CSRD Reporting Software: What ESRS and VSME Tools Do and How to Compare Them

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is Directive (EU) 2022/2464, amended by Directive (EU) 2026/470 (Omnibus I). Both are directives that bind the Member States, so a company follows its national law. The legal duties that a reporting tool serves are set out in the CSRD explained after the Omnibus.

The same products are sold as ESG or sustainability reporting software. This page judges them only against the duties of the CSRD, the ESRS and the voluntary standard (VS, formerly VSME), and it names no provider.

What CSRD Software Does

A CSRD reporting tool is software that turns scattered sustainability data into a sustainability statement in a dedicated section of the management report, and most tools combine five functions: data collection, a materiality workflow, mapping to disclosure requirements, electronic output and an audit trail. Article 19a(1) of Directive 2013/34/EU places the sustainability information in that dedicated section. The sixth row of the table, voluntary standard reports, describes a separate product type for companies outside the CSRD.

Collecting Data from Sites, Subsidiaries and Suppliers

Data collection is the core function: the tool sends requests to sites, subsidiaries and suppliers, stores each answer with its owner, method and source document, and flags gaps. A parent reports on a consolidated basis under Article 29a(1) of Directive 2013/34/EU, as replaced by Article 2(5)(a) of Directive (EU) 2026/470, so the tool has to hold the group structure and attribute every figure to a legal entity.

Supplier requests have a legal limit. A protected undertaking is a value-chain undertaking with not more than an average of 1,000 employees in the preceding financial year, and the reporting company may not require more from it than the information in the voluntary standard (Articles 19a(3) and 29a(3) of Directive 2013/34/EU, as amended by Directive (EU) 2026/470). A request module therefore needs to know which suppliers are protected.

Materiality Workflows and the Record behind Them

A materiality module records how the undertaking identified and assessed its impacts, risks and opportunities, because the ESRS ask for that process, not only its result. In the 2023 set a matter is material if it meets the impact criteria, the financial criteria or both (ESRS 1 paragraph 28 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772); in the 2026 set an undertaking "shall not" disclose information prescribed by a disclosure requirement or datapoint if it is not material (ESRS 1 paragraph 24 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563).

The process disclosure is IRO-1 in ESRS 2 of both sets: paragraph 53 with items (a) to (h) in the 2023 set, paragraph 35 with items (a) to (e) in the 2026 set. Scoring, thresholds and stakeholder input therefore have to be kept in a form the reader of the statement can follow, and the method itself is covered in the double materiality assessment under the ESRS.

Mapping Data to the 2023 or the 2026 Standards

Mapping links every collected figure to a disclosure requirement and datapoint of the ESRS set the undertaking applies, and in FY 2026 two sets are lawful. A datapoint is a distinct item within a disclosure requirement (ESRS 1 paragraph 17 of the 2026 set), and items drafted with "shall" are prescribed subject to materiality (paragraph 24).

For FY 2026, Article 2(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 lets an undertaking apply the 2023 set as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1416, the 2026 set, or the 2023 set with the eight reliefs of the 2026 ESRS 1; Article 2(2) requires the statement to say which version it applies. The codes differ between the sets: gross greenhouse gas emissions are disclosed under E1-6 in the 2023 set and E1-8 in the 2026 set, so a datapoint library needs a version field.

EFRAG's 2026 draft list of datapoints is Secretariat support material and "does not represent an IG", and Implementation Guidance IG 1 to IG 3 has not been updated for the 2026 set. A tool's mapping is therefore its provider's own work, and the text to check it against is the revised 2026 standards of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 to check it.

Machine-Readable Output and Tagging

Output modules produce the management report in XHTML and can attach XBRL tags, but as of 29 October 2026 companies do not have to tag their sustainability reporting. Tagging means machine-readable labels taken from a taxonomy; EFRAG's draft taxonomy for the 2026 set uses Inline XBRL, while EFRAG's taxonomy for the 2023 set "never went into force, i.e. digital tagging was not made mandatory by ESMA and the EC".

Buyers ask whether a tool can switch to the final taxonomy once the Commission adopts mark-up rules. The legal position is set out in the next section.

Audit Trail and Evidence for Limited Assurance

An audit trail shows who entered, changed and approved each figure and on what evidence, and the assurance provider relies on it because the opinion covers the reporting process as well as the figures. The opinion is a limited assurance opinion on compliance with the Directive and the standards, on the process to identify the reported information, on the mark-up under Article 29d and on the disclosures under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Article 34(1)(aa) of Directive 2013/34/EU, as replaced by Directive (EU) 2026/470); the limited assurance of CSRD reporting is covered on its own page.

