What is SBR? The Netherlands’ standard for digital business reporting

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Más información 
  1. Introducción
  2. What is SBR in the Netherlands?
  3. How does SBR work?
    1. The Dutch Taxonomy
    2. XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language)
    3. Digipoort
  4. Why was SBR introduced for business reporting?
  5. Who has to use SBR for filings?
  6. How do you file annual accounts with SBR?
    1. Prepare the financial statements
    2. Choose how to submit
    3. Authenticate the submission
    4. Send and confirm
    5. Wait for publication and reuse
  7. What are the benefits of SBR for businesses?
    1. Less duplication and higher accuracy
    2. Faster turnaround
    3. Higher security
    4. Ease of use
  8. Which tools and software support SBR reporting?
  9. How Stripe Issuing can help

Standard Business Reporting (SBR) is the Netherlands’ national framework for digital business reporting. It gives companies, accountants, and government bodies a shared language for exchanging financial data. Using a single taxonomy and a secure delivery network through the government’s Digipoort portal, SBR connects filings to institutions such as the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst). It replaces inconsistent manual submissions with one standardized, verifiable process that saves time and improves data quality.

Below, we’ll explain how SBR works, who has to use it, and how companies can prepare their systems to stay compliant.

What’s in this article?

  • What is SBR in the Netherlands?
  • How does SBR work?
  • Why was SBR introduced for business reporting?
  • Who has to use SBR for filings?
  • How do you file annual accounts with SBR?
  • What are the benefits of SBR for businesses?
  • Which tools and software support SBR reporting?
  • How Stripe Issuing can help

What is SBR in the Netherlands?

SBR is the national framework that the Netherlands uses to digitally exchange business data with government agencies and banks.

It defines a standard way to format, label, and transmit financial information so every institution—the Belastingdienst, the KVK, Statistics Netherlands, and banks—can interpret it consistently. A business sends its numbers once, and each receiving system reads them automatically, without requiring re-entry.

Businesses use SBR to send annual accounts, tax filings, and statistical data directly from their accounting software. Government systems can process and validate the data immediately.

How does SBR work?

Every part of the SBR system, including data, technology, and process, follows the same set of rules. Those rules let financial data move automatically from a company’s accounting system to the right government database without manual re-entry or interpretation.

The framework is built on three components.

The Dutch Taxonomy

The Dutch Taxonomy is the standard that defines what data needs to be included in a financial report. When every agency refers to the same definitions, data can be reused. And a figure recorded once in a company’s accounts can feed multiple reports (e.g., annual accounts, tax filings, statistics) without modification.

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language)

XBRL gives that data its structure. It’s an open global format that tags every piece of information so computers know exactly what it represents. In an SBR report, each text field has a standard label. Many Dutch filings use Inline XBRL, which embeds those tags into a readable document so one file serves both people and systems.

Digipoort

Once a report is prepared, it travels through Digipoort, the Dutch government’s secure digital gateway. Digipoort routes messages to the correct agency: the KVK, the Belastingdienst, or Statistics Netherlands. Every transmission is authenticated and encrypted using a PKIoverheid (i.e., the government’s public key infrastructure) certificate.

Together, these components create an automated pipeline. Businesses prepare data in SBR-ready software and submit it through Digipoort. The information then reaches the correct public register or database. The KVK receives annual accounts that are immediately validated and ready for publication, and the Belastingdienst and Statistics Netherlands receive consistent data they can analyze without translation.

Why was SBR introduced for business reporting?

Before SBR, Dutch businesses sent the same numbers to multiple institutions, each with its own format and definitions. The result was duplicated work and data that varied across agencies.

SBR established a national, digital framework that the Belastingdienst, the KVK, Statistics Netherlands, and banks can all share. It sets a single data language, a secure delivery channel, and standard validation so reports move cleanly from company systems to public databases.

The program began in 2004 as the Netherlands Taxonomy Project, which used XBRL to
codify data definitions. It was built through close collaboration among the government, accountants, banks, and software providers, Each party has a stake in consistent, reusable data. Companies prepare information in that taxonomy and transmit it through Digipoort. Agencies can then process and reuse the same dataset across their workflows.

