Bookkeeping in Turkey is not a matter of choosing a method. The books a company must keep, the form they take, when they are certified, how long they are retained and the penalty for getting it wrong are all prescribed. Companies are on the balance sheet basis regardless of size, the certification deadlines fall before the year they relate to, and a missed certification cannot be cured afterwards.
This page sets out what the statutory books actually require. For the service model, reporting to a group and the reconciliation between statutory and group figures, see our page on accounting services in Turkey.
Which Books a Company Must Keep
Joint stock and limited liability companies keep books on the balance sheet basis whatever their size. The simplified basis available to some sole traders is not available to them. Two groups of books are required, and they come from different legislation, which is why one of them is so often forgotten.
| Book | Purpose | Required of |
|---|---|---|
| Journal | Chronological record of every transaction | All companies |
| General ledger | Transactions classified by account under the uniform chart | All companies |
| Inventory book | Opening inventory and the year-end inventory and balance sheet | All companies |
| Share ledger | Shareholders, their holdings and every transfer | All companies |
| General assembly minutes book | General assembly resolutions and the participant lists | All companies |
| Board resolution book | Board decisions | Joint stock companies; optional for limited liability companies, which may otherwise record manager decisions in the general assembly minutes book |
The journal, general ledger and inventory book are kept by the accountant and rarely go missing. The share ledger, the general assembly minutes book and the board resolution book are commercial books rather than tax books, and in owner-managed and foreign-owned companies they are frequently left blank or never opened at all.
The consequence surfaces later. Without a share ledger, a transfer cannot be evidenced against the company. Without a properly kept board resolution book, decisions on representation, appointments and capital cannot be proved. Both are among the first documents requested in a due diligence exercise, and neither can be reconstructed with a backdated entry.
Certification: Opening and Closing
Certification is the step that catches companies out, because the opening certification for a year falls before that year begins.
| Book | Opening certification | Closing certification |
|---|---|---|
| Journal | By the end of the month preceding the accounting period | By the end of the sixth month of the following period |
| General ledger | By the end of the month preceding the accounting period | Not required |
| Inventory book | By the end of the month preceding the accounting period | Not required |
| Board resolution book | By the end of the month preceding the accounting period | By the end of the first month of the following period |
| Share ledger | On first use; no renewal while pages remain | Not required |
| General assembly minutes book | On first use; no renewal while pages remain | Not required |
For a company on the calendar year, that means the books for a given year are certified by the end of December of the year before; the journal for that year is closed by the end of the following June; and the board resolution book is closed by the end of the following January. At incorporation, the opening certification is carried out by the trade registry directorate rather than a notary.
The share ledger, the general assembly minutes book and the board resolution book do not need to be certified again each year provided they still have unused pages and no entries were made in the previous period requiring otherwise. Where pages run out, a new book is opened and certified, and the continuation is recorded.
Electronic Ledgers
Companies within the electronic invoice regime move to electronic ledgers from the start of the following year. The journal and the general ledger are then kept electronically, and the notarised certification is replaced by certification files uploaded to the tax administration. The commercial books — the share ledger, the general assembly minutes book and the board resolution book — remain on paper and continue to require notarised certification.
| Item | Position under the electronic regime |
|---|---|
| Journal and general ledger | Kept electronically; no notarised certification |
| Certification files | Uploaded monthly or quarterly by election, within the prescribed period following the month or provisional tax period |
| Final period of the year | A later deadline applies, linked to the corporate tax return |
| Storage | The files and their certification records are retained for the full retention period, not only the ledgers |
| Commercial books | Remain on paper with notarised certification |
The ledgers themselves are usually produced on time; the certification files are what get missed, most often for a single month early in the engagement or during a change of accountant. Because the upload deadline has passed by the time anyone looks, the omission cannot be corrected — only declared. Where accounting has been taken over from another provider, checking the full sequence of uploaded certification files is one of the first things worth doing.
How Records Must Be Kept
Books and records are kept in Turkish. Entries may additionally be made in another language, provided the Turkish records exist — a translation alongside the statutory records, not instead of them.
Records and documents are kept in Turkish lira. Foreign currency amounts may be shown in addition, but the statutory record is the lira figure, converted at the rates prescribed for tax purposes.
Transactions are recorded within ten days. Where a company records continuously on the basis of accounting vouchers, pre-notes and payroll documents signed or initialled by authorised staff, the period is forty-five days.
Account codes, their numbering and the format of the financial statements are set by legislation. A group chart of accounts is mapped onto the uniform chart rather than replacing it.
Retention
Two separate rules apply and they do not agree. Tax legislation requires records and the documents supporting them to be retained for five years, counted from the beginning of the year following the one they relate to. Commercial legislation requires books, inventories, opening balance sheets, interim balance sheets, financial statements and annual activity reports to be retained for ten years.
In practice the ten-year rule governs, because a company cannot satisfy it by having destroyed records at five. The rule applies equally to electronic records: the ledger files, the certification files and the electronic invoices themselves are all within scope, and an archive that exists only inside a software subscription is not an archive.
What Goes Wrong, and What It Costs
| Failure | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Books not certified, or certified late | An irregularity penalty, more severe where the delay exceeds one month, and the assessment may be made on an estimated basis |
| Closing certification not obtained | An administrative fine under commercial legislation, assessed separately from any tax penalty |
| Certification files not uploaded | A special irregularity penalty; the deadline cannot be reopened |
| Books not produced on request | Treated as concealment, which is a criminal offence rather than an administrative one |
| Share ledger not kept | Transfers cannot be evidenced against the company; a standard finding in due diligence |
| Records not retained for the full period | Deductions and input tax credits that cannot be substantiated are disallowed |
The distinction worth noting is the fourth row. Failing to certify a book is an administrative matter with a monetary penalty. Failing to produce books when they are formally requested is treated as concealment and carries criminal consequences — which is why an incomplete handover from a previous accountant is a problem to resolve immediately rather than at the next year end.
What We Do
- Certification of all statutory books at the correct dates
- Journal, general ledger and inventory book under the uniform chart
- Share ledger, board resolution book and general assembly minutes book kept current
- Electronic ledger operation and certification file uploads
- Recording within the statutory periods
- Document flow and archive structure for the full retention period
- Year-end inventory and financial statements
- Review of the certification history on taking over an engagement
Frequently Asked Questions
Which books must a company in Turkey keep?
When must the books be certified?
Do the books have to be certified again every year?
Do electronic ledgers still need notarised certification?
Can accounting records be kept in English or in a foreign currency?
How quickly must transactions be recorded?
How long must the books be retained?
What happens if a certification file was never uploaded?
As the Ozbek CPA team, we keep the statutory books of foreign-owned companies, branches and liaison offices in Turkey — certification at the correct dates, the tax and commercial books, electronic ledger operation and certification file uploads, the year-end inventory and financial statements, and a review of the certification history whenever we take over an engagement. Contact us.
