Reading a balance sheet filed at the NBB: full schema vs abridged schema
Every Belgian company files its accounts with the NBB Central Balance Sheet Office, but not in the same format. Understanding the difference between full schema, abridged schema and micro schema is essential to analyse a balance sheet, compute ratios and read the figures of a Belgian SME correctly.
In brief
Knowing how to read an NBB balance sheet is essential for anyone assessing a Belgian company — banker, accountant, director, B2B prospector. A Belgian company files its annual accounts under one of three possible schemas: full, abridged or micro. The choice depends on size criteria (workforce, turnover, total balance sheet). Reading an NBB balance sheet without knowing which schema it was filed under risks misinterpreting incomplete figures — or computing a ratio on a rubric that simply does not exist in that schema. Here is how to recognise each format and find the essential rubrics.
Why three schemas?
The Belgian legislator's goal — inherited from EU accounting law — is to lighten the obligations of small businesses while preserving transparency for large ones. The smaller the company, the less detail it must publish. That protects its trade secrets and reduces its accounting cost. In exchange, the external analyst must accept working with less information.
The three schemas are defined by the Code of Companies and Associations (CSA) and the Royal Decree of 29 April 2019. The thresholds are updated periodically.
Current thresholds
A company is classified along three criteria, measured over two consecutive fiscal years. If it exceeds at least two of the three thresholds, it moves into the higher category.
| Category | Average workforce | Annual turnover ex-VAT | Total balance sheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro company | ≤ 10 | ≤ €900,000 | ≤ €450,000 |
| Small company | ≤ 50 | ≤ €11,250,000 | ≤ €6,000,000 |
| Large company | > 50 | > €11,250,000 | > €6,000,000 |
- Micro company → micro schema
- Small company → abridged schema
- Large company → full schema (mandatory)
Note: a small company may voluntarily use the full schema. Rare but useful to know — some firms do it to reassure their bank.
The full schema
The full schema is the most detailed. It publishes the entirety of the Minimum Standardised Chart of Accounts (PCMN/MAR) rubrics: detailed assets and liabilities over ~80 lines, 12-tier income statement, mandatory disclosures (fixed assets, debt by maturity, off-balance-sheet rights and commitments, statements of gains, depreciation, etc.).
Key rubrics (XBRL codes):
| Code | Rubric |
|---|---|
| 20/58 | Total assets |
| 20/28 | Fixed assets |
| 29/58 | Current assets |
| 10/15 | Equity |
| 16 | Provisions and deferred taxes |
| 17 | Debts > 1 year |
| 42/48 | Debts ≤ 1 year |
| 17/49 | Total debts |
| 70 | Turnover |
| 60/64 | Detailed operating expenses |
| 9901 | Operating result |
| 9904 | Result for the period |
| 9800 | Value added |
| 62 | Personnel costs |
| 63 | Depreciation |
| 65 | Financial expenses |
| 9087 | Average workforce FTE |
This schema is the one that lets you compute all financial ratios, including the full versions of the Altman Z''-Score and Conan-Holder.
The abridged schema
The abridged schema is roughly 30% shorter. Detailed rubrics are grouped:
- Assets and liabilities keep their main aggregates but lose detail (e.g. tangible fixed assets are no longer broken down by category)
- Turnover does not have to be published separately — it is rolled up into rubric 70/74 (operating income). The number-one trap for an external analyst: thinking "turnover = 0" while the turnover is simply lumped together with other income.
- Personnel costs (62) are published
- Value added (9800) is not always present
- Disclosures are heavily lightened
Practical consequence for scoring: on an abridged schema, ratio X4 of Conan-Holder (financial expenses / turnover) has to use total operating income as the denominator, which slightly underestimates X4.
The micro schema
Introduced in 2016, the micro schema is the most minimalist. It contains:
- A synthetic balance sheet over a few lines (fixed assets, current assets, equity, provisions, long-term debts, short-term debts)
- A very condensed income statement
- Virtually no disclosures
Practical consequence: it becomes nearly impossible to compute most standard ratios. Academic scoring operates in graceful-degraded mode, with missing terms set to zero.
