A Frogwise guide
Setting up a sustainable business in the Netherlands
Six parts: registering, taking payment, keeping the books, tax, suppliers, and money that does not have to be repaid. Written for the person who wants to do it properly and cannot afford to learn every lesson the expensive way.
No affiliate links and no paid placements. Where a provider is named, its weak points are named in the same breath. Fees and thresholds move — last reviewed September 2026.
01
Registering, and choosing a form that fits
KVK, the legal forms, and why most sustainable one-person businesses in the Netherlands start as an eenmanszaak rather than a BV.
02
Banking and taking payment
Business accounts, iDEAL, card terminals — and the fee structures that quietly decide whether a small margin survives.
03
Invoicing, bookkeeping and the boring engine
What a Dutch invoice must contain, which features actually save hours, and where automatic invoice creation earns its keep.
04
Tax, VAT and the small-business schemes
Quarterly btw, the deductions that make a first year survivable, and the exemption that is not always a gift.
05
Finding suppliers you will not have to apologise for
How to interrogate a supplier, and where to start looking for packaging, materials and energy in and around the Netherlands.
06
Funding, subsidies and who to ask
Grants and non-repayable subsidies exist for decarbonisation, circularity and education — but they are written for prepared applicants.
Something missing, or something wrong?
This guide grows as we verify more of it. If you run a business here and a section is out of date — or you know a provider that deserves a place — write to us. Verified suppliers end up in the directory.