Monthly Bookkeeping & Payroll in Colombia — Done Properly, Delivered Bilingually

Your bilingual finance team in Colombia. We handle NIIF-compliant books, electronic invoicing, payroll with prestaciones sociales, and tax filings — then deliver the numbers in English so you actually understand them.

Everything you need, every month.

A complete finance function for your Colombian entity — without hiring an in-house team.

NIIF-Compliant Books

Full monthly accounting under Colombia’s NIIF (IFRS) standards.

  • Monthly journal entries
  • General ledger maintenance
  • Trial balance reconciliation

Electronic Invoicing

Complete facturación electrónica management through DIAN-authorised platforms.

  • Invoice issuance & validation
  • Credit & debit notes
  • DIAN compliance monitoring

IVA & Tax Filings

Timely preparation and filing of all periodic tax obligations.

  • Bimonthly IVA returns
  • Retención en la fuente filings
  • ICA municipal tax filings

Payroll Processing

End-to-end monthly payroll for your Colombian employees.

  • Monthly payroll calculation
  • Pay slips & nómina electrónica
  • Social security & PILA payments

Prestaciones Sociales

Accurate calculation and provisioning of all mandatory employment benefits.

  • Prima de servicios (mid & year-end bonus)
  • Cesantías & interest deposits
  • Vacaciones accrual tracking

Bilingual Reporting

Monthly financial statements delivered in English and Spanish.

  • Profit & loss statement (EN + ES)
  • Balance sheet (EN + ES)
  • Cash flow summary & commentary

Prestaciones Socialeswhat you actually owe.

Every employee in Colombia comes with mandatory benefits on top of salary. Here is the full picture.

Component Rate (%) Frequency Who Pays
Salud (EPS) 12.5% total (8.5% employer + 4% employee) Monthly Shared
Pensión 16% total (12% employer + 4% employee) Monthly Shared
ARL (Workplace Risk) 0.522% – 6.96% (risk-dependent) Monthly Employer
Caja de Compensación 4% Monthly Employer
Prima de Servicios 8.33% (1 month salary / year) June & December Employer
Cesantías 8.33% (1 month salary / year) Annual deposit (Feb 14) Employer
Intereses sobre Cesantías 1% (12% of cesantías balance) Annual (Jan 31) Employer
Vacaciones 4.17% (15 working days / year) Accrued monthly Employer

How monthly delivery works.

A structured, repeatable cycle so nothing falls through the cracks.

01

Document Collection

1st – 5th of the month. We gather invoices, receipts, bank statements, and payroll inputs from you.

02

Processing & Reconciliation

5th – 15th. Journal entries, bank reconciliation, payroll calculation, and tax preparation.

03

Review & Delivery

15th – 20th. Bilingual financial reports reviewed, finalised, and delivered to you with commentary.

04

Support & Queries

Ongoing. Questions, clarifications, and ad-hoc requests handled throughout the month via WhatsApp or email.

Why bilingual accounting matters.

Foreign investors need to understand their numbers. If your accountant delivers reports exclusively in Spanish and you are making decisions about your Colombian entity from abroad, you are operating blind. Misunderstanding a single line item on an estado de resultados can lead to costly missteps.

Board reporting requires English. Whether you report to co-founders, investors, or a parent company overseas, your Colombian financials need to integrate seamlessly into group reporting. We deliver P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow in a format your board can read without a translator.

Home-country auditors need context. When your auditor in the US, UK, or Europe asks for supporting documentation from Colombia, they need it in English with clear explanations. We coordinate directly with your home-country audit team to provide what they need, when they need it.

Investor-ready financials build confidence. If you are raising capital or selling equity, clean bilingual financials signal professionalism. Investors doing due diligence on your Colombian operation should not have to hire a translator to review your books.

Common questions.

Colombia uses NIIF (Normas Internacionales de Información Financiera), which is the local adoption of IFRS. All commercial entities must maintain books under NIIF. The framework is divided into three groups based on company size, with most foreign-owned S.A.S. companies falling under Group 2 (NIIF for SMEs).

Yes. All businesses registered as responsables de IVA must issue facturación electrónica validated in real time by DIAN. This applies to most S.A.S. companies. Non-compliance results in sanctions and the inability to deduct expenses for tax purposes.

Colombian payroll includes base salary, mandatory social security contributions (salud, pensión, ARL), parafiscales (caja de compensación), and prestaciones sociales (prima de servicios, cesantías, intereses sobre cesantías, vacaciones). Employers bear the majority of these costs on top of the base salary.

Prestaciones sociales are mandatory employment benefits in Colombia. They include prima de servicios (a mid-year and end-of-year bonus equal to one month’s salary), cesantías (severance savings deposited annually), intereses sobre cesantías (12% annual interest on cesantías), and vacaciones (15 paid working days per year). These are non-negotiable and apply to all employment contracts.

Yes. Our monthly bookkeeping service includes preparation and filing of bimonthly IVA returns, monthly retención en la fuente, and ICA filings where applicable. Annual income tax returns (renta) are also included as part of the ongoing engagement.

Yes. All monthly reports including the profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow summary are delivered in both English and Spanish. This ensures compliance with Colombian requirements while keeping foreign investors, directors, and home-country auditors fully informed.

Late filings with DIAN result in financial sanctions calculated based on the amount owed and the number of days late. Repeated non-compliance can lead to additional penalties, potential closure of the RUT, and scrutiny during future audits. Our monthly delivery schedule is specifically designed to prevent missed deadlines.

Numbers shouldn’t get lost in translation. Let’s talk.

Whether you need monthly books, payroll setup, or a full finance function — we will build it properly, in both languages.