Software · buyer guide · VSME
VSME software: do you need more than the free template?
VSME software is any tool that helps a small or medium company prepare a report under the EU’s voluntary sustainability standard for SMEs, usually because a larger customer or a lender has asked for it.
This page is the buyer’s guide: what EFRAG gives away free, which platforms say they support VSME in their own words, and when paying for a tool is worth it. What a VSME product must output is on VSME reporting software.
What you are buying
What is VSME software, and what is free?
EFRAG publishes a digital template, XBRL taxonomy and converter for VSME reporting, and describes them as guidance tools; they do not certify anyone’s software.
The standard itself became law for voluntary use on 24 September 2026, under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, and the value-chain cap in its Article 3 applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
So the buying question for most SMEs is narrow: does a paid tool save enough time over the free template to justify its price?
| Kind of product | What it does for VSME | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| EFRAG’s digital template | Spreadsheet with conditional disclosures, calculations and checks; free | A first report, one requester |
| EFRAG’s converter | Turns the completed template into XBRL; free | A requester wants a digital file |
| SME sustainability platform | Guided questions, evidence store and a VSME export | Several requesters each year |
| Carbon accounting tool | Produces the emissions figures VSME asks for | Emissions are the hard part |
The platforms, in their own words
Which platforms say they support VSME?
6 of the 73 vendors in this site’s registry use these words about themselves on the pages read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026, listed alphabetically, which ranks nothing.
Each quote is the vendor’s own description; EFRAG does not certify VSME software.
Vendors whose own words mention VSME · 6 of 73 vendors · read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026
Each cell is the vendor’s own description of itself, linked to the page it is on. Alphabetical order ranks nothing.
A vendor not listed may still do the job: put the question to it in writing.
These platforms present VSME as a guided route for smaller companies, which suits a supplier answering customers in the EU.
Because EFRAG certifies nothing, the useful test is a demo on your own figures against the free template.
Free, guided or both
Vendor platforms
Free, guided or both
Value-chain cap
Order of work
How do you build a VSME software shortlist?
Start by filling the free template once: it shows which answers are hard for your business before anyone sells you a tool.
Then shortlist only on those hard answers.
| Step | What to do | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | List who asked for a VSME report and what they want | A file, a form or a conversation |
| 2 | Fill EFRAG’s free digital template | Which answers are hard |
| 3 | Ask two vendors to complete those answers on your data | Time saved against the template |
| 4 | Check the export | EFRAG XBRL, PDF or the requester’s own form |
| 5 | Price three years | The cost tool beside the next section |
| 6 | Confirm you can take your data out | Next year’s report does not depend on one vendor |
Price
What does VSME software cost?
EFRAG’s template, taxonomy and converter cost nothing.
Where a vendor publishes a price, the vendor table shows it with its link; most do not.
For a company answering one customer a year, the free route is the benchmark any quote must beat.
The calculator beside this sets a three-year quote against the staff time involved.
Your three-year cost · your numbers only
Three-year total £0
Arithmetic on the figures you type, from the vendor’s written quote.
Added entities are counted for an average of one and a half years each. This page states no vendor price and estimates none.
Nothing is stored or sent.
In the demo
What should you ask in a VSME software demo?
These are buying questions; the output tests are on VSME reporting software.
Bring your completed EFRAG template to the demo and ask the vendor to beat it.
VSME software demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Why suppliers are asked
When is VSME software worth buying?
A UK SME usually meets VSME through an EU customer or lender gathering sustainability information from its value chain.
From financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027, the value-chain cap in Article 3 of the Regulation limits what a reporting company may require from protected suppliers to the datapoints in its Annex II.
So the year to decide on a tool is the year requests start arriving in that shape, not before.
Read the detail and references
The Commission adopted the voluntary standard on 3 July 2026; it was published in the Official Journal on 21 September 2026 and entered into force on 24 September 2026 under Article 4.
Article 3 applies from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027, and Article 3(2) says the cap comprises only the datapoints in Annex II.
Before that, the Commission’s Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710 of 30 July 2025 recommended voluntary use of the VSME.
Spreadsheet or software
Is the free template enough for VSME?
For most small companies with one or two requests a year, EFRAG’s free digital template is the starting point and may be all that is needed.
EFRAG notes the template’s functionality may be limited outside Microsoft Excel 365, which is worth checking before relying on it.
A paid tool earns its place when several customers ask at once, when evidence must be kept for each answer, or when the same figures feed other reports.
