How to find an English speaking accountant in Belgium

Here is a list of 15+ accountants recommended by freelancers. They appear in order of location and alphabetical order.

Some of the firms were checked by us and the results are mentioned below as well. Click on the link for contact details and choose carefully your own accountant.


In and near Brussels:

• Abatis.eu, Brussels
• Fidelium.be, Brussels
• Finantra, Waterloo
• Fiscada, Brussels
• Fiscalteam.be, Brussels, Louvain-La-Neuve & Liège
• Fiskodata, Groot-Bijgaarden & Geraardsbergen
• Fiskophil, Brussels
• Ondernemingscoach Bvba, Londerzeel
• Vdwacc bvba, Ninove

In and near Ghent:

• Eskofin, Destelbergen
• Heidi Hemelsoet, Ghent
• Judith Hoste, Ghent
• Vadecas, Ghent
• taXcellence

Other locations (Flanders)

• Accm, Heist-op-den-Berg
• Finfisco, Zonhoven
• Finivo, Leuven, Mechelen, Knokke, Kortenberg, Grimbergen (update 1 Nov: It is a very large organisation, however the level of the response to their customers is very low, so if you are expecting an accountant who would meet with you regularly to discuss your financial status, it is recommended to look somewhere else)

• Verschaeren & Mertens, Mechelen (update 27 July 2021: do not have capacity to take extra clients

Tips for picking an accountant:

• Get recommendations from other freelancers in a similar situation/industry as you
• Book meetings with a couple of accountants before deciding
• Consider having a financial advisor, not just an accountant, who will be booking your expenses and handling VAT declarations.
• Pick one you trust. Someone who educates you and shows you why certain expenses were booked the way they were booked.
• Consider choosing a firm that has digitalised its processes. You may expect some accountants are still requiring bringing your invoices on paper, which eventually will take more time for you to compile + time for transport.
• Our advise to go for an established practice that has enough staff to handle your requests.
• If you are not earning a lot at the start, consider using automated solutions like Accountable that pretty much can handle your small accounting books. Once your family situation or business situation becomes more complex and your business grows, handling your bookkeeping via an app becomes less recommended, as you may want to consider different scenarios for your financial optimisation.

Pricing

For these services: 4 x VAT return, 1x Annual tax return, Documenting invoices/expenses, and tax advice (one meeting a year and/or ongoing advice)
Generally freelancers state pay anything in between 800 - 2500€ annually.

The costs depends on whether:

- it's a small, independent accountant or a large accountancy firm giving the service,
- if it's accounting for a small one-person business or a limited company,
- the amount of invoices and expenses to be processed,
- whether personal taxes are included or not.