The Commission is to adopt the EU limited-assurance standard by delegated act by 1 July 2027 (Article 26a(3) of Directive 2006/43/EC, as replaced by Article 1(3) of Directive (EU) 2026/470), and it is not adopted as of 29 October 2026. No EU standard exists yet against which a tool could be called assurance-ready.

VSME Tools for Smaller Companies

VSME tools help undertakings outside the CSRD prepare a report under the voluntary standard (VS, formerly VSME), usually for banks, customers or investors that ask for data. The standard is Annex I of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 and has a Basic Module of disclosures B1 to B11 and a Comprehensive Module of disclosures C1 to C9, for which the Basic Module is a prerequisite. No official datapoint total exists.

EFRAG offers a free template for these reports, described in the resources section below. Anyone choosing between a template and a product starts from the voluntary standard (VS, formerly VSME) itself.

What EU Law Requires of Reporting Software as of 29 October 2026

No EU act regulates reporting software as such: the CSRD sets duties for the reporting undertaking, and a tool only has to let the undertaking meet them, chiefly the electronic format of Article 29d of Directive 2013/34/EU. Directive (EU) 2026/470 binds the Member States, which transpose Articles 1 to 3 by 19 March 2027 (Article 5(1)); companies follow their national law.

No Approval or Certification Scheme

There is no EU certification, approval list or technical standard for CSRD or VSME software as of 29 October 2026, so a claim of a "CSRD-certified" or "EU-approved" tool has no legal basis. XBRL International keeps a register of certified software in three categories: validating processors, report creation software, and review and consumption software. Certification is per module with annual re-testing, and it attests conformance with the XBRL specifications, not compliance with the CSRD.

A buyer can check three things instead: the ESRS versions the tool supports, its export formats and its audit trail. The criteria table below turns them into questions.

The Single Electronic Format and the Mark-Up Pause

Article 29d(1) of Directive 2013/34/EU, as replaced by Article 2(9) of Directive (EU) 2026/470, requires the management report in the format of Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 and the mark-up of sustainability reporting in that format, but adds: "Until such rules on the marking-up are adopted by way of that Delegated Regulation, undertakings shall not be required to mark up their sustainability reporting." Article 29d(2) applies the same rule to parent undertakings.

Before Directive (EU) 2026/470, Article 29d as inserted by Directive (EU) 2022/2464 required the mark-up, including the Article 8 Taxonomy disclosures. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 contains no sustainability mark-up rules as of 29 October 2026, because its amendments to date concern the IFRS-based taxonomy. ESMA consulted on the subject from 13 December 2024 to 31 March 2025 without publishing a final report, and its Annual Work Programme 2027 plans a new consultation for the first quarter of 2027. EFRAG's draft ESRS taxonomy for the 2026 set remains a draft; the mark-up and digital tagging of the sustainability statement has its own page.

The Commission Report on Technological Solutions Due in 2028

By 19 March 2028 the Commission reports on technological solutions for sustainability reporting under Article 29f of Directive 2013/34/EU, inserted by Article 2(10) of Directive (EU) 2026/470. The report covers initiatives that enable undertakings to collect, process and exchange data "in a secure, seamless and automated manner", and recital 28 names structured formats such as digital VSME reports.

The report is not a software requirement and sets no duty for providers; it may lead to proposals, and nothing more is known. Article 29e separately obliges the Commission to provide a dedicated portal with information, guidance and templates, and the text sets no deadline for it.

Free EFRAG Resources and Open Formats

EFRAG publishes free digital resources that any tool, or a company without a tool, can use: the VSME Digital Template with its XBRL taxonomy and converter, and the ESRS XBRL taxonomies. The VSME Digital Template is version 1.3.0 of 11 June 2026, an Excel file still built on Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710; a version based on the voluntary standard is not published as of 29 October 2026. The XBRL taxonomy entry point of 1 May 2026 is licence-free, the converter is open source under the MIT licence, and EFRAG gives no end-user support.

The template is explained field by field on a separate page, which also covers the taxonomy and converter in use: EFRAG digital template and XBRL taxonomy for VSME data.

EFRAG's call for expression of interest on VSME digital tools, open from 3 February 2026 with responses due by 5 April 2026, covered digital platforms and tools such as greenhouse gas calculators, geolocation, water stress, biodiversity-sensitive area and climate risk tools. No participant is named here.

