SAF-T in plain language

SAF-T sounds like one more piece of bureaucracy and is often treated that way. It is different in nature, though, and worth understanding properly, because it changes what “well-kept books” means.

What it actually is

An ordinary filing contains a few totals. SAF-T contains the records in detail, in a standard, machine-readable format. Not the summary, but the material the summary came from.

You no longer send the conclusion. You send everything that led to it.

Why that matters to you

Because inconsistencies become visible without anyone looking for them. If an account is used inconsistently, if a partner appears with different details in two places, if stock does not match movements, these surface on their own.

That is not a threat, it is a change of standard: the records have to be coherent, not merely correct in total.

Who feels it most

• Companies with stock, where quantities must agree with values.
• Companies that changed accounting software and migrated data.
• Companies that worked for years with an improvised chart of accounts.
• Companies that inherited records from a previous accountant without review.

What you will not find here

Deadlines and taxpayer categories. They were phased in and keep moving; an article that lists them becomes wrong without telling you. We tell you what applies to your company when you write to us.

What you can do anyway

Ask your accountant for a coherence check: accounts used consistently, partners with unique details, stock that reconciles. It is useful whatever the deadlines, and it is exactly the work SAF-T makes visible.

How we do it at Lexco

We treat SAF-T as a test of the quality of the records, not as a file to send. We look first at whether the data holds up, fix what does not, and only then discuss submission. In that order, not the other way round.

If you are not sure what state your records are in, ask us. It is the kind of check you do once and then stop worrying about.