eCDF filing
Export the eCDF file and fix rejections
Produce the eCDF filing XML from a ledger, choose the right undertaking size, and understand every error and warning the export can return.
The eCDF filing file is produced from a Ledger, not from an annual accounts cycle. Spyral builds the balance sheet and profit and loss forms automatically from the company's chart of accounts and checks them against the official filing rules before you download.
Where the export lives
Two routes lead to the same dialog:
- Open the company, go to its Bookkeeping tab, choose Export, and set Format to eCDF filing XML.
- Or open the ledger itself and choose eCDF XML.
Before it will work
Five things have to be true. If any is missing, the export stops and names it.
- The ledger is Ready for review or Reviewed. A ledger still being prepared cannot be exported.
- The ledger is linked to a company. An eCDF filing needs a declarer.
- Your firm's Agent identifiers are filled in under Settings, then Team, then eCDF filing.
- The company's own Matricule and VAT number are filled in on its profile.
- The financial year starts in 2020 or later.
Points 3 and 4 are a one-off setup. See Set up your firm's eCDF agent access.
The export dialog
Undertaking size. This decides which balance sheet and profit and loss forms are filed. The four options read as follows.
| Option | What it files |
|---|---|
| Small | abridged balance sheet & abridged P&L |
| Medium | full balance sheet & abridged P&L |
| Large | full balance sheet & full P&L |
| Chart of accounts only | no balance sheet / P&L (option 2952) |
The first three are the ordinary filings. Chart of accounts only is the filing type eCDF defines for a non automated generation of the balance sheet and profit and loss account: you file the chart of accounts through Spyral and produce the two statements yourself.
Which size a given company falls into is a matter of Luxembourg law, based on thresholds published on guichet.public.lu. Spyral does not work it out for you and does not check your choice against the figures.
Average staff during the financial year. This is a mandatory eCDF field. It cannot be left blank. Enter 0 if the company had no staff.
Deposit language. French, German or English. French is the default.
Comment. An optional note filed alongside the chart of accounts, up to 1800 characters.
Reference(s) column. An optional note against individual lines of the balance sheet and profit and loss account. eCDF allows 10 characters at most per note, and only lines that carry a value in the filing are included.
Then choose Download XML.
The previous year column
eCDF filings carry a comparative column for the previous financial year. Spyral fills it automatically from the company's most recent completed or reviewed ledger ending before this one.
If this is the company's first financial year in Spyral, there is nothing to compare against and the column is left out. Two situations also cause it to be dropped, each with a warning on the download:
- the previous year is kept in a different currency
- the previous year's ledger does not itself pass validation
The downloaded file
Do not rename the file. eCDF requires the filename to match a reference carried inside the file. Spyral names it correctly. Renaming it, or letting your browser add a numbered suffix because a file of the same name is already in your downloads folder, makes eCDF reject it.
Each downloaded file can be submitted once. If you need to submit again, for any reason, export the ledger again and use the fresh file rather than re-submitting the one you already have.
When the export fails
The toast reads eCDF export failed and names the problem. Nothing downloads. Here is every one of them.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A missing identifier is named | One of the Agent or Declarer fields is empty. | Fill it in under Team, then eCDF filing, or on the company profile. The message says which. |
| The ledger is not linked to a company | There is no declarer for the filing. | Link the ledger to its company, then export again. |
| The ledger has no journal entries | There is nothing to file. | Post entries to the ledger first. |
| The ledger does not balance | Debits and credits differ, usually because an entry was edited into an unbalanced state. | Find the unbalanced entry in the ledger and correct it. |
| An account does not map to the standard chart of accounts | A journal line uses an account code that is not part of the Luxembourg standard chart of accounts. | Correct the account code on that line, then export again. |
| An account posts to an aggregate row | A journal line uses a summary account rather than one of the detail accounts beneath it. | Split the line onto the correct detail sub account, then export again. |
| Account 142 must not carry a balance | The result for the financial year is derived by eCDF from the expense and income classes, so it cannot also be posted directly. | Remove the balance on account 142. |
| Only financial years starting in 2020 or later can be exported | The ledger's financial year predates the current eCDF forms. | This year cannot be filed through Spyral. |
| An internal consistency check failed | Something in the filing did not add up as expected. | Contact us and quote the ledger and financial year. |
| You do not have permission to export eCDF filings | Your role does not include exporting. | Ask an administrator in your firm. |
| Too many exports in a short time | You have hit the export rate limit. | Wait a moment and try again. |
| The eCDF file could not be generated | The export failed for a reason it could not classify. | Try once more, then contact us. |
The two you will actually meet are the two about account codes.
An account that does not map to the standard chart of accounts, and an account that posts to an aggregate row, together account for almost every real rejection. Both mean the same thing in practice: fix the account code on the line the message names, then export again.
The message names the account, so you can search the ledger for it directly. Correct it in the ledger and the next export includes it correctly.
Warnings, where the file still downloads
Some problems do not stop the export. The file downloads and the toast reads Exported with warnings. eCDF may still reject the file, so read them.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A field is negative | eCDF does not allow a negative value in that field. The filing will very likely be rejected. Correct the underlying entries and export again. |
| The financial year has not ended yet | eCDF only accepts filings for completed financial years. The file is premature. |
| The previous year is in another currency | The comparative column was left out of the filing. |
| The previous year's ledger does not pass validation | The comparative column was left out of the filing. Fix that year's ledger if the comparative is needed. |
If a ledger produces a lot of warnings, only the first few are shown. Fix the ones you can see and export again to reveal the rest.
After the file downloads
Spyral's part ends here. You submit the file yourself on the eCDF platform at ecdf.b2g.etat.lu.
Spyral does not submit anything to eCDF, the LBR or the RCS. It produces the file and checks it against the filing rules. Uploading it, and everything that follows from it, is your firm's action.
Spyral receives nothing back from eCDF either, so an accepted or rejected submission does not show up anywhere in Spyral.
Set up your firm's eCDF agent access
The one-off setup that lets your firm file eCDF XML from Spyral, including the transfer rights request and the identifiers each client company needs.
How journal entries get created
Spyral posts journal entries automatically from the documents you upload. Learn what triggers a posting, and why a document sometimes produces nothing.