Using Xero or Quickbooks in Spain

If you are already doing your accounting with the software you are comfortable with, there is no need to duplicate the work.

While Xero and Quickbooks do not yet have a version that is compliant with Spanish GAAP, we built software to export your Xero or QB data to Spanish accounting software and transform it for compliance with Spain's accounting regulations. We are a partner of Xero. If you would like to do your own accounting, we can help you get started with Xero.

If you use other cloud software, we can take a look at how to handle the export.

While changes to the Spain GAAP regulations were instituted recently to bring the system more into line with accounting systems in the other EU countries, each country in Europe still maintains their own accounting regulations. You may not perform accounting using UK or USA GAAP rules; accounting for your SL must conform to Spanish GAAP in order to file the corporate income tax and annual accounts.

Any business based in Spain must follow the Spanish rules for reporting. You are required to present various quarterly and annual tax forms. You must also present the annual accounts (libros y cuentas anuales) at the provincial mercantile registry within seven months after the close of the year. These annual accounts are public information.

Can Xero or Quickbooks link to any bank in Spain?

We spoke to a Xero representative, who told us that before April 2019, Xero used an Open Bank platform which allowed a link to Caixa Bank, Banc Sabadell, and other Spanish banks, but that system wasn't compliant with the new data protection laws in Spain, so they had to drop those links in 2019. Don't hold your breath: if they have to negotiate agreements with Spanish banks individually, it may be a long time before we see any link to a Spanish bank.

The same is true for Quickbooks: as of 2020, they don't link to any Spanish banks. For example, you may see subsidiaries in their list, such as BBVA USA, but none where you can link to a Spanish bank account number.

Can you do the accounting according to UK GAAP?

We understand that some firms need to report their accounting data back to headquarters in another country.

While the accounting in Spain must be done according to Spanish GAAP (Plan General Contable), we can enter the accounting data you provide into both the Spanish software and UK software, such as Quickbooks, so that we can provide results that conform both to Spanish GAAP for reporting to the Spanish tax office, and to UK GAAP for other purposes, such as reporting to your English investor or to combine with the results of the other branches of the business.

FAQs: