Joint venture accounts and supporting files: leaving a trail before it is asked for
Nextica Law & Tax keeps the accounts a public contract requires you to be able to show: separate accounting for the temporary business grouping and, within it, for each works or service; cost allocation by contract so the result can be compared against the bid; the grant supporting account with its activity report and financial report under Law 38/2003 and the Regulation approved by RD 887/2006; and the documentary trail demanded by the review stage of Next Generation funds.
Clawback cases are not lost for having spent badly: they are lost for being unable to show what the money went on, three years later.
What's included
1. Separate accounting for the joint venture and, within it, for each works or service, so the contract's result can be compared against the bid submitted.
2. Allocating costs by contract on an explainable and stable basis, which is what makes a variance defensible later.
3. Opening a dedicated account and documentary trail for each grant received, separated from other funds from the first euro.
4. Preparing the supporting account
activity report, financial report and a classified list of expenses and investments with their supporting documents.
5. Checking which justification format the call requires before spending, not at the close, because it changes what has to be kept.
6. Filing with the traceability the European funds review demands, including publicity evidence and quotes where they were required.
7. Keeping the whole file until the longest applicable period expires, not the shortest.
CLAWBACK DOES NOT ARRIVE FOR SPENDING BADLY
It arrives for being unable to show what the money went on, and it arrives years later, once the project is closed and the team has changed.
The supporting account consists of an activity report and a financial report with a classified list of expenses and their supporting documents. The call chooses the format, and reading it at the end means rebuilding the whole file.
Law 38/2003 and RD 887/2006Documents destroyed too soon
the minimum is the limitation period for clawback, but the call, the European fund's framework or the State aid regime may impose longer periods.
Law 38/2003Without separate accounting by contract and by grant, there is no way to evidence which expense belongs to which funding, which is exactly what the European funds review stage asks for.
RD 887/2006TWO SERVICE MODES — WHAT'S YOURS
| Accounting Review or Supervision | Integrated Accounting Outsourcing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who for? | Companies that manage their accounting internally but need periodic expert review. | Companies that prefer to fully outsource accounting management to a specialized provider. |
| What does it include? | Review of records, detection of errors and inconsistencies, validation of accounting closure, and improvement recommendations. | Full scope: transaction recording, bank reconciliation, tax filing, and financial reporting. |
| Ideal for | Startups and SMEs with an internal accountant or administrative officer who manages the accounting. Family businesses that want additional control. | Companies without their own accounting department. Companies looking to reduce fixed structural costs. Subsidiaries of multinationals reporting to headquarters. |
| Main advantage | Independent external control without replacing the internal team. Detection of problems before they become sanctions. | Zero accounting worries for the entrepreneur. Scale without the need to hire permanent staff. |
Who for?
What does it include?
Ideal for
Main advantage
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a grant supporting account?
It is the file with which the beneficiary shows it did what it said and spent what it declared. It consists of an activity report explaining the work done and the results, and a financial report with a classified list of expenses and investments, the supporting documents and their link to each budget line. The Regulation approved by RD 887/2006 sets out its forms —with supporting documents, with an auditor's report, simplified— and the call for applications chooses which applies. Reading that choice at the start saves rebuilding the file at the end.
How long must aid documentation be kept?
Longer than almost anyone keeps it. The minimum is the limitation period for clawback set by Law 38/2003, but the call itself, the European fund's framework or the State aid regime may impose longer periods, and for Next Generation funds the review stage has asked for evidence of already-closed activities. The practical rule is simple: keep the whole file —including the three quotes where they were required, and the publicity materials— until the longest applicable period expires.
Content reviewed by
Elena Bosch Prat
Directora · Consultoría Contable y Financiera
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