Last updated on 25 January 2023.
If you operate a Hungarian company, you will need an accountant to take care of booking incoming and outgoing invoices, do the payroll administration of your employees, and report data to the Hungarian Tax Authority. But who can be your accountant in Hungary? Let us clear it up for you!
Please note: even a company without any activity has reporting obligations. To remain compliant with Hungarian regulations, make sure you have the right personnel who can take care of reporting starting from day 1.
Why do you need an accountant in Hungary?
There are various administrative tasks at any Hungarian company, that are usually taken care of by an accountant. These include:
- Recording incoming and outgoing invoices
- Reporting financial data to the Tax Authority
- Reporting financial data to the managing director
- Annual reporting to the Ministry of Justice (public data)
- Keeping the management up to date on changes to regulations to keep the company compliant
- Letting the management know if there is a compliance issue
- Payroll administration (needs separate agreement)
These tasks must be executed by a qualified person who always knows the latest, current regulations. This is normally a person with the right licenses, referred to as a chartered accountant in Hungary. You can either employ an accountant full-time or get a provider do the accounting for you. Small and medium sized companies tend do work with a provider to save on costs.
There is one concession: if a Hungarian company has a yearly revenue under HUF 10 million, they do not need a licensed accountant, and they are allowed to do the accounting themselves. However, unless you are very well versed in Hungarian accounting law, you do need an accountant to perform these tasks.
How to find the best accountant for your Hungarian company?
Every company is different, so make sure you find an accountant whose skills, experience and style matches your company. Here are a few aspects to consider:
1. Relevant experience
Different company types require different experience. You might need an accountant with a different skillset depending on the turnover of the company, the number of employees, or the tax regime employed. For example, Helpers Finance has the most experience working with small and medium sized companies, both working under the regular corporate tax regime and KIVA (the “small business” tax regime). We also work for companies that have foreign owners, so we know what are the most important aspects foreign owners should be advised upon.
2. Communication
It is essential that you can easily communicate with your accountant in Hungary. Our colleagues speak English as well as Hungarian, and we do our best to reply to queries as soon as possible. Thanks to our previous experience, we know how to best explain Hungary-specific concepts to foreign company owners. We also strive to communicate deadlines and other responsibilities clearly, making sure you know what steps to take to remain compliant with Hungarian and EU regulations.
3. Reliability
A good accountant in Hungary should be direct about which tasks they can undertake, and which lie outside their competence. We list our available services precisely in our service agreements, and while we are eager to provide further assistance, we will always let you know when you need additional advisory from specialized providers, such as in the case of customs representation or social security advisory. In line with this, when handling e-administration on behalf of your Hungarian company, we will kindly ask you to give a formal authorization for handling the company’s account – instead of using your personal account, which is unfortunately quite widespread, even though it undermines personal data security.
4. License
Accounting at your Hungarian company can be performed either by a company or an individual; if it is done by an individual, that can be either your employee or a freelancer provider. In either case, your accountant should be licensed in Hungary. Chartered accountants are required by law to attend regular trainings to keep up to date on regulations, so they can provide appropriate services. If you are considering working with an accounting firm, check the online company registry for their activities; if it is a person, you can check if they are included in the list of licensed accountants.
Tasks NOT usually done by an accountant in Hungary
An accountant helps the company remain compliant and the management make informed financial decisions. For that, they handle the administrative tasks listed above. At the same time, there are a number of finance related tasks that are normally not part of an accountant’s job. These include:
- Checking whether invoices are in fact valid
- Creating agreements and delivery confirmations connected to the invoices
- Making bank transfers on your company’s behalf
- Managing your cash
- Communication with your partners
- Correcting mistakes made by the previous accountant
- Storing documents pertaining to previous fiscal years
Depending on the employment structure and your arrangement, some of these tasks can, in fact, be provided by your accountant. If you need any of these services, discuss with your accountant whether they can undertake these tasks, and include them in the service agreement or the job description. If your accountant cannot provide these services, they can still give their expert opinion about how to best handle these tasks in Hungary in a compliant way.
Helpers Finance offers expert accountancy
The accountants working at Helpers Finance are proud of their expertise relevant to foreign owned companies in Hungary. They are confident in their competence, and they communicate clearly and promptly. With precise bookkeeping and reporting, we do our best to support managers in informed decision making, taking care of compliance, and letting you focus on growing your business.
Got you interested? Contact us today!
