Bookkeeping Services in Turkey for Foreign-Owned Companies

Bookkeeping services in Turkey · for foreign-owned companies, subsidiaries and branches

Every transaction recorded, every month reconciled. SYSTEMS CPA keeps the statutory books of your Turkish company — the electronic journal and ledger, e-Invoice and e-Archive records, bank and cash entries — and gives your head office an English view of the same numbers.

Short answer. Bookkeeping services in Turkey record every transaction of a Turkish company in statutory books kept in Turkish under the Tax Procedure Law and the Uniform Chart of Accounts. Most companies keep their journal and general ledger electronically (e-Defter) and upload a monthly approval file to the Revenue Administration. Keeping books for a company is a licensed profession in Turkey, so foreign owners appoint a Turkish CPA.

Bookkeeping services in Turkey at a glance

What does bookkeeping in Turkey involve?

Bookkeeping in Turkey means capturing the complete economic activity of the company in its statutory books every month and keeping those books in a state the tax office can inspect at any time. Each entry must be supported by a valid document — usually an electronic invoice — and classified under the Uniform Chart of Accounts. The monthly VAT, withholding and payroll returns are then prepared from these books, so an error in the bookkeeping becomes an error in the filings.

A complete monthly bookkeeping cycle normally captures:

• customer invoices and credit notes, issued as e-Invoice or e-Archive documents;
• supplier invoices received through the e-Invoice system or on paper;
• bank and cash movements, including foreign-currency accounts;
• employee expenses and payroll entries;
• fixed-asset purchases, disposals and depreciation;
• inventory movements where the company holds stock;
• intercompany charges and their supporting agreements;
• accruals, provisions and tax accounts;
• capital, shareholder and equity transactions.

Which books must a Turkish company keep?

A company in Turkey keeps two kinds of books. The accounting books are required by the Tax Procedure Law for businesses on the balance-sheet basis: the journal (yevmiye defteri), the general ledger (defter-i kebir) and the inventory book (envanter defteri). The corporate books are required by the Commercial Code: a joint-stock company (A.Ş.) keeps a share ledger, a board resolution book and a general assembly meeting book; a limited company (Ltd. Şti.) keeps a share ledger, a managers’ resolution book and a general assembly book.

Foreign parents are often surprised that the resolution books matter for bookkeeping: capital increases, dividend decisions and loans from shareholders need a supporting resolution before the entry is made.

How e-Invoice and the e-Ledger work

Most Turkish companies operate inside the Revenue Administration’s electronic system. Invoices between registered businesses travel as e-Invoices; invoices to other buyers are issued as e-Archive invoices; goods movements can require e-Dispatch notes. The journal and general ledger are produced as e-Ledger files, signed with the company’s financial seal, and a monthly approval file (berat) is uploaded to the Revenue Administration.

For companies that upload monthly, each month’s berat is due by the 14th day of the fourth month after the month concerned; the files for the last month of the financial year follow the corporate tax return calendar. Uploading on time is part of the bookkeeping, not an extra: a late or missing upload can trigger irregularity penalties under the Tax Procedure Law and weakens the company’s position in a tax audit. Corrections are far easier before the berat is uploaded than after, which is why our monthly close comes before the upload, not after it.

The Uniform Chart of Accounts and your group chart

Turkish statutory books use the Uniform Chart of Accounts (Tekdüzen Hesap Planı) set by the Accounting System Application General Communiqué. Your group almost certainly uses a different chart. We maintain a mapping between the two, so every Turkish account rolls up to the right group account and head office receives figures it recognises without a second set of books. Where your team posts in the group ERP, we agree the mapping and the export format at onboarding.

Our monthly bookkeeping cycle

1. Document flow. e-Invoices arrive automatically; you upload bank statements, expense receipts, payroll changes and contracts for unusual transactions to a shared folder.
2. Posting. Transactions are recorded and classified under the Uniform Chart of Accounts, with foreign-currency items converted under the Tax Procedure Law rules.
3. Reconciliation. Bank, receivables, payables, payroll, tax and intercompany balances are reconciled; open questions go to you in English.
4. Returns. The monthly VAT return (due by the 28th of the following month) and the combined withholding and SGK return (due by the 26th) are prepared from the reconciled books.
5. Close and berat. The month is closed, the e-Ledger is generated and the berat is uploaded within the deadline.
6. Reporting. Head office receives a trial balance in group format and a short English note on anything material.

