Do Belgian Freelancers Need an Accountant? What Software Can (and Can't) Replace

The question is usually asked as "software or accountant?". It is easier to answer as a list of tasks. Some are repetitive record-keeping. Some are judgement that someone has to be accountable for. Software is good at the first kind. The second kind is what an accountant is for.

The responsibility boundary

Software keeps the records complete and current. It does not make tax decisions, and it should not pretend to.

When you probably want an accountant

• You run a company (BV/SRL) rather than a sole proprietorship, with annual accounts to file.
• You have cross-border clients, mixed income, or assets whose treatment is not obvious.
• You are about to make a decision with multi-year consequences: incorporating, taking on staff, a large investment.
• You would rather not file your own returns, or you are not confident doing so.

Whether you are legally required to use one depends on your structure and situation. Ask an accountant or the relevant professional body rather than relying on a general article, including this one.

When software alone may be enough for now

• You are a sole proprietor with a simple activity and few, recurring cost types.
• You are comfortable preparing and filing your own VAT return, and you know where to ask when something unusual comes up.
• You are willing to review your records every month rather than once a quarter.

Even then, one review with an accountant before your first annual return is cheap insurance against a systematic mistake.

How to compare the options

Do not compare a software subscription with an accountant's fee as if they bought the same thing. Write down, for your own situation:

1. Which tasks from the table above you do today, and how long they take.
2. Which of those tasks the software actually takes over, and which it only prepares for someone else.
3. Which tasks need judgement, and who carries that judgement now.
4. What your accountant currently spends time on. If a large part is chasing missing documents or retyping data, cleaner records change their work. If it is advice and filing, they do not.

No general answer says one setup is cheaper. The comparison depends on your volume, your structure and your accountant's pricing.

Working with both

If you use software and an accountant together, agree on three things:

• What they receive and how. An export, shared access, or documents forwarded as they arrive.
• When. Monthly, quarterly, or around each VAT period.
• Who answers what. Unusual transactions go to the accountant as a question, with the document attached, rather than being guessed at.

For the handoff itself, see how to work with your Belgian accountant. If you are comparing tools for the software side, the comparisons set out what each one does. Accounting practices can read how Dokus fits their work on the page for accountants.

What Dokus does and does not do

Dokus captures invoices and receipts, reads them for your review, sends invoices over Peppol when you confirm them, and suggests which payment belongs to which invoice for you to confirm. It gives your accountant free access to the records. It is not an accountant, it does not file returns, and it does not decide how anything is treated for tax.