The program’s benefits are clear: the administrative burden decreased by 25% from 2002–2007. SBR replaced fragmented, form-by-form reporting with a single, coherent system that fits how modern finance teams operate.

Who has to use SBR for filings?

Almost every Dutch company that files financial statements with the KVK must use SBR. The transition happened in stages, based on company size and reporting complexity. Micro and small entities have had to file through SBR since 2016. That requirement extended to medium-sized companies in 2017. From the 2025 financial year, large companies must file electronically via SBR.

Foreign companies with Dutch branches follow the same digital filing requirements. They can file through a Dutch intermediary or use an approved digital certificate to access the system.

How do you file annual accounts with SBR?

Filing annual accounts with SBR follows a clear digital path. A company’s accounting system produces financial statements, the data is tagged according to the Dutch Taxonomy, and the completed report is sent through Digipoort to the KVK. Businesses typically complete the entire process inside their accounting software. Here are the steps to filing.

Prepare the financial statements

Financial data (e.g., balance sheet, profit and loss, notes) is finalized in accounting or consolidation software. Each figure is linked to the correct definition in the Dutch Taxonomy so the report is already structured in SBR format.

Choose how to submit

Small companies often file through the KVK’s online portal, where they enter figures directly or upload XBRL files. Medium-sized and large companies usually file from their own systems through Digipoort and send reports in XBRL or Inline XBRL.

Authenticate the submission

Electronic filings use a PKIoverheid certificate, the digital credential that confirms the sender’s identity and secures the transmission. Accountants who file for clients send reports under their own certificates.

Send and confirm

Once a report is submitted, Digipoort validates the structure and company details before it routes the report to the KVK. The sender receives an immediate confirmation or an error notice. Any issue (e.g., a mismatched company number) can be corrected and resubmitted right away.

Wait for publication and reuse

Approved filings appear in the public Business Register. The same data can also serve other institutions: Statistics Netherlands uses it for analysis, and banks can request it for credit assessment.

The financials move from your accounting system to the KVK through a single channel, and the data is validated the moment it arrives.

What are the benefits of SBR for businesses?

SBR makes financial reporting faster, cleaner, and easier to trust. Companies prepare their numbers once, and the same dataset flows to every agency that needs it.

Here’s a closer look at SBR’s advantages for businesses.

Less duplication and higher accuracy

Each report draws from a single source of truth, not a patchwork of spreadsheets. Standard definitions remove ambiguity, and validation rules catch imbalances before submission. Data reaches regulators in a clean, consistent form.

Faster turnaround

Filings move through Digipoort in real time. The sender gets a quick confirmation, and errors can be fixed immediately.

Higher security

Every submission is encrypted and verified with a PKIoverheid certificate that confirms the sender’s identity and keeps the contents intact from system to system.

Ease of use

SBR operates as part of the normal accounting cycle. Reports move automatically from financial software to the public record without separate processes or rework. Compliance becomes another accurate, fast, and verifiable data flow.

Which tools and software support SBR reporting?

SBR has become a standard feature in Dutch accounting and financial software. Platforms used by businesses, accountants, and auditors can already produce XBRL or Inline XBRL files and send them securely through Digipoort. The process usually runs inside the same systems teams use for bookkeeping, taxes, or consolidation, with no separate workflow required.

Smaller firms that don’t use commercial software can file through the KVK’s online portal, which accepts direct entry or XBRL files exported from simpler accounting tools. You can check whether your software has SBR functionality through your supplier or at softwarepakketten.nl.

Larger organizations often work with enterprise systems that map their accounts to SBR definitions automatically. Those platforms handle multiple entities, include digital audit assurance modules, and connect straight to Digipoort for submission.

A strong developer community has also grown around SBR, with open-source libraries that make custom integrations straightforward. The major accounting and reporting systems employed in the Netherlands use SBR by default. It’s built into how filings move, how accountants certify reports, and how companies connect their data to public records.

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El contenido de este artículo tiene solo fines informativos y educativos generales y no debe interpretarse como asesoramiento legal o fiscal. Stripe no garantiza la exactitud, la integridad, la adecuación o la vigencia de la información incluida en el artículo. Busca un abogado o un asesor fiscal profesional y con licencia para ejercer en tu jurisdicción si necesitas asesoramiento para tu situación particular.

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