Accounting & Finance

Swedish Accounting Terminology – Glossary

6 min read

Categories and articles

Accounting language can feel like a secret club. This glossary is your way in. Look up terms as they come up – in emails from your accountant, in Fortnox or in Vendion's admin.

Terms are sorted alphabetically. We've grouped them by category to make it easier to find what you need.

Core terms (the ones you meet first)

Bokslut (Year-end close) : Annual financial summary – income statement, balance sheet and notes. Required by the Swedish Bookkeeping Act and Annual Accounts Act.

Dagbok (Journal) : Chronological list of all vouchers for a day (or period). The clean "transaction list."

Debet (Debit) : Left side of a voucher. Increases assets and expenses, decreases liabilities and revenue.

Eget kapital (Equity) : The owner's share in the company. Formula: Assets − Liabilities = Equity.

Huvudbok (General ledger) : Summary of all accounts and their current balances. Shows where the money "sits" right now.

Konto (Account) : A numbered record where transactions are booked. E.g. 1910 (Cash), 3002 (Food 12%), 2620 (VAT 12%).

Kontoplan (Chart of accounts) : The complete list of accounts a company uses. Vendion uses BAS-based defaults that can be customized.

Kredit (Credit) : Right side of a voucher. Increases liabilities and revenue, decreases assets and expenses.

Netto (Net) : Amount excluding VAT. 80 SEK net + 20 SEK VAT = 100 SEK gross at a VAT rate of 25%.

Brutto (Gross) : Amount including VAT. In Swedish restaurants, prices are always displayed gross.

Periodisering (Accrual basis) : Recording revenue in the correct period – when earned, not when money arrives. Main rule in Swedish accounting.

Skuld (Liability) : Money or obligation the company owes someone (supplier, Tax Agency, employees, guest holding a gift card).

Tillgång (Asset) : Resource the company owns (cash, receivables, inventory, equipment).

Verifikation (Voucher) : The fundamental accounting record. A dated entry with debit and credit sides that always balance.

VAT and taxes

Arbetsgivaravgift (Employer tax) : Employer contributions on wages and benefits. The rate depends on factors including age and applicable reductions. See Skatteverket.

Ingående moms (Input VAT) : VAT you pay to suppliers and can deduct (account 2641). Applies to purchases of raw materials, services etc.

Moms / Mervärdesskatt (VAT) : Tax on sales and purchases. Swedish rates: 6%, 12%, 25%.

Momsdeklaration (VAT declaration) : VAT reporting for a month, quarter or year. Follow the company's registered period and Tax Agency deadlines.

Utgående moms (Output VAT) : VAT you collect from guests and must remit to the Tax Agency. Account 2610 (25%), 2620 (12%), 2630 (6%).

POS-specific terms

Betalmedel (Payment method) : How the guest pays – cash, card, Swish, invoice, gift card.

Kassa (Cash, 1910) : Physical cash in the drawer. When the guest pays cash, 1910 increases (debit).

Kassadifferens (Cash discrepancy) : Difference between counted and expected cash after the opening float, cash payments, refunds, deposits and withdrawals. Agree the bookkeeping treatment with your accountant.

Kassaregister (Cash register) : System for recording sales. Requirements and use are governed in part by Tax Agency regulations SKVFS 2021:17 and 2021:18.

Kontrollbox / CCA (Control box) : Certified control unit every receipt passes through. Creates and stores a control code per receipt that the Tax Agency can read out during an audit.

Kortfordringar (Card receivables, 1580) : Money card terminal companies owe you. When the guest pays by card, 1580 increases.

Klippkort (Stamp card) : Punch card – buy 9 get 10. No accounting entry at stamping, only at redemption of free item.

Lojalitetspoäng (Loyalty points) : Reward points earned by guests. Earning points does not automatically create a liability voucher in Vendion. Your accountant assesses any accrual required by your accounting policies.

Presentkort (Gift card) : Multi-purpose voucher per VAT Act Chapter 5, Section 43. Booked as liability on 2421 at issuance, VAT only on redemption.

Retur / Återköp (Return) : When an order is canceled after payment. Reverses prior bookings (negative credit on revenue, negative debit on payment method).

X-rapport (X-report) : Mid-day report without closing. Shows totals but doesn't create a voucher.

Z-rapport (Z-report) : End-of-day close. Zeroes the day's counters and creates a voucher. Required for each sales day.

Öresavrundning (Penny rounding, 3740) : Small balancing corrections (±1 öre) when debit and credit don't match due to rounding.

Invoicing and customers

Faktura (Invoice) : Document sent to guest for later payment. Booked as receivable (1510) until payment arrives.

Kundfordran (Accounts receivable, 1510) : Money a guest/customer owes you. When an invoice is sent, 1510 increases (debit). When payment arrives, 1510 decreases.

Kreditfaktura (Credit invoice) : Reverse invoice – correction or return of a previous invoice.

Leverantörskuld (Accounts payable) : Opposite of receivable – money you owe a supplier. Account 2440.

Nettobetalvillkor (Net payment terms) : E.g. "Net 30 days" = payment due within 30 days of invoice date.

Accounts and audit

Bokföringslagen 1999:1078 (Bookkeeping Act) : Swedish law regulating bookkeeping. Requires every transaction to have a voucher. Accounting records are kept through the seventh year after the end of the calendar year in which the financial year ended.

Bolagsverket (Companies Registration Office) : Authority that registers companies and receives annual reports.

Bruttomarginal (Gross margin) : (Revenue − cost of goods) / Revenue × 100. Calculate it for your own operation.

Bruttovinst (Gross profit) : Revenue − cost of goods (before wages, rent etc.).

Nettoresultat (Net result) : The bottom line after all costs, interest and taxes. "What's left."

Resultaträkning (Income statement, P&L) : Revenue minus costs = the year's result.

Balansräkning (Balance sheet) : Snapshot of assets, liabilities and equity at a date.

Revisor (Auditor) : Authorized professional who audits bookkeeping. Mandatory for larger companies.

Redovisningskonsult (Accounting consultant / bookkeeper) : Bookkeeper handling daily accounting for you – your everyday contact.

Årsredovisning (Annual report) : Annual financial report. Swedish limited companies submit it within one month after the AGM and no later than seven months after year-end. See Bolagsverket.

Legal and technical terms

BAS-kontoplan (BAS chart of accounts) : Standard chart of accounts for Swedish companies. Vendion uses it.

SIE-fil (SIE file) : "Standard Import/Export" – text file with accounting data that all Swedish accounting programs can read. Vendion exports SIE Type 4.

SKVFS : Swedish Tax Agency's statute collection. Cash register rules include SKVFS 2021:17 and 2021:18.

Skatteverket : Swedish Tax Agency.

Organisationsnummer (Organization number) : Unique 10-digit identifier for Swedish companies. Always included in SIE export.

K2 / K3 : Accounting regulatory frameworks. K2 for smaller companies, K3 for larger. Your accountant knows which applies.