Before you sign with a supplier, extend credit or take on a new client, you want to know whether the company across the table is sound. Our module runs that financial analysis automatically: it reads the annual accounts filed with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), calculates the key ratios and produces a PDF report in one click.
From annual accounts to decisions
Through its Central Balance Sheet Office, the NBB publishes the annual accounts of hundreds of thousands of companies every year. Accountants, banks, B2B buyers, investors and recruiters all find valuable information there. However, the data arrives as XBRL filings or scanned balance sheets, which you cannot use as they stand. Reliable financial analysis therefore starts with collecting and normalising the figures.
The ratios we calculate for each company
Our engine retrieves the filed accounts, harmonises the headings and calculates a set of indicators:
- Liquidity: working capital, net cash and the current ratio, which compares short-term assets and liabilities.
- Solvency: equity as a share of total assets, and debt levels.
- Profitability: net margin, return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE).
- Three-year trends: revenue, profit, headcount and equity.
The calculation runs once and the result stays in cache, so every later lookup appears instantly.
How to read a financial analysis
A single ratio tells you little. Instead, compare trends and cross-check indicators:
- Negative equity signals accumulated losses, so check whether the shareholders have a recovery plan.
- Falling cash while revenue grows often points to a need for working capital financing.
- A stable net margin combined with rising debt should prompt questions about recent investments.
- Always compare a company with peers in its sector, because healthy levels vary widely between industries.
A four-step routine
To structure your financial analysis, follow four simple steps:
- Identify the company by its KBO/BCE enterprise number, not just its trading name.
- Check the date of the latest filing: old or missing accounts already deserve a question.
- Read the three years together rather than the latest year alone.
- Record your conclusion in the file, with the PDF as an appendix, so you keep a trace of the decision.
Classification by company size
Belgium's Code of Companies and Associations (article 1:24) sorts companies by size using three criteria: balance sheet total, turnover and average headcount. A company moves to another category when it exceeds at least two of the three thresholds over two consecutive years.
Our engine applies this rule automatically and shows the category (micro, small, medium or large) as a badge on the company profile. In any financial analysis this matters: the category determines the filing format (abridged, full or consolidated) and also shapes your commercial approach.
Charts and the PDF report
Each report embeds SVG charts directly in the document, with no JavaScript dependency for the reader: revenue trend, cost breakdown and cash curve. As a result, the file stays light and prints cleanly.
From the company profile, one click downloads a PDF of around ten pages that sums up your financial analysis:
- administrative identity: enterprise number, address, legal form;
- a summary of the last three fiscal years;
- key ratios with comments, plus trend charts;
- the size classification;
- traceability notes: NBB source and extraction date.
You can attach this document to a credit file, a partnership proposal or an audit file.
Who is it for?
Automated financial analysis serves several professions:
- Accountants and fiduciaries: open a new client file in ten minutes rather than a full day.
- Banks and lenders: pre-score an application before the full review.
- B2B buyers: avoid unpleasant surprises with a strategic supplier.
- Due diligence firms: spend less time on raw data collection and more on the substance of the file.
The limits of financial analysis based on filed accounts
Filed accounts reflect the situation on the closing date, not in real time. Moreover, they reach the NBB several months after the year end. For volatile sectors such as retail or construction, complement your financial analysis with other signals: the payment risk score available through our API, or KBO/BCE monitor alerts (status changes, insolvency proceedings, new directors).
Want this kind of report inside your own tools? Our custom IT development team can connect NBB and KBO data to your CRM or ERP.
