Accounting covers every economic unit established for profit, regardless of its legal form, and every nonprofit unit not governed by a specific law. This is defined by Article 2 of Law No. 25/2018. The law does not provide for any turnover threshold below which the obligation would not exist, and it begins on the date of registration.
This page shows who has the obligation, what is required during the year, who is responsible when something goes wrong, and what happens when the business is suspended or closed.
Read also: Which category does your business fall into?
Article 2 links the obligation to the exercise of economic activity, not to turnover. Therefore, a business that is recorded In November, and if it doesn't issue any invoices until the end of the year, it has the same formal obligations as a going concern.
This is the misunderstanding we encounter most often. The owner thinks the books start when business begins, and when the first year's year-end comes, there are no files, no records, no documents for the startup expenses. Those expenses then go unrecognized because they can't be proven.
Read also: Ten steps businesses should follow after initial registration
Article 2(a) defines the scope of application regardless of the legal form or any special legal requirements that may apply to the unit.
| Form | Keep accounting records. | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Limited Liability Company (LLC) | After | Article 2, point a |
| Public limited company | After | Article 2, point a |
| Merchant natural person | After | Article 2, point a |
| Nonprofit organization | Yes, except when there is a special adjustment. | Article 2, point b |
What differs between them comes later, in how detailed the mirror is and in the way they're tattooed. If you're still choosing the shape, we compare both of them here. natural person or company, and what does one pay? Sole Proprietor In the first year, you find it at business as a natural person.
Article 2(b) brings nonprofit entities under the law, except when their accounting and financial statements are governed by special laws or regulations.
For them, the obligation to publish the statements begins when the asset or income exceeds 30,000,000 lek, in accordance with Article 22. Below this threshold, the obligation to keep and file remains; only the publication changes.
Read also: Initial registration of nonprofit organizations
According to Article 5, units apply the National Accounting Standards, while units of public interest apply the international standards. For micro-units, the National Accounting Standards apply. SKK 15, which requires a reduced set of mirrors.
The category is determined by Article 4 using three indicators as of the reporting date. For the periods 2025 through 2027, a microenterprise is one that does not exceed two of the three thresholds: assets of 35,000,000 lek, revenue of 70,000,000 lek, and an average of 10 employees.
Read also: Which accounting standard applies to you?
Article 7 states explicitly: Accounting records are supported by accounting documents, in documentary or electronic form, and for each record the origin, nature, date, and content of the economic transaction are recorded.
This is why an expense that was actually paid, but without a receipt, cannot be accounted for. It's not the economist's strictness—it's a legal requirement. The system's electronic invoice of the… fiscalization It fulfills this request, but the bank's statements, contracts, and payroll records aren't there and you're keeping them.
Read also: Electronic invoice and fiscalization certificate
Article 15 requires the unit to verify at least once during the reporting period the existence and valuation of assets, liabilities, and equity through an inventory.
In practice, this means a physical count of goods and comparison with the records, carried out before the books are closed. When the inventory is taken after closing, any discrepancies can no longer be resolved and remain on the statements as a frozen error.
Article 23 is the article that owners read the least and that affects them the most. The executive management body and the supervisory body are jointly and severally responsible for preparing and publishing the financial statements in accordance with the law. Legal audit does not relieve any of them. The statements are signed by the unit's legal representative and by the person who prepares them.
Thus, the external economist prepares and signs them as the drafter, while legal responsibility for the content remains with the administrator. This is also why an administrator must read the statements before signing them, not after.
Caution. The phrase "I leave it to the economist" has no legal effect. Section 23 does not shift responsibility to the accountant or to the auditor. The contract with the accounting firm governs the relationship between you and it, not your liability under the law.
Article 6 requires the unit to organize its accounting records according to the principles and methods established by the National Accounting Council. In our daily work, this is divided into three phases.
Sales invoices are issued when supplies are made through the fiscalization system. Purchase invoices are collected and placed in the monthly file. Cash and bank movements are recorded on the date they occur, in accordance with the requirements of Article 7.
The bank reconciliation is compared with the records, and any differences are reconciled within the month. The sales and purchase ledgers are closed. Preparations are made. Wages and contributions. The monthly file is closed with the invoices, the bank statement, the payroll, and the contracts signed that month.
An inventory of Article 15 is made. The accounts are closed. Preparations are made. financial statements according to your standard and approved by the assembly. To be deposited within 7 months as of the reporting date, that is, as of July 31, in accordance with Article 22. The year's file Shelf life: 10 years, pursuant to Article 8.