Identifying a filing's schema
When you download a PDF from the NBB website or via the Central Balance Sheet Office API, the document header always indicates the schema:
- "Annual accounts in EUR (full schema)" → C
- "Annual accounts in EUR (abridged schema)" → A
- "Annual accounts in EUR (micro schema)" → M
In the XBRL JSON, the scheme or templateId field distinguishes the three formats.
Rubric mapping table
To ease comparative reading, here are the main rubrics that change across schemas:
| Item | Full schema | Abridged schema | Micro schema |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover (70) | ✅ Mandatory | ❌ Optional (rolled into 70/74) | ❌ Rolled into 70/74 |
| Value added (9800) | ✅ | ⚠️ Sometimes | ❌ |
| Fixed assets detail | ✅ Full disclosure | ❌ Aggregated | ❌ Aggregated |
| Personnel costs (62) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ Merged |
| Debts by maturity | ✅ Detailed | ✅ Detailed | ⚠️ Aggregated |
| Average workforce (9087) | ✅ FTE | ✅ FTE | ✅ Headcount |
| Director compensation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Classic pitfalls for the external analyst
How the Company Belgium API handles the three schemas
The API automatically normalises the three schemas to a single pivot format. When a rubric does not exist in the source schema (e.g. turnover on an abridged filing), it is returned as null rather than zero — which avoids all interpretation pitfalls.
The academic scoring block computes each ratio with available data and explicitly flags applied approximations in proxyNotes (e.g. "X5 dropped because personnel costs are not separated in this micro schema"). This level of transparency is essential in an AML audit context or a credit file.
To get started, see the BCE Company Belgium API documentation or explore typical business use cases.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell whether a Belgian company files under the full, abridged or micro schema?
The document header on the Central Balance Sheet Office always states it explicitly: 'full schema', 'abridged schema' or 'micro schema'. In XBRL, the scheme or templateId field distinguishes the three formats. You can also infer it from the criteria: if the company employs more than 50 people or exceeds €11.25M turnover, the full schema is mandatory.
Is turnover always published in an abridged schema?
No. In the abridged schema, the legislator allows the company to merge turnover (rubric 70) with other operating income in an aggregated rubric 70/74. A company that wants to protect its commercial margins can opt for that. For the external analyst, this means net margin cannot be computed directly — total operating income is used as a proxy.
Can a company voluntarily file under the full schema when it qualifies for abridged?
Yes, and it is perfectly legal — even encouraged for firms that want to reassure their bank or investors. The full schema is a signal of transparency and helps secure credit. Conversely, a large company cannot switch to abridged to hide detail — the thresholds are unbreachable ceilings.
Can I compare ratios from a full-schema company with those from an abridged-schema one?
With care. Some ratios (solvency, debt, ROE) are computable in both schemas and remain comparable. Others (net margin without separately reported turnover, Conan-Holder's X5 without separately reported personnel costs) are not. Best practice is to normalise to the poorer base: if you compare 10 companies of which 3 are abridged, compute all ratios as if they were all abridged.
Comments
Related articles
Altman Z-Score for Belgian SMEs: a practical guide with worked examples
Altman's Z-Score is the academic benchmark for predicting business failure. Discover the Z'' version adapted for unlisted Belgian SMEs — its formula, thresholds and a fully worked example based on annual accounts filed with the NBB.
Belgian chart of accounts 2026 (PCMN/MAR): the essential guide
The Belgian chart of accounts (PCMN/MAR) remains in 2026 the backbone of every Belgian company's bookkeeping. This article walks through the 7 classes, the « micro / small » size thresholds applicable to financial years closed in 2026, classic coding pitfalls, and how a modern invoicing module can generate PCMN-compliant entries without manual input.
Enterprise number vs establishment unit: the difference in the BCE
The enterprise number (BCE/KBO) identifies a legal entity, the establishment unit identifies a physical activity point. Confusing the two wastes minutes in API integration and hours in commercial analysis. Here is exactly what differentiates them and how to use them correctly.