Key takeaways
- The PCMN is the standardised chart of accounts Belgian businesses on double-entry bookkeeping must apply.
- Its structure is seven classes numbered 1 to 7: classes 1 to 5 for the balance sheet, 6 and 7 for the income statement.
- Its current legal basis is the royal decree of 21 October 2018, which implements article III.84 of the Code of Economic Law.
- 'Minimum' means an imposed baseline you can extend, without departing from it for your annual accounts.
The PCMN, Belgium's reference chart of accounts
Every set of Belgian books rests on the same backbone: the PCMN, Belgium's standardised chart of accounts (Plan comptable minimum normalisé). It is the standardised list of accounts a business uses to record its operations, from a sales invoice to a loan repayment. Without that shared structure, two accountants would classify the same transactions differently, and one company's annual accounts could not be compared with another's.
The framework is anything but informal. The PCMN is set by the royal decree of 21 October 2018, which implements article III.84 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law. That decree replaced the royal decree of 12 September 1983, long cited as the reference text and now repealed. This article explains what the PCMN is, how it is structured, who must apply it, and how it ties into your bookkeeping obligations.
Why a standardised chart of accounts exists
A common chart of accounts serves three concrete purposes. First, comparability: because everyone uses the same classes, the annual accounts filed with the National Bank of Belgium can be read and analysed against a single grid. Second, control: the tax authority and an auditor can immediately find where a transaction was recorded.
Third, automation. Accounting software wired to a standardised chart can suggest the right account for an entry, aggregate balances by class and produce a balance sheet without re-keying. It is the same logic as the structured e-invoice: a shared format lets tools talk to each other. If that applies to you, our guide to getting ready for e-invoicing covers the timeline and the Peppol BIS format.
The structure of the PCMN: seven classes, two blocks
The PCMN organises all accounts into classes numbered 1 to 7. The first digit of an account number signals its class, which makes reading immediate: an account starting with 4 is always a receivable or payable due within one year. Classes 1 to 5 form the balance sheet, which describes the financial position at a given date; classes 6 and 7 form the income statement, which describes performance over a period.
| Class | Content | Block | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Equity, provisions, debts due after more than one year | Balance sheet | |
| Class 2 | Formation expenses, fixed assets, receivables due after one year | Balance sheet | |
| Class 3 | Inventories and contracts in progress | Balance sheet | |
| Class 4 | Receivables and payables due within one year | Balance sheet | |
| Class 5 | Current investments and cash | Balance sheet | |
| Class 6 | Expenses (purchases, services, remuneration, depreciation) | Income statement | |
| Class 7 | Income (sales, financial income, subsidies) | Income statement |
In practice, four classes carry most day-to-day entries: class 4 (customers and suppliers), class 5 (banks and cash), class 6 (expenses) and class 7 (income). An invoiced sale typically touches a class 4 and a class 7; its collection, a class 5 and a class 4. Alongside classes 1 to 7, an optional class 0 records off-balance-sheet rights and commitments, such as a guarantee given.
From imposed headings to sub-accounts
The PCMN imposes the account headings up to a certain level of detail, then lets the business refine them. Those standardised headings make up the imposed backbone; below that level, the business is free to create finer sub-accounts to suit its management needs. You can, for example, split several customer accounts by region while staying within class 4.
Who must apply the PCMN
The PCMN applies to businesses that keep double-entry books, that is, the vast majority of trading companies. The obligation does not come out of nowhere: it flows from the bookkeeping rules in articles III.82 to III.95 of the Code of Economic Law, of which the royal decree of 21 October 2018 is the implementing text for the chart of accounts.
Not every business sits in the same place, however. Article III.85 of the Code of Economic Law allows simplified bookkeeping for certain structures, subject to a size condition.
Double-entry or simplified bookkeeping: who is concerned
Double-entry bookkeeping required
Limited companies (SRL/BV), public limited companies (SA/NV), cooperatives and equivalent forms, regardless of turnover: the PCMN applies in full.
Simplified bookkeeping option
Such as self-employed individuals, common partnerships, general partnerships and limited partnerships whose prior-year turnover excluding VAT does not exceed EUR 500,000.
Threshold exceeded
Above EUR 500,000 of turnover excluding VAT, double-entry bookkeeping, and therefore the PCMN, becomes mandatory again.
Associations and foundations
They follow a separate chart of accounts, also set by the royal decree of 21 October 2018.
In concrete terms, a self-employed individual below the threshold may keep simplified books (a receipts book, a purchases book, a financial journal) without applying the full PCMN. As soon as the structure is a capital company or the turnover threshold is crossed, the standardised chart of accounts becomes the rule.
The PCMN day to day: a framework, not one more constraint
The PCMN does not change how you invoice; it defines where each operation belongs. Decent accounting software hides most of that mechanism: you record an invoice, the tool suggests accounts in the right classes and builds the balance sheet in the background. That is exactly what to check when choosing accounting software in Belgium: that it relies natively on the Belgian chart of accounts. Conversely, poorly kept accounts quickly translate into recurring errors, a topic we cover in our invoicing mistakes Belgian SMEs make.
Books aligned with the Belgian chart of accounts
YouInv builds on the PCMN and generates your Peppol BIS invoices without re-keying, ready for your accountant.
Further reading
- Getting ready for e-invoicing in 2026
- Choosing accounting software in Belgium
- Invoicing mistakes Belgian SMEs make
For the exhaustive list of accounts and the reference text, the Accounting Standards Commission publishes the official standardised minimum chart of accounts and the text of the royal decree of 21 October 2018.
What is the PCMN, Belgium's standardised chart of accounts?
The PCMN (Plan comptable minimum normalisé) is the standardised chart of accounts that Belgian businesses keeping double-entry books must apply. It sets a minimum list of accounts, organised in classes numbered 1 to 7, so every set of books rests on the same structure.
Is the PCMN mandatory for every business?
The PCMN applies to businesses that keep double-entry books. Certain structures, such as self-employed individuals, common partnerships, general partnerships and limited partnerships whose turnover excluding VAT does not exceed EUR 500,000, may opt for simplified bookkeeping. Limited companies (SRL/BV), public limited companies (SA/NV) and cooperatives always keep double-entry books, regardless of turnover.
What is the legal basis for the PCMN in Belgium?
The PCMN is set by the royal decree of 21 October 2018, which implements article III.84 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law. That decree repealed the royal decree of 12 September 1983 that historically governed the chart of accounts.
What does 'minimum standardised' mean in the PCMN?
'Standardised' means it is imposed uniformly on every business concerned; 'minimum' means it is a mandatory baseline that a business can extend with more detailed sub-accounts, without departing from it for its annual accounts.
What do classes 1 to 7 of the PCMN cover?
Classes 1 to 5 make up the balance sheet (equity and long-term debt, fixed assets, inventories, receivables and payables within one year, cash). Classes 6 and 7 make up the income statement (expenses and income). An optional class 0 records off-balance-sheet rights and commitments.
