12 financial ratios to watch when assessing a Belgian SME in 2026

In brief

Assessing a Belgian SME means crossing several angles. No single ratio gives the full picture on its own — a high solvency ratio can mask catastrophic operating profitability, and vice versa. Here are the 12 structuring ratios grouped into 5 families, with formula, interpretation and the NBB annual-accounts rubric where to find the numbers.

Family 1 — Solvency and structure (4 ratios)

1. Solvency ratio

1

Solvency = Equity / Total assets

Rubrics: 10/15 / 20/58. Healthy threshold: > 25%. Alarm: < 15%.

Measures the share of assets financed by equity. A healthy Belgian SME sits between 30 and 50%. Below 15%, the company is highly dependent on creditors and a moderate shock can default it.

2. Debt-to-equity ratio

1

D/E = Total debts / Equity

Rubrics: 17/49 / 10/15. Healthy threshold: < 2.0. Alarm: > 4.0.

Inverse of solvency. Above 4, the company is over-leveraged and banks usually refuse further financing.

3. Long-term financial independence

1

LT Independence = Equity / Permanent capital

Rubrics: 10/15 / (10/15 + 17). Healthy threshold: > 50%.

Permanent capital = equity + long-term debts. This ratio tells you what share of long-term financing comes from shareholders rather than banks.

4. Repayment capacity

1

Repayment = Financial debts / EBITDA

Rubrics: (financial debts) / rebuilt EBITDA. Healthy threshold: < 3 years. Alarm: > 5 years.

How many years would it take, dedicating all EBITDA to debt repayment, to become debt-free? Above 5 years, leverage is considered excessive. For the definition of EBITDA, see our article on EBITDA, EBIT and operating result.

Family 2 — Liquidity (2 ratios)

5. Current ratio

1

Current ratio = Current assets / Debts ≤ 1 year

Rubrics: 29/58 / 42/48. Healthy threshold: > 1.5. Alarm: < 1.0.

Capacity to repay short-term debts with short-term assets. Below 1, the company could theoretically not honour its near maturities.

6. Acid test (quick ratio)

1

Quick ratio = (Receivables + Cash) / Debts ≤ 1 year

Healthy threshold: > 1.0.

Stricter variant excluding inventory (less liquid). More relevant for sectors where inventory turns slowly (industry, specialised distribution).

Family 3 — Profitability (3 ratios)

7. Net margin

1

Net margin = Result for the period / Turnover

Rubrics: 9904 / 70. Healthy threshold: > 5% (varies strongly by sector).

Percentage of each euro of turnover ending as net result. Always compare within the same sector — a consultancy's net margin has nothing to do with a food distributor's.

8. Operating margin

1

Operating margin = Operating result / Turnover

Rubrics: 9901 / 70. Healthy threshold: > 8%.

Purer indicator of operating performance (before financial items and tax). Lets you compare two companies even if one is more leveraged than the other.

9. ROE (Return on Equity)

1

ROE = Result for the period / Equity

Rubrics: 9904 / 10/15. Healthy threshold: > 10%.

Financial profitability for the shareholder. Compare with the opportunity cost of capital (typically 6-8% in a diversified Belgian investment in 2026). A lower ROE means the company is not creating value for its shareholder.

Family 4 — Productivity and operational performance (2 ratios)

10. Personnel productivity

1

Productivity = Value added / Average workforce

Rubrics: 9800 / 9087. Healthy threshold: sector-dependent, typically €50,000 to €120,000 per FTE.

How much value added each FTE generates per year. Key indicator for services (which have almost no other lever). For industrial companies, weight with asset productivity.

11. Asset turnover

1

Asset turnover = Turnover / Total assets

Rubrics: 70 / 20/58. Healthy threshold: > 1.0 (the balance sheet turns at least once per year).

Measures how efficiently the company uses its assets to generate turnover. A low ratio (< 0.5) means either under-used assets (vacant real estate, idle equipment) or falling activity.

Family 5 — Financial stress (1 ratio)

12. Interest coverage

1

Coverage = EBIT / Financial expenses

Rubrics: rebuilt EBIT / 65. Healthy threshold: > 5.0. Alarm: < 2.0.

How many times the company can cover its financial expenses with operating result. Below 2, the slightest operational shock puts the company in default on interest. Below 1, the company is already in trouble.

The consolidated dashboard

Synthetic view applied to our Brussels example SRL:

Overall reading: profitable for the shareholder (ROE) and productive (FTE productivity, turnover), but with thin margins and tight liquidity. Typical profile of a growing services SME — investing in working capital would be the management priority.

What the ratios don't say

No ratio captures:

• Governance quality (director competence, key-person dependency)

• Customer diversification (one customer = 50% of turnover is a time bomb, invisible in the accounts)

• Off-balance-sheet commitments (guarantees, long-term contracts, ongoing litigation)

• Weak BCE signals (director changes, recent address transfer, late filing)

• Reputation and AML risks (PEPs in beneficial owners, sanctions, ...)

That is why a complete scoring file always combines:

Automation

The Company Belgium API computes the 12 ratios automatically for the last 10 fiscal years filed at the NBB. You get a multi-year dashboard that reveals trends: a deteriorated but improving ratio is less concerning than a "healthy" but rapidly degrading one.

For more on integrated scoring and business use cases, see our guide for accountants on automating financial analysis.