Odoo is originally Belgian software, but now runs at thousands of Dutch businesses. Still, the same Dutch questions keep coming back during an implementation: can I get my VAT return out of it, does the bank connection work with my bank, and what will my accountant think of it? Good news: the answer is yes three times over, provided you set it up properly. Here is what you need to know.
VAT return and ICP directly from Odoo
With the Dutch localisation, Odoo generates your VAT return in the format of the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration). Via Accounting > Reporting > Tax Report you see per box (1a, 1b, 4b, and so on) which amounts fall into it, and you can click through to the underlying entries. If you supply to businesses within the EU, Odoo also compiles the ICP declaration for you. How to do that step by step is covered in our articles on the VAT return from Odoo and the ICP declaration. Eén advies vooraf: check your tax boxes before you file your first return. Five minutes of checking prevents a supplementary return.
Bankkoppeling via PSD2
Importing bank statements manually is no longer necessary. Odoo connects via PSD2 to virtually all Dutch banks, including Rabobank, ING, ABN AMRO and bunq. Your transactions come in automatically every day, and Odoo itself suggests which payment belongs to which invoice. Reconciliation thus becomes a matter of confirming rather than figuring out. You set up the connection via Accounting > Configuration > Online Synchronisation; in this article we show you how. Note: a PSD2 consent expires periodically and then has to be reconfirmed with your bank. Set a recurring activity for it in your calendar.
RGS and your chart of accounts
Dutch accountants like to work with the Reference Chart of Accounts (Referentie Grootboekschema, RGS). With the Dutch localisation, Odoo ships a standard chart of accounts that you can align with it by linking RGS codes to your general ledger accounts. That makes the connection with your accountant's reporting software a lot simpler. Go through your chart of accounts critically with your accountant at the start: merging or renumbering accounts is better done before the first entry than after the thousandth.
Working with your accountant
Your accountant need not be an Odoo licence obstacle. Practical options:
- Give your accountant their own user with accounting rights, so they can look directly into the administration and make correction entries themselves.
- Export an audit file (XAF) or general ledger export for accountants who work in their own software.
- Agree who does what: most SMEs do their own invoicing and banking, while the accountant checks periodically and prepares the annual accounts.
And then there is Peppol
E-invoicing via Peppol is rapidly becoming the norm in Europe, and the Dutch government already requires it for central government contracts. Odoo has Peppol built in: you register once via Accounting > Configuration > Settings, and from then on you send and receive e-invoices directly from Odoo. No more retyping PDFs, and your invoices arrive in structured form at customers who are also on Peppol.
Praktische tip
Plan your first VAT return from Odoo in parallel with your old way of working: prepare the return in both systems and compare the boxes. If everything reconciles, you know for certain your set-up is correct. If something differs, you will find the cause now in fifteen minutes instead of next year during the audit.
Want to set up your Dutch administration properly in Odoo? Contact DAADit Group; we know both Odoo and the Dutch requirements from the inside.