VSME Digital Template and XBRL: How to Fill and Convert

A VSME report can live as a PDF, and for most sharing that is enough. But EFRAG also publishes free official tooling that makes the same report machine-readable: an Excel Digital Template covering every disclosure, and an open-source converter that turns the completed file into XBRL, the structured format banks and data platforms can import directly.

This guide covers what the tooling is, how to fill the template, how conversion works, and the honest caveats, including one timing note: the template has not yet caught up with the July 2026 delegated act, so expect an update.

What EFRAG Provides, and Where

Everything is free, from two places:

• The download page — efrag.org/en/vsme-digital-template-and-xbrl-taxonomy — holds the current release, version 1.3.0 (11 June 2026): the Digital Template itself (an Excel workbook of under 1 MB), a pre-filled mock-up example worth opening first, the XBRL Taxonomy Package for technical consumers, and an explanatory note. The template is available in 11 languages, switched from a dropdown on its Introduction sheet.
• The converter — hosted at xbrl.efrag.org/convert, with the source open on EFRAG’s GitHub under an MIT licence. You upload the completed workbook and download the XBRL outputs; technically minded users can run the same converter locally.

A free data-migration tool moves entries from older template versions into the current one, so starting now does not strand your work when versions change.

How the Template Is Organised

The workbook mirrors the standard’s structure, so if you know the B1–B11 and C1–C9 disclosures, you know the file. Data entry runs across four themed sheets — general information, environmental, social, and governance — each covering its Basic disclosures and the corresponding Comprehensive ones, plus an introduction sheet, a validation dashboard, and a fuel-converter helper for turning litres of fuel into energy units.

You choose Basic only, Basic plus selected Comprehensive disclosures, or the full set, matching the applicability approach: complete what applies, mark what does not. Repeating items (multiple sites, waste streams, pollutants, countries of employment) expand through hidden row groups rather than free-form additions, which is what keeps the file convertible.

The validation dashboard is the feature to lean on. The template checks entries as you go, flagging missing values and inconsistencies per disclosure, and shows an overall COMPLETE or INCOMPLETE status. Treat COMPLETE as your definition of done: the converter expects it.

Filling It, Step by Step

1. Open the mock-up first. Ten minutes with the pre-filled example teaches the conventions faster than any instructions.
2. Gather your figures before touching the file. The template is a container, not a calculator (beyond the fuel converter): energy, water, waste, and workforce numbers come from your bills and payroll, gathered the same way as for any VSME report. If your answers already live in an ESG answer bank, this is transcription; a free VSME report tool covers the same disclosures at no cost, and the template is the route to add a machine-readable output alongside.
3. Work sheet by sheet, one reporting year, one entity. The file handles a single period and a single entity (individual or consolidated) — plan one workbook per year.
4. Chase the validation dashboard to COMPLETE. Fix each flagged cell; “not applicable” disclosures are marked as such rather than left empty.
5. Convert. Upload the workbook at the converter; download the outputs.
6. Keep both artefacts. The Excel file is your working record for next year; the XBRL package is the sharing format.

One practical requirement: the template is built and tested for Microsoft Excel 365 desktop. Older Excel versions and other spreadsheet applications may misbehave, so do the work in 365 even if your figures start elsewhere.

What the Converter Produces, and Who Wants It

Conversion yields three things:

• An Inline XBRL (iXBRL) report — a web page humans can read with the tagged data embedded, viewable in a browser and suitable for publishing on your website.
• An XBRL Report Package and an xBRL-JSON file — the machine-readable forms data consumers import.

Who actually wants XBRL from an SME today? Honestly: a growing minority. Banks and data providers are building for structured intake, national platforms are emerging around VSME (Germany’s DNK platform runs a VSME module with a plausibility check, France’s Portail RSE lets companies complete the VSME indicators online, and Italian chambers of commerce run a free VSME-based assessment), and EFRAG is evaluating a central distribution hub. No filing is mandatory anywhere — the standard and its digital form are voluntary end to end. The case for converting now is being ready for requesters who prefer structured data, at the cost of an upload and a download.

The Caveats, Honestly

• The template predates the VS delegated act. Version 1.3.0 shipped on 11 June 2026; the delegated act adopting the standard as the EU’s voluntary standard (VS) followed on 3 July. EFRAG has said the tools will be updated for the adopted act, with no date announced. Work done now migrates forward via the data-migration tool, so waiting buys little.
• Translations are partial in places. The 11 languages cover the template and taxonomy labels; some dropdown lists remain English-only.
• One period, one entity per file, and no built-in GHG calculation beyond the fuel converter — emissions arithmetic happens before the template, not in it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the digital template to do VSME reporting?

No. A VSME report is valid as an ordinary document, and most customer and bank sharing today happens that way. The template adds a validated structure and a machine-readable output. Use it when a requester wants structured data, when you report through a national platform, or when you want the validation dashboard’s completeness check for free.

Is the XBRL conversion technical? Do I need IT help?

The hosted converter is upload-and-download: no installation, no XBRL knowledge. The technical depth (taxonomies, local CLI, self-hosting) exists for integrators and is entirely optional. The genuinely technical constraint is mundane: use Excel 365 desktop, and get the validation dashboard to COMPLETE before converting.

Where do I send or publish the XBRL output?

Wherever your requester wants it: banks and data platforms importing structured data, your own website for the iXBRL version, or a national platform. There is no registry you must file with — distribution is between you and whoever asked. EFRAG is evaluating a central hub, which this page will note if it materialises.

Will the July 2026 delegated act change the template?

An updated, VS-aligned version is expected but unscheduled. The standard’s structure carries over (the VS keeps the Basic and Comprehensive modules), so changes should be evolutionary, and EFRAG’s migration tool exists precisely to carry data across versions. Starting with v1.3.0 now remains the sensible move.

Key Terms

• VSME Digital Template — EFRAG’s free Excel workbook covering all VSME disclosures with built-in validation; current version 1.3.0 (June 2026), in 11 languages.
• XBRL / iXBRL — the structured business-reporting format; iXBRL embeds the tagged data in a human-readable page.
• Digital Template to XBRL Converter — EFRAG’s free, open-source converter (hosted and local) producing iXBRL, an XBRL Report Package, and xBRL-JSON.
• XBRL Taxonomy — the machine-readable dictionary of VSME disclosures that gives each tagged figure its meaning.
• Validation dashboard — the template’s completeness check; COMPLETE is the state to reach before converting.

Conclusion

EFRAG’s tooling makes the digital half of VSME reporting genuinely free: an official template with validation built in, and a one-step converter to the format data consumers import. The work that matters still happens before the template — gathering sourced figures once, keeping them reusable — after which the machine-readable output is an upload away.

Fill it in Excel 365, chase COMPLETE, convert, and keep the workbook for next year.