Accounting document flow is the path an invoice, bank statement or payroll list takes from the moment it is created until it is booked. When an accounting office keeps your books, that path always runs through two businesses: yours and the office. Whether documents arrive complete and on time decides whether taxes, ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) contributions and returns are calculated before the statutory deadlines. In this article we explain what to send, by when, through which channels and what KSeF (National e-Invoicing System) changed in 2026.
An accounting office can only book what it has received. As a rule, responsibility for reliable books and complete records stays with the business owner, so it is worth agreeing the document flow in writing: what goes to the office, by when and through which channel
Why document handover deadlines matter
The settlement calendar is fixed. Under Article 47(1) of the Social Insurance System Act, contributions for employees and ZUS returns are due by the 15th of the following month (companies and other payers with legal personality) or by the 20th (including JDG – sole proprietorships). PIT (personal income tax) and CIT (corporate income tax) advance payments and tax withheld from salaries are paid by the 20th, and the JPK_V7 file (VAT return with records, SAF-T file) is sent by the 25th of the month after the settlement period.
The office needs a few days to check documents, book them and calculate taxes. That is why accounting office contracts set the document deadline at the beginning of the month. At VKSIĘGOWOŚĆ it is the 5th of the following month – documents for October go to us by 5 November.
The deadline also follows from the bookkeeping rules. The regulation on keeping the KPiR (tax revenue and expense ledger) (Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2025 item 1299, § 11 section 2 and § 14) requires revenue to be entered by the 20th of the month after it was earned. The Accounting Act (Article 24 section 5) treats accounting books as kept on a current basis if they allow tax returns to be prepared on time and a trial balance is produced at least at the end of each month.
| Deadline | What happens | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| by the 5th | documents for the previous month go to VKSIĘGOWOŚĆ | contract |
| by the 15th | ZUS contributions and returns – payers with legal personality (e.g. sp. z o.o.) | Article 47(1) Social Insurance System Act |
| by the 20th | ZUS contributions – other payers (e.g. JDG), PIT/CIT advances, tax on salaries | Article 47(1) Social Insurance System Act, Articles 38 and 44(6) PIT Act |
| by the 20th | revenue entered in the KPiR | § 11 section 2 KPiR regulation |
| by the 25th | JPK_V7 and VAT payment | Articles 99(1) and 109(3b) VAT Act |
Which documents to send to the accounting office
An accounting record is any document that confirms a business transaction (Article 20 section 2 of the Accounting Act). In practice, every month the office receives:
- sales invoices issued outside KSeF and fiscal reports from the cash register (kasa fiskalna),
- purchase invoices that are not in KSeF (e.g. from foreign suppliers),
- statements for all company bank accounts, including foreign-currency accounts,
- contracts that create recurring settlements: rent, leasing, loans, agreements with customers,
- HR documents: attendance lists, sick leave (L4, e-ZLA), leave requests, pay changes, new contracts and terminations,
- business travel settlements, internal records, accounting notes,
- information about unusual events: buying a car or another fixed asset, receiving a grant, selling assets, changing the form of taxation.
The last point matters. The office sees the documents but does not always know the context – for example, that a new laptop will also be used privately or that an advance invoice relates to a delivery next year.
In the VKSIĘGOWOŚĆ price list a document is a single accounting record. A bank statement, a fiscal report and a payroll list each count as one document, regardless of the number of entries
How to send documents: document flow channels
No law prescribes how documents must reach the office. What counts is that the channel is agreed and that handover can be confirmed. At VKSIĘGOWOŚĆ you can use several channels at once:
- Client portal – you upload files and scans, and the portal shows your revenue and costs, VAT, documents and employees.
- E-mail – to the documents address shown in your client panel.
- Post – by letter to the office address.
- Courier – by parcel to the office address.
- In person – at one of our two offices: in Wola (ul. Marcina Kasprzaka 31 lok. 119) or in Śródmieście (al. Jana Pawła II 80/4), Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00.
For paper documents a simple rule works well: originals stay in your business and the office receives scans, unless the contract provides for the office to keep the originals. When you hand over originals, keep proof – a list of the documents handed over or a postal receipt. When the cooperation ends, such a list makes it easier to get your documents back, as we describe in the article on what to do when an accounting office withholds documents.
What KSeF changes in the invoice flow
Since 1 February 2026 structured invoices go to the National e-Invoicing System. The obligation to issue invoices in KSeF covered the largest businesses from 1 February and all others from 1 April 2026 (Article 145l of the VAT Act). An invoice in KSeF is treated as received on the day the system assigns its number (Article 106na(3)).
For document flow this is a big change: purchase invoices from Polish suppliers no longer need to be e-mailed to the office. An office you have granted permission to access invoices downloads them directly from KSeF. Invoices issued in KSeF are stored there for 10 years (Article 112aa of the VAT Act), and the Accounting Act (Article 73a) releases you from storing them separately.
KSeF does not cover everything, though. Until the end of 2026 there are exceptions – for example invoices from cash registers and receipts (paragon) with NIP (tax identification number) up to PLN 450 as simplified invoices (Article 145n), and small taxpayers with sales of up to PLN 10,000 a month may still issue invoices outside the system (Article 145m). Invoices from foreign businesses, bank statements, contracts and HR documents still have to reach the office the traditional way. How to grant permissions to your office is described in the article on ZAW-FA and KSeF with an accounting office.
How to organise document flow in a small business
Good document flow does not need special software. A few rules that everyone in the business follows are enough:
- One person is responsible for collecting the month's documents and sending them to the office.
- Documents go to the office on an ongoing basis, with the last batch by the 5th of the following month.
- On purchase invoices you note what they relate to if the content does not make it clear (e.g. "fuel for car WX 12345").
- You send complete bank statements for the full month.
- You report HR changes (new employee, unpaid leave, sick leave) straight away, not at the end of the month.
- You answer the office's questions before the deadlines in the table above.
Example: Ms Anna runs a sole proprietorship and is an active VAT payer. The office downloads purchase invoices from Polish suppliers from KSeF. By the 5th of the month Ms Anna uploads to the portal her bank statement, the fiscal report from her cash register and an invoice from a foreign software supplier. The office then has time to calculate the PIT advance and contributions before the 20th and to send the JPK_V7 before the 25th.
Storing documents after booking
Handing documents to the office does not end your obligations. Tax books and accounting records must be kept until the tax liability becomes time-barred – as a rule, 5 years from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed (Article 86 § 1 and Article 70 § 1 of the Tax Ordinance Act (Ordynacja podatkowa)). Employee records are generally kept for 10 years from the end of the year in which employment ended (Article 94 point 9b of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy)).
If you keep the originals and the office works on scans, agree who stores which set. More details are in the article Accounting documents – requirements, flow and storage.
Document flow at VKSIĘGOWOŚĆ
We provide accounting for businesses, sole proprietorships and companies: simplified accounting (KPiR or ryczałt – flat-rate tax on recorded revenue) for sole proprietorships registered in CEIDG (Central Register and Information on Economic Activity) and full accounting for companies registered in KRS (National Court Register). We accept documents via the portal, by e-mail, by post, by courier and in person at our offices in Wola or Śródmieście, and we download KSeF invoices under the permissions granted to the office. The price depends on the number of documents per month – you can check it in the price list and sign the contract through the order form.