The worksheet beside this compares a quote with the hours the free route takes.
Platform against the way you work now
Current process £0 a year · quote £0 a year
Fill in all three to see the break-even hours.
Arithmetic on your own inputs.
The quote’s implementation, uplift and exit terms are in the three-year worksheet on the carbon reporting software page.
Nothing is stored or sent.
After signature
How does a VSME software roll-out run?
Fill EFRAG’s template before buying anything, so the tool is loaded from a finished first draft rather than an empty screen.
No VSME rule sets an implementation time; ask the vendor for a dated plan against your customer’s deadline.
Keep the completed template as your own record, whatever tool comes next.
From template to report
Name the requester
From template to report
Collect evidence
From template to report
Reuse next year
For the board
VSME software is optional, and EFRAG’s free template is the benchmark it has to beat.
Buy only when several requests, or the evidence behind them, outgrow the template.
Takeaways
VSME software, in five facts
| What is true | What to do |
|---|---|
| The voluntary standard entered into force on 24 September 2026 | Expect customer requests in its shape |
| The value-chain cap applies to financial years from 1 January 2027 | Know which datapoints a customer may ask for |
| EFRAG’s template, taxonomy and converter are free | Fill the template before buying |
| EFRAG certifies no VSME software | Test any tool on your own data |
| Most VSME-capable platforms publish no price | Ask for a three-year quote |
Next: what a VSME product must output is on VSME reporting software, and the standard itself on VSME.
Frequently asked
VSME software, answered
What is VSME software?
A tool that helps a small or medium company prepare a report under the EU’s voluntary sustainability standard for SMEs, usually because a customer or lender has asked.
Is there free VSME software?
EFRAG publishes a free digital template, XBRL taxonomy and converter. It describes them as guidance tools.
Does EFRAG certify VSME software?
No. EFRAG’s digital materials are guidance tools and do not certify third-party software.
Which software supports VSME?
The table on this page lists every vendor in this site’s registry whose own words mention VSME, alphabetically and quoted. This site has tested none of them.
Is VSME law now?
The voluntary standard was published as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 and entered into force on 24 September 2026.
It is for voluntary use; its value-chain cap applies from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Why would a UK company use VSME?
Usually because an EU customer or lender asks for sustainability information in that shape.
No UK rule requires VSME.
What is the value-chain cap?
A limit, in Article 3 of the Regulation, on what a reporting company may require from protected companies in its value chain: only the datapoints listed in its Annex II.
Do we need XBRL for VSME?
Only if the requester wants a digital file.
EFRAG’s free converter produces XBRL from its template.
What does VSME software cost?
EFRAG’s tools are free.
Most paid platforms publish no price; where one does, the vendor table shows it.
Can we use the EFRAG template outside Excel?
EFRAG warns its functionality may be limited or incorrect outside Microsoft Excel 365 or in older versions.
What is the difference between VSME software and VSME reporting software?
This page is the buyer guide.
What a VSME product must output is set out on the VSME reporting software page.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- EUR-LexDelegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 — the voluntary standard
In force 24 September 2026; Article 3 from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- EUR-LexCommission Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710
The VSME recommendation of 30 July 2025.
- European CommissionCommission adopts revised sustainability reporting standards (3 July 2026)
Adoption of the voluntary standard.
- European CommissionCommission recommends voluntary sustainability reporting standard for SMEs
The 2025 recommendation, explained.
- EUR-LexDirective 2013/34/EU, consolidated, Article 29ca
The value-chain provision in the Accounting Directive.
- EFRAGVSME Digital Template and XBRL Taxonomy
Free template, taxonomy and converter; guidance, not certification.
- EFRAGRelease of the VSME Digital Template, XBRL Taxonomy and Converter
The release.
- EFRAGVSME knowledge hub
Questions and answers on applying the standard.
- EFRAGVSME project and supporting materials
The standard’s development.
- EFRAGVSME XBRL taxonomy entry point
The taxonomy file.
- EFRAGDigital template and taxonomy explanatory note (February 2026)
How the template and taxonomy work.
- EFRAGDigital Template to XBRL Converter source code
The converter, published openly.
- EFRAGEFRAG publishes its first VSME-based sustainability report
A worked VSME report.
- European CommissionCorporate sustainability reporting
The EU reporting framework VSME sits in.
- European CommissionVoluntary standard: additional explanatory information on the value chain
How the cap works for suppliers.