Bookkeeping Services in Serbia for Foreign Companies
Your tax filings are only as accurate as the books underneath them. Your monthly reports to head office are only as useful as the ledger they come from. Your annual audit only goes smoothly if the source data is clean to begin with.
Bookkeeping is the layer everything else relies on. When it’s done right, you barely think about it. When it’s done badly, it shows up six months later — as a tax adjustment, a failed reconciliation, or a CFO question you can’t answer.
At HLB TM, we run that layer for foreign-owned companies operating in Serbia. We’re part of the HLB Global network, and bookkeeping is what we do day in and day out for international groups, lean subsidiaries, and finance teams that need someone local to handle the Serbian books.
In casual language, “bookkeeping” and “accounting” get used interchangeably. In practice — and especially in a Serbian regulatory context — they’re distinct.
Bookkeeping is the operational layer: recording every transaction, processing invoices, reconciling bank statements, maintaining the general ledger, keeping the fixed asset register, archiving documents. It’s the data layer.
Accounting is broader: statutory reporting, tax planning, group reporting under IFRS, audit support, advisory. It’s what you build on top of clean books.
This page is about the operational layer.
If you need end-to-end accounting — including statutory financial statements, group reporting, tax filings, and audit support — see accounting services in Serbia. If you need bookkeeping alone — or bookkeeping as the foundation of a broader engagement — you’re in the right place.
Every supplier invoice, every customer invoice, every payment, every receipt — recorded in line with the Serbian Accounting Law and IFRS. We process the documents you send us and post them to the general ledger on a defined monthly schedule.
Issuing and receiving electronic invoices via the Sistem elektronskih faktura (SEF) is part of standard operations. We handle SEF on your behalf — receiving inbound e-invoices, issuing outbound ones, and making sure the data flows cleanly into your books.
All bank statements reviewed and reconciled monthly. Discrepancies flagged and resolved — not parked.
Books closed to a defined timeline each month, so your downstream reports — internal management accounts, tax filings, or group reporting — start from a clean base.
Acquisitions, disposals, depreciation, write-offs — tracked in a maintained register and reconciled to the general ledger.
For new entities, we prepare the required internal documents: accounting policy, bookkeeping rulebook, inventory rulebook, aligned with current Serbian regulations.
Statutory record-keeping requirements in Serbia are specific — particular documents must be retained for particular periods. We manage the archive on your behalf.
To keep this engagement clean and avoid scope confusion, here’s what bookkeeping doesn’t cover — and where each piece lives if you need it:
| You need | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Statutory annual financial statements | Accounting services |
| Group reporting under IFRS to your parent | Accounting services |
| Tax filings, planning, and advisory | Tax consulting |
| Payroll and HR | Payroll services |
| VAT representation for non-resident sellers | VAT representation |
| Audit support | Accounting services |
Many of our clients combine bookkeeping with one or more of the above as a single engagement. That’s the cleanest setup — one provider, one contact, one rhythm. But you can take bookkeeping alone if that’s what fits.
Books are maintained to Serbian Accounting Law and IFRS simultaneously, so they’re valid for the Tax Administration, your auditor, and your parent company at the same time. This is the gap most local firms can’t close — and the one foreign owners need closed.
Every monthly close summary, every reconciliation question, every flag we raise — in English. Your head office never needs a translator.
A meaningful share of our bookkeeping clients are international groups with their own finance teams in London, Munich, Frankfurt, or further afield. They don’t need accounting advisory — they need someone local to run the Serbian books to a standard their internal team can plug into. That’s a different engagement than working with a domestic Serbian SME, and it’s how we’re built.
HLB Global gives us access to accountants and advisors across the major business jurisdictions worldwide. When your bookkeeping interacts with another HLB market — a parent in Germany, a sister entity in Croatia — coordination is built in.
→ For a wider view of why clean books matter for foreign owners: How Proper Accounting Protects Foreign Investors in Serbia.
We already have an in-house accountant. Can you do just the bookkeeping?
Yes — this is one of our most common engagements. International groups with internal finance teams often outsource the day-to-day Serbian bookkeeping while keeping the broader accounting, reporting, and advisory in-house. We run the operational layer; your team consumes the output.
Do you handle SEF (Sistem elektronskih faktura)?
Yes. SEF — for both inbound and outbound e-invoicing — is part of standard bookkeeping operations.
What documents do you need from us monthly?
At minimum: bank statements, supplier invoices, customer invoices, payment confirmations, and any contracts that affect bookkeeping treatment. We set up a clear monthly checklist during onboarding so nothing’s ambiguous.
Do you also prepare the annual financial statements?
Not under this engagement. Statutory annual financial statements sit within our accounting services. Many clients take both together; bookkeeping can also be standalone if your accounting is handled elsewhere.
Can you do bookkeeping without handling our payroll?
Yes. The two are commonly combined — but you can take bookkeeping alone, with payroll handled internally or by another provider. If you decide to add it later, our payroll service is built for the same client profile.
We’re a small representative office with very few transactions. Do we still need a bookkeeping firm?
Yes. Serbian bookkeeping obligations exist from the day the entity is registered, even with minimal activity. For low-volume entities we scope the engagement to match the actual workload, so you’re not paying for capacity you don’t use.
Can you bookkeep across multiple Serbian entities for our group?
Yes. Multi-entity bookkeeping for a single group — consistent treatment, single point of contact, coordinated monthly closes — is a common engagement, especially for groups consolidating their regional bookkeeping under one provider.
What if we want to switch to you from another bookkeeper?
We’ve handled takeovers from most local providers. The transition typically takes a few weeks: we receive the prior records, review for completeness, and pick up from a clean baseline. Done properly, your filings and reporting don’t skip a beat.
If you’re a foreign-owned company looking to outsource your Serbian bookkeeping — whether for a full setup, a takeover from an existing provider, or a steady monthly partner alongside your internal team — we’d be glad to talk through your situation.