How to Compare Reporting Tools: The Criteria Table

Compare tools against what the law and the standards ask of your report, not against a vendor ranking: the criteria below tie each test to the provision or standard behind it. No EU benchmark of reporting software exists, and this site names no provider, so no ranking is given.

Questions to Put to Every Provider

Ask each provider the same questions in writing and keep the answers with the selection file.

• Which ESRS sets does the tool support, and how does it record the version statement?
• How are datapoint lists updated when EFRAG finalises its list?
• How do supplier requests respect the cap for protected undertakings?
• Which output formats does it produce, XHTML and Inline XBRL?
• Which XBRL International certification modules, if any, does it hold?
• What does the audit trail record, and how does the assurance provider get access?
• How does data leave the tool in an open format?

Spreadsheets, Templates or a Dedicated Platform

Spreadsheets and free templates can carry a first VSME report or a small statement, while a dedicated platform pays off when a long list of entities, suppliers and reviewers feeds one report. The EFRAG template is an Excel file with four data-entry sheets (General information, Environmental, Social, Governance) and a free converter; a plain spreadsheet lacks per-figure approval records unless the team builds them in.

For an in-scope group the deciding factors are consolidation on the basis of Article 29a(1), the two ESRS sets in FY 2026, the audit trail and the later mark-up. This section gives no price; the next one gives dated evidence.

What Reporting Software Costs: Dated Estimates

No official price list exists, but two public studies estimate software and tagging costs: EFRAG's cost-benefit analysis of December 2025 and the Commission's CSRD impact assessment of April 2021. The EFRAG analysis, prepared by Prometeia and Syntesia, puts the one-off software adjustment at EUR 55,000 for smaller and EUR 230,000 for larger undertakings, depreciated over five years, and the median first-year IT cost at EUR 10,000 below and EUR 210,000 above 10,000 employees. It assessed EFRAG's advice of 3 December 2025, not Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563.

The Commission staff working document SWD(2021) 150 of 21 April 2021 put tagging at EUR 9,800 one-off and EUR 1,700 a year per company, derived from median benchmarks of an ESMA study of 2016 and written when mark-up was foreseen. Neither source gives a current price.

How to Report with a Tool: Selection and Set-Up

Choose the tool after the reporting duty is clear and before data collection starts, in six steps. Software is one step of a wider plan, set out in the step-by-step reporting plan for in-scope companies.

1. Confirm whether and from which financial year the CSRD applies, or whether only the voluntary standard is relevant, with the CSRD scope check.
2. Fix the ESRS set for FY 2026 or FY 2027.
3. List the entities, suppliers and data owners.
4. Send the criteria questions to at least two providers.
5. Test one disclosure end to end with real data and the assurance provider's access.
6. Plan the switch to mark-up for the day rules are adopted.

Where software fits among the other reporting steps is set out in our step-by-step reporting plan for in-scope companies.

Software, Consultants and Training: Where Each Fits

Software holds the data and the trail, consultants help with method and drafting, and training builds the team's own knowledge; EU law licenses none of the three for preparers. Statutory training rules exist only for statutory auditors who assure sustainability reporting (Directive 2006/43/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2022/2464).

• CSRD readiness checklist mapped to the ESRS: lists the readiness steps against the legal duties.
• CSRD consultants and how to choose one: covers method, drafting and the limits on auditors.
• CSRD and ESRS training for a reporting team: covers building the team's own knowledge.

Software Questions

Four questions come up whenever a reporting tool is chosen.

Can a supplier portal ask small suppliers for any data?

No: a reporting undertaking may not require more than the voluntary standard's value-chain information from a protected undertaking, one with not more than an average of 1,000 employees in the preceding financial year (Article 19a(3) of Directive 2013/34/EU as amended by Directive (EU) 2026/470). The value-chain cap for suppliers with up to 1,000 employees has its own page.

Is any reporting software officially certified?

No: as of 29 October 2026 there is no EU certification, approval list or technical standard for CSRD or VSME software. XBRL International certification covers XBRL conformance only.

Which set of standards must a tool support for FY 2026 and FY 2027?

For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027 the revised ESRS of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 apply; for FY 2026 an undertaking may use the 2023 set as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1416, the 2023 set with eight reliefs, or the 2026 set, and must state its choice. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 enters into force on 10 November 2026.

Do small companies need paid software for a voluntary report?

No: reporting under the voluntary standard is voluntary, and EFRAG's Digital Template, taxonomy and converter are free to use. Which companies are outside the CSRD is covered for small companies outside the CSRD and the voluntary route.