Why accounting firms are rethinking their software in 2026

Three changes arrive at accounting firms at the same time. Each one would be reason enough to look again at how the routine work gets done. Together they make 2026 and 2027 the years most firms choose what they will work with for the next decade.

1. E-invoicing becomes mandatory

Across Europe, invoices between businesses are moving from PDFs to structured e-invoices that software can read.

• Belgium: e-invoicing between businesses is mandatory from 1 January 2026.
• Germany: every business must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025; issuing them becomes mandatory in 2027 and 2028, depending on turnover.
• France: all businesses must be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026; issuing follows in 2026 and 2027, by company size.
• The EU as a whole: the VAT in the Digital Age package, adopted in 2025, brings digital reporting for cross-border trade by 2030.

For a firm, this means every client's invoices arrive as data, every VAT return can be checked against them, and the work of reading, sorting and matching can be prepared by software, if that software is allowed near the data.

2. The EU AI Act applies

The EU AI Act entered into force in August 2024, and its transparency obligations apply from August 2026. Firms that use AI on client work need to know which system did what, on which data, and who approved the result. Professional secrecy rules and the GDPR already set limits on where client data may go; the AI Act adds the duty to account for how AI is used.

An AI system that runs in your own office, keeps a record of every action and asks a person to approve each step answers these questions by design.

3. AdminPulse is ending

AdminPulse, the practice management software many Dutch and Belgian firms use, has announced it will stop. Firms that rely on it have to move their clients, deadlines, tasks and time to something else before it does. A move like this is the natural moment to decide how the routine work should be done from now on.

What this means for your firm

Each change pushes in the same direction: more of the routine work can be prepared automatically, and client data has to stay under the firm's control while it is. That is why we built Bertha: a private AI system installed on a machine in your office, which prepares VAT returns, chases missing documents and matches bank payments, and asks a person to approve each step. Client data never leaves the building.

If you are deciding what to move to, see if Bertha fits your firm. The call is free and there is no obligation.