Swedish SIE4 Import/Export

Deterministic reference for parsing, validating, generating, and troubleshooting SIE4 files.

Quick orientation

SIE4 (Standard Import Export, version 4B, 2008) is Sweden's universal accounting data interchange format. Tagged plain-text, one record per line, #LABEL prefix, space-delimited fields.

File extensions: .SE = export, .SI = import.

Five subtypes:

• Type 1: Closing balances + chart of accounts + SRU codes (tax returns)
• Type 2: Type 1 + monthly period balances (#PSALDO, #PBUDGET)
• Type 3: Type 2 + object-level balances, dimensions
• Type 4E: Type 3 + all verifications (#VER/#TRANS) = full audit trail
• Type 4I: Verifications only, minimal header = subsystem import (payroll, POS)

Core invariants (never violate)

1. Verification balance: Sum of all #TRANS amounts within a #VER block = 0.00 exactly
2. IB/UB continuity: UB(year N, account) = IB(year N+1, account) for all balance sheet accounts (1xxx-2xxx)
3. Result account reset: IB for income statement accounts (3xxx-9xxx) must be zero at year start
4. #FLAGGA idempotency: 0 = not imported, 1 = already imported. Prevents double-import.
5. Sequential numbering: Verifications within a series appear in ascending verno order
6. Sign convention: Debit = positive, Credit = negative (in #TRANS, #IB, #UB, #RES)

Field format rules

• Quoting: Double quotes around fields with spaces. Escape internal quotes as \"
• Dates: YYYYMMDD. Periods: YYYYMM
• Amounts: Dot decimal separator, max 2 decimals, no plus sign
• Block delimiters: { and } each on own line around #TRANS entries in #VER
• Object lists: {dimension_no "object_no"} within balance/transaction items
• Forward compat: Readers must ignore unknown labels and unknown trailing fields

When to read reference files

For the complete record type specification (all labels, fields, compulsory/optional rules, #KSUMMA CRC-32 details): → Read references/record-types.md

For encoding detection, mojibake diagnosis, and per-software encoding behaviors: → Read references/encoding.md

For all validation rules, error patterns, and remediation procedures: → Read references/validation-rules.md

For BAS account classes, SRU code mappings, and account type behaviors: → Read references/bas-sru.md

Verification structure example

#VER A 1 20240115 "Kundfaktura 2024-001"
{
    #TRANS 1510 {} 12500.00
    #TRANS 2611 {} -2500.00
    #TRANS 3010 {1 "100" 6 "P01"} -10000.00
}

Sum: 12500 + (-2500) + (-10000) = 0. Valid.

Verification series conventions (Swedish practice)

• A = Huvudserie (main/general)
• B = Automatkonteringar (auto-postings)
• F = Kundfakturor (customer invoices)
• I = Inbetalningar (customer payments)
• J = Bokslutsverifikationer (year-end closing)
• L = Leverantörsfakturor (supplier invoices)
• N = Löner (payroll)
• U = Utbetalningar (supplier payments)

Series and numbering restart each fiscal year. 4I import files may have empty series/verno.

Year-end closing and IB/UB flow

1. Closing entries (J-series) zero out all result accounts (3xxx-8xxx) by transferring net result to account 2099 (Årets resultat)
2. After closing: UB for result accounts = 0, UB for equity reflects accumulated result
3. These UB values become IB for next year
4. #RES records capture what result accounts held during the year before closing

Multi-year handling

• #RAR 0 20240101 20241231 = current fiscal year
• #RAR -1 20230101 20231231 = previous year
• Only one chart of accounts per file (current year's)
• Broken fiscal years supported: #RAR 0 20240701 20250630
• #PSALDO/#PBUDGET store monthly change (not cumulative), period = YYYYMM

Migration between systems

Standard path: export SIE4E per fiscal year from source, import into target starting with current year, verify IB/UB continuity, remap verification series to avoid collisions.

What SIE does NOT carry: VAT codes (must be manually configured post-import), customer/supplier subledgers (reskontror), processing history, underlying digital documents/vouchers.

Post-migration validation: compare balance reports, trial balances, verification counts per series, Swedish character rendering.

Audit trail under BFL

• 7-year retention after calendar year in which fiscal year ended (BFL 7:1)
• Storage in Sweden required (EU/EEA with Skatteverket notification; non-EU requires permission)
• Immutability: locked entries cannot be modified. Corrections via separate correction verification only.
• #FLAGGA: anti-duplication control. Exporter writes 0, importer sets to 1 after success.
• SIE is not complete archiving: lacks processing history and system documentation required by BFL.
• As of July 2024, paper originals may be destroyed after proper digitization.

Encoding quick reference

The spec mandates CP437 (#FORMAT PC8), but modern cloud software exports UTF-8. Many programs write #FORMAT PC8 regardless of actual encoding.

Detection priority: UTF-8 BOM → strict UTF-8 decode → CP437 byte scan (0x84/0x86/0x8E/0x8F/0x94/0x99) → Latin-1 byte scan (0xC4/0xC5/0xD6/0xE4/0xE5/0xF6) → check #PROGRAM (cloud = UTF-8, desktop = CP437) → fall back Latin-1.

Mojibake signatures: Ã¥/ä/ö = UTF-8 read as Latin-1. †/„/" = CP437 read as Win-1252. σ/Σ/÷ = Latin-1 read as CP437.

#KSUMMA note: CRC-32 is calculated on CP437 byte values per spec. Skip KSUMMA validation when non-CP437 encoding is detected.

For full encoding tables and per-software behaviors, read references/encoding.md.

Common errors (quick lookup)

Error	Cause	Fix
Unbalanced verification	#TRANS sum ≠ 0	Add öresutjämning (3741) or fix amounts
IB/UB mismatch	Incomplete year-end closing	Create adjustment verification in opening period
Garbled å/ä/ö	Encoding mismatch	Detect actual encoding, re-decode
Duplicate verno	Series collision on import	Remap to unused series
Undeclared account	#TRANS references account not in #KONTO	Add #KONTO or map to existing
#FLAGGA 1	File already imported	Verify not duplicate, manually reset to 0
Missing #RAR	Can't determine fiscal year	Reject file or infer from verification dates
Non-zero IB on 3xxx-9xxx	Incomplete closing in source	Run closing entries before export
Truncated file	#KSUMMA opening present, closing missing	Reject, re-export from source
No VAT codes post-import	SIE carries no moms info	Manually configure in target system

For the full error catalog with detailed remediation, read references/validation-rules.md.