You can download the assembly resolution template and the annual file checklist for free at Resource Center.
Every time there is a tax or financial change that affects your business, we notify you directly by email with a practical explanation.
Send me free notificationsAna opens a café in Tirana in January 2025. She has two employees and ends the year with revenues of 9,000,000 lekë and assets of 3,500,000 lekë.
During the year, every sale goes through the fiscalization system and every supplier invoice is filed in the monthly folder. At the end of each month, the economist reconciles the bank with the records, closes the books, and prepares the salaries of the two employees.
In December, Ana inventories the goods in the warehouse. The two discrepancies that emerge are then clarified, because after the books are closed they can no longer be explained.
In January and February 2026, the accounts are closed and the statements are prepared. Ana does not exceed any of the three micro-entity thresholds, so she applies IFRS 15 and her statements are condensed.
It will be delivered in March. Annual income tax return, with the same figures that closed in February.
In May, Ana, as sole partner, approves the statements by written resolution and signs them together with the economist, in accordance with Article 23. The resolution bears a date prior to filing. In June, the statements are filed one month before the deadline. The 2025 file goes to the archive, where it remains until 2035.
All this work takes Ana about an hour a week. The same work left until the end of the year takes weeks, and some of the documents can no longer be found.
Read also: How to file the financial statements and the assembly resolution with the QKB
All of this work, handled by an external economist, costs less than a full-time employee. The monthly packages and what each includes are on the pricing page.
View pricingSuspension of activity and inactive status do not eliminate either bookkeeping requirements or the retention period. Only tax filings change, according to the status you have on record.
Even after deregistration, the deadline in Article 8 is tied to the reporting period, not to the entity's status. Therefore, the files for closed years must be handed over to the owner and kept by him until the end of the ten-year period.
Read also: Suspension, passive status, or deregistration and the Dissolution of a limited liability company
Delay in filing the statements is punishable by a fine of 15,000 lek according to Law No. 9723/2007. That's the small part.
Most of it goes unchecked. An expense without supporting documentation is not recognized because it does not comply with Article 7. That year's taxable profit increases by the same amount, and additional tax and late-payment interest are calculated on the difference. A missing invoice of 400,000 lekë costs you several times more than the work of keeping it on file.
There is also a third cost that isn't written anywhere. The bank that reviews you for Credit And the partner requesting the data asks for the filed statements. When they aren't found in the registry, the conversation ends there.
Read also: Major tax fines and late fees and the How is a tax audit conducted?
Not sure if your business's paperwork and deadlines are in order? Let's review them together with your numbers, with no obligation.
Request a free consultationThe registered business with no activity ends the year with no filings because the owner believes that without sales there are no obligations.
The tax return is considered sufficient. It is prepared based on accounts maintained in accordance with Law No. 25/2018 and does not replace their keeping.
Startup expenses are paid without an invoice in the business's name, and then they are not recognized because they do not meet Article 7.
The inventory is conducted after the accounts have been closed, when discrepancies can no longer be resolved.
Reports are signed without being read, on the assumption that responsibility lies with the economist. Article 23 says the opposite.
The assembly's decision bears the date after it was filed. This becomes apparent as soon as the documents are read together.
Documentation is kept only in the fiscalization system. Bank statements, contracts, and payroll records remain outside it.
The business is deregistered, and the files remain at the old accounting office, without being handed over to the owner.
Yes. The law does not set a turnover threshold, so the obligation begins with registration and continues even in a year with no sales.
Yes. Article 2(a) defines the obligation regardless of legal form. What you pay and declare in the first year is found in business as a natural person.
Yes, from the moment you register as a natural person with NIPT. We have addressed the tax implications and deadlines in the section on Freelancers and registration as a sole proprietor.
Yes. Suspension and passive status affect tax returns, not bookkeeping or the ten-year retention period. We have divided the cases into suspension, inactive status, or deregistration.
According to Article 23, responsibility lies with the executive management body and the supervisory body. The statements are also signed by the person who prepares them, but this does not shift legal responsibility from the administrator.
You can handle the daily records and file yourself when the volume is low. Year-end closing and preparing the statements require professional expertise. We have made a comparison between an in-house accountant and an external firm. in this article.
It depends on the number of invoices, the employees, and the tax regime. We have summarized the market levels in How much does accounting service cost in Albania?.
Yes, as of 2028, under Law No. 87/2026. That law has been adopted and is awaiting publication in the Official Gazette, so today the limits for the 2025–2027 period apply. What changes have been explained in the document. The accounting law changed..
Verified on September 7, 2026.
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