Example6 min lezen
Annual accounts example: a completed set for a sole trader
In this article
The example below is made up, but the figures are consistent with each other: the balance sheet balances and the equity reconciles with the result. Use it as a blueprint for your own annual accounts.
Would you like to see the end result as the tool produces it? Then download the example annual accounts as a PDF — five pages with the balance sheet, the profit and loss account, the accounting policies and the signature block. The figures in it are made up.
Example: sole trader, financial year 2025
A entrepreneur with a company car, inventory and staff. Revenue € 96.500, result € 12.000. Equity starts at € 18.000 and ends at € 24.000.The balance sheet
| Assets | 31-12-2025 | Liabilities | 31-12-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company car (after depreciation) | 18.400 | Equity | 24.000 |
| Inventory | 4.500 | Long-term debt (car) | 9.200 |
| Trade receivables | 6.200 | Trade payables | 3.400 |
| Bank | 9.800 | VAT payable | 2.600 |
| Cash | 300 | — | — |
| Total | 39.200 | Total | 39.200 |
Both sides come to € 39.200. That is not a coincidence but the check: if the balance sheet does not balance, an item is missing or an amount is in the wrong place.
The profit and loss account
| Item | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Net revenue | 96.500 |
| Cost of sales | −38.600 |
| Gross margin | 57.900 |
| Staff costs | −22.000 |
| Depreciation | −2.750 |
| Car costs | −5.400 |
| Housing costs | −9.600 |
| Selling costs | −1.200 |
| Office and general costs | −2.150 |
| Other operating costs | −750 |
| Financial income and expenses | −2.050 |
| Result | 12.000 |
The reconciliation of equity
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Equity at the start of the financial year | 18.000 |
| Result for the financial year | +12.000 |
| Private withdrawals | −6.000 |
| Equity at the end of the financial year | 24.000 |
This sum is the most important check on your entire annual accounts. If it is right, almost everything else is right too. Why it goes wrong and how to solve a difference is explained in EV begin and EV eind.
What you see back in the notes
- For each balance sheet item the build-up: for example which business assets fall under the car and how they are depreciated.
- The accounting policies: historical cost, straight-line depreciation, valuation of inventory at purchase price.
- A note on the revenue and the largest expense items.
- Events after the balance sheet date, if there are any.
What you can take from this
Would you like to fill that structure with your own figures? Then do that with drawing up your annual accounts yourself.
The structure. Put your own items in the same place, check the two reconciliations and write the notes per item. The amounts differ, the build-up does not. If you want to know what you need for that, use the checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Must my balance sheet always balance?
How do I know whether my equity reconciles?
Related articles
Read more about this topic.
Prepare your annual accounts yourself?
Work through the wizard, check your figures and download the annual accounts and the KVK filing documents as PDFs. € 60,44 per financial year, once.
Je vult eerst alles in en bekijkt het resultaat — betalen doe je pas als je de stukken wilt downloaden. Geen abonnement. En zit er een fout in de stukken die wij kunnen herstellen? Dan leveren we gratis een nieuwe versie, zo vaak als nodig.
Dit artikel hoort bij de kennisbank van ZelfJaarrekening.nl. Het is algemene uitleg, geen advies voor jouw situatie. ZelfJaarrekening.nl is a tool, not an accounting firm; you cannot derive rights from this explanation.