How long must books and documents be kept in Turkey?

The Tax Procedure Law (Article 253) requires books and supporting documents to be kept for five years from the start of the year following the year they relate to. The Commercial Code (Article 82) sets ten years for commercial books, inventories, financial statements and business correspondence. In practice a foreign-owned company should plan for ten years, and the obligation stays with the company even when the books are kept by an outside accountant.

Catch-up bookkeeping and mid-year takeovers

When a company changes accountant, the books do not start again: opening balances, the e-Ledger history, unreconciled accounts and any filing gaps move with the company. We start with a takeover review — opening trial balance, bank and tax reconciliations, e-Ledger and berat status, payroll records — and agree with you how any prior-period errors are corrected before the first month is filed. See how to change your accountant in Turkey without a compliance gap.

Bookkeeping or full accounting services?

Bookkeeping is the recording layer. Most foreign-owned companies buy it together with the layers built on it — the monthly close, tax and payroll filings, statutory adjustments and head-office reporting — which together form our accounting services in Turkey. Groups whose shared service centre already posts transactions can keep that work and use us for the Turkish statutory and tax layer instead. Either way, the statutory books must end up correct, complete and in Turkish.

What drives the cost of bookkeeping in Turkey?

The fee is set by the work the books generate: monthly invoice and bank-transaction volume, number of bank and foreign-currency accounts, inventory, number of employees, intercompany activity and the reporting format your head office needs. We confirm a fixed monthly fee in writing after a short scoping call. See how accounting and bookkeeping are priced →

Frequently asked questions

Is bookkeeping mandatory for a foreign-owned company in Turkey?

Yes. Every Turkish company and every registered branch of a foreign company must keep statutory books under the Tax Procedure Law and the Commercial Code from its first day of activity, whatever its size or turnover. A dormant company still keeps books and files returns.

Can our parent company keep the books abroad in its own system?

The group can keep its own ledger, but the Turkish statutory books must exist in Turkey, in Turkish, under the Uniform Chart of Accounts and inside the e-Ledger system where it applies. A co-sourced model lets your team post in the group ERP while a Turkish CPA owns the statutory books and filings.

Can bookkeeping be done in English?

The statutory books are kept in Turkish. We work with you in English: an English account mapping, English month-end summaries and English answers to every query, so head office never needs to read the Turkish ledger.

Which documents do you need from us every month?

Bank statements for every account, expense receipts, payroll changes (hires, leavers, bonuses), contracts or approvals for unusual transactions and intercompany invoices. Sales and purchase e-Invoices reach the system automatically.

What happens if the e-Ledger berat is uploaded late?

Late or missing e-Ledger uploads can be penalised under the Tax Procedure Law and leave the company exposed in an audit. If a deadline has been missed, the files should be produced and uploaded as soon as possible and the position reviewed with a CPA before the next filing.

Can you take over our books in the middle of the year?

Yes. A mid-year takeover starts from the last closed month: we review the opening balances, the e-Ledger and berat history and the open reconciliations, then continue the books from that point. See our accounting takeover page.

Related services

Accounting services → · Payroll services → · Tax compliance → · Fiscal representation → · Accounting takeover →

Verified local partner

Bookkeeping is performed under the responsibility of Osman Evren Özmen, Certified Public Accountant, registered with TÜRMOB — Reg. No. 35675, Istanbul. SYSTEMS CPA is the international-facing practice of independent CPA Evren Özmen. Office: Teknik Yapı Deluxia Palace A-157, Ataşehir, Istanbul.

info@ozmconsultancy.com · +90 216 352 29 61 · WhatsApp +90 506 682 96 55

Keep your Turkish books audit-ready every month

Primary sources: Tax Procedure Law No. 213 (Arts. 182, 215, 253) · Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (Arts. 64, 82) · e-Defter portal (Revenue Administration) · Revenue Administration (GİB).