book, as required by law.

For now, PIA Go! does not yet offer a digital version of this register, so you will need to maintain it separately, either on paper or using another tool.

VAT returns: a challenge in itself

VAT returns can seem complex—and that feeling is understandable.

They require precise work: for every purchase and sale, you must determine the correct VAT codes and reporting boxes.

Each year, you must also submit a client listing, which summarizes the total turnover generated with each professional client to whom you issued an invoice.

Would you like to learn more about VAT returns and the client listing? Take a look at our dedicated blog article on this topic.

The profit and loss statement: the essentials

You want to know how much your activity actually earned during the year. The tax authorities are interested in this result as well.

Based on your journals, you prepare a profit and loss statement, which summarizes your income and expenses and determines your taxable profit.

In simplified accounting, this document includes at least:

• [A] Revenue

• [B] Purchases of goods: items bought for resale, possibly after processing

• [B bis] Inventory change: difference between inventory value at the beginning and end of the year

• [C] Gross margin = [A] − ([B] − [B bis]): result before deducting expenses

• [D] Other expenses: business-related costs not re-invoiced, such as office supplies or a smartphone subscription

• [E] Depreciation: costs related to assets used for several years and not intended for resale

If you buy an item that will be used for more than one year, you cannot deduct the full amount in the year of purchase.

The cost must be spread over time, which is called depreciation.

Each year, you record a portion of the purchase price in your profit and loss statement during the asset’s useful life.

• [F] Profit before tax = [C] − [D] − [E]

Preparing your profit and loss statement in Excel?

If you prepare your profit and loss statement yourself in Excel, you will need to determine for each transaction which category it belongs to.

This process requires accuracy, discipline… and time.

Supporting documents: essential during a tax audit

Your journals and profit and loss statement are not sufficient evidence during a tax audit.

You must also keep all supporting documents for your transactions, either in paper or digital form.

That shoebox filled with receipts and invoices you plan to organize “one day”?
Yes, that one too.

PIA Go! Your simplified accounting, made even simpler

Prefer not to spend your evenings dealing with Excel formulas? That’s perfectly understandable.

With PIA Go!, simplified accounting becomes truly easy to manage. The solution combines an intuitive digital platform with the expertise of a professional accountant.

Based on the transactions you enter:

• VAT returns are generated automatically;

• the client listing is prepared;

• the profit and loss statement is created.

This allows you to spend more time focusing on your business, while knowing your accounting is handled accurately and professionally.

Ready to simplify your accounting?

Schedule a no-obligation video consultation today.