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CompanySearch detection

Find a company by its name or VAT number and automatically fill in the record of a company file or a third party.

Updated on 10/05/2026 Edit this page

Rather than copying a company name, an address and a VAT number by hand, you can let NovaFisko find them. Detection queries CompanySearch, a directory built on the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises and the French Sirene register, and the European VIES service for the other countries of the Union.

What is available per country

Country Search by name Full sheet VAT number check Cities and streets
Belgium Yes Yes (CompanySearch) Yes Yes
France Yes Yes (CompanySearch) Yes No
Other EU countries No Partial (VIES) Yes No
Outside the EU No No No No

For a country covered only by VIES, the application displays: "For this country only the VAT number validity is returned: fill in the details manually."

Detecting a company when creating a file

  1. In the New file window, choose the country.
  2. In the Name or VAT number field, type at least two characters. Results are displayed as you type.
  3. Select the company. The sheet is loaded and then applied: company name, legal form, enterprise number, VAT number, structured address, NACE codes.
  4. Check the fields, fill in the VAT regime and the fiscal year, then create the file.

Content of the company sheet

The retrieved sheet is stored with the file and can be viewed in Settings, Company sheet tab. It includes:

  • the identity: enterprise number, VAT number, status (Active or Ceased), founding date, legal form, names;
  • the address of the registered office, with a link to Maps or Google Maps;
  • the published contacts (phone, email, website);
  • the NACE codes, with the main activity;
  • the establishments;
  • the Peppol status of the company when it is known.

When the sheet contains a phone number or an email and the contact details of the VAT declarant are empty, they are prefilled in the VAT settings of the file.

Refreshing a sheet

  1. Open Settings, then Company sheet.
  2. Click Refresh sheet (or Refresh from CompanySearch).
  3. The date of the last update changes and the message "Sheet refreshed." is displayed.

Sheets are cached for 24 hours. Refreshing forces a new read from the source.

Note

Applying a sheet does not replace the name of a file that is already named, unless you explicitly ask for it to be overwritten. The other fields (address, form, NACE) are updated with the data from the source.

Detecting a third party

The same detection exists in the record of a customer or a supplier.

  1. Open Third parties, then create or open a record.
  2. Enter the VAT number and click Detect, or search for the company by name.
  3. The sheet fills in the name, address and VAT number of the third party.

The Check VIES button checks a VAT number with VIES. The result ("VIES valid" or "VIES invalid") and the date of the check are stored on the record.

Assisted address entry

For a Belgian address, the City field suggests localities from a postal code or a name, then the Street field suggests the streets of the chosen city. Choose the city first: the street search depends on it.

Tip

If the search by name is unavailable, the message "CompanySearch is not configured: name search is unavailable, enter the VAT number." is displayed. Detection by VAT number remains possible through VIES.

Limits

  • The search by name is limited to a few dozen requests per minute and per user.
  • A VAT number in the wrong format is reported before any call: "Invalid format or check digit".
  • The data comes from public sources: always check the legal form and the address before validating.

See also