Guides
A back office for a foreign subsidiary in Serbia: what it covers and what it costs
The back office of a Serbian subsidiary covers the company administration, the accounting and tax returns, the payroll, the payments, the IT and the company records. A foreign group can build its own team in Serbia for these functions, use an outside service, or keep some functions at headquarters and give the rest to a service. The cost follows the volume of work: accounting providers in Serbia price by the number of documents and employees, the VAT status, the activity and any business in foreign currency.
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Key facts
| Topic | Fact | Legal basis or source |
|---|---|---|
| Functions of a back office | Company administration, accounting and tax returns, payroll, payments, IT and business software, company records | RNDM |
| What sets the price of accounting | Documents a month, employees, VAT status, activity, business in foreign currency | Price practice of accounting providers in Serbia, 2026 |
| Email and e-government | Every company registers an email address and registers as a user of e-government services | Law on Companies (ZPD), Art. 21 |
| Change of data at APR, the Serbian Business Registers Agency | 4,000 RSD for one change, 3,000 RSD for each further change in the same filing | APR fees, since 2026-01-01 |
| Late filing at APR | Surcharge of 6,260 RSD for a filing made more than 15 days after the decision or change | APR fees, since 2026-01-01 |
| RNDM's monthly back office | The Run tier: bookkeeping and tax returns by a licensed accounting firm, payroll and employee registration, corporate records and deadlines, a payment list for your approval, a monthly report for your management | RNDM |
What does the back office of a Serbian subsidiary cover?
A back office is the set of support functions that a company needs to run, apart from its own business. For a d.o.o. owned from abroad, these are the functions:
- Company administration: the corporate records, the register changes at APR, the entries of the beneficial owners, and a calendar of the deadlines.
- Accounting and tax: the books, the regular annual financial statement and, where the company is in the VAT system, the VAT returns and the e-invoices in SEF, the state e-invoicing system. The SEF e-invoicing guide explains the e-invoices.
- Payroll and employment: the monthly payroll and its returns, the registration and deregistration of employees, the personnel records, and the permits of foreign staff.
- Payments: the list of what is due, the approvals of management, the payment orders and the record of what is paid.
- IT and business software: the devices, the accounts, the cloud workplace, the support, and the software that connects these functions. The guide to IT setup for a new company lists the first steps.
- Company records: one place for the contracts, the decisions, the invoices and the letters of the authorities.
The Serbian books, returns and payroll follow Serbian rules and Serbian deadlines every month, whoever runs them.
How does the scope change as the subsidiary grows?
The scope grows with the company, one function at a time.
A subsidiary with 2 employees can start with the company administration, the accounting and IT support. A subsidiary with 20 employees also needs the payroll of the whole team, permits for its foreign staff, payment approvals, regular register changes, automation of routine work and a monthly report for management.
A large group can build each function in-house. A new subsidiary can use an outside service first, and then move a function in-house when the volume of work in Serbia justifies a team of its own.
Which questions decide the scope?
Six answers give the scope of the back office:
- What will the Serbian company do?
- Who owns it, and who manages it?
- How many employees does the plan include, and from when?
- Which functions stay at headquarters, for example the group reporting or the IT security policy?
- Which functions must exist in Serbia?
- Which systems does the group already use?
In-house team or outside service: how do they compare?
| Question | In-house team in Serbia | Outside service |
|---|---|---|
| What the group sets up | It hires the staff and sets up the workplace, the software and the procedures | It agrees the scope, then hands over the documents and the access rights |
| How the cost behaves | Salaries and contributions, the workplace, the software licences and the training, every month | A monthly fee for the agreed scope, plus single services when they occur |
| Leave and staff changes | The group plans cover for each person | The service keeps the work running |
| Serbian procedures | The new staff bring the knowledge, or learn it | The knowledge comes with the service |
| Control | Direct management of the team | Reports, approvals and access to the records |
| Fit | A subsidiary with a steady, high volume of work | A new or small subsidiary, or one that grows fast |
A group can also combine the two. Headquarters keeps the group reporting and the policies, and the outside service runs the Serbian administration, books, payroll and payments.
What sets the cost?
The cost of an outside service depends on the volume and the type of work. Accounting providers in Serbia set their price by these factors:
- the number of documents a month
- the number of employees on the payroll
- the VAT status of the company
- the activity of the company
- any business in foreign currency
The official fees come on top. A change of data at APR costs 4,000 RSD, and a filing made more than 15 days after the decision or change adds a surcharge of 6,260 RSD. Each offer lists the official fees that apply to the service.
The cost of an in-house team has other lines: the gross salaries and the contributions, the recruitment, the workplace and its equipment, the software licences, the training, and the time of the managers who lead the team.
What does management see each month?
A good back office answers six questions for management at any time:
- What must the company pay?
- When is each payment due?
- Has management approved it?
- Is it paid?
- Is a document missing?
- Which obligations come next?
A monthly report for management sums up the month. We send our monthly report in English.
How do you set up the back office of a new subsidiary?
- Map the functions, and decide which ones stay at headquarters.
- Agree the scope and the price in writing. The scope can be the full service, or only some functions.
- Hand over the documents, the access rights and the contracts that already exist.
- Set up the accounts, the registrations, the payroll and the payment workflow.
- Run the monthly cycle: collect the documents, keep the books, file the returns, run the payroll, get the approval of management for the payments, and send the monthly report.
- Check the scope as the company grows, and add or move functions.
How RNDM handles this
Run your business
We run the back office of foreign-owned companies in Serbia as one service. We keep your corporate records and your deadlines up to date, and we arrange your bookkeeping, tax returns and payroll with licensed accounting firms. We prepare your payments for approval and keep the record of what is paid, and we set up and support your IT. The monthly work is our Run tier, and the IT is part of our Scale tier. We agree the scope in writing with each client.
The services behind these tiers are Accounting and payroll, Payments and IT setup and support.
Sources
All pages were read on 2026-10-17.
- Zakon o privrednim društvima (Law on Companies), Art. 21, consolidated text with amendments up to Sl. glasnik RS 19/2025: https://www.paragraf.rs/propisi/zakon_o_privrednim_drustvima.html
- APR, fees for companies, valid since 2026-01-01: https://www.apr.gov.rs/registri/privredna-drustva/naknade.2044.html
This guide gives general information as of the date below. Your case may differ, so ask us before you act.
Last reviewed on . RNDM DOO is responsible for this page.