How to start an online business - a checklist

Selling products or services in an online shop (called a 'webshop' in the Netherlands) involves more than building a website. You will need to register your company with the Business Register at the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK), register your domain name, keep records and pay income tax and VAT (BTW).

Are you allowed to stay in the Netherlands?

If you are going to run a business in the Netherlands, you must fulfil a number of conditions. If you are not an EU citizen, you may need a residence permit. Our interactive tool Coming to the Netherlands as an entrepreneur can help you find out quickly if this is true for you, and tell you what other obligations you have to fulfil.

Is your online store a business?

When does your online shop stop being a hobby, and become a business? KVK and the Netherlands Tax Administration have several criteria:

• profitability
• independence
• capital
• size of the company, in time and money
• customers
• entrepreneurial risk
• liability

Find out when you are considered an entrepreneur by the Dutch Tax Administration.

Register with the KVK Business Register and Netherlands Tax Administration

New retail businesses, whether 'brick' or online, must register with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK) Business Register. The KVK will pass on your details to the Netherlands Tax Administration (Belastingdienst). Within two weeks you will receive your VAT identification number and your VAT number from the Tax Administration by post. You do not need to register separately with them, unless you decide to register as a limited company or association. See also Legal business structures - an overview.

Make sure you have an IBAN account

If you plan to start doing business in or with the Netherlands, you will need a business bank account (IBAN). If you are from outside the EU, you may need to apply for one. The Dutch Banking Association has created a Quick Scan to help you find out if you are eligible. Read how it works.

Register your domain name (url or internet address)

You have to set up a business website and buy a domain name. The name has to be unique, and you need to respect other companies’ copyrights, trademarks, and trade names. The registrar will submit a registration request on your behalf to the organisation that administers domain names.

If someone else builds the online shop for you, you will only be permitted to modify the website yourself if you hold the copyright. Preferably, the designer should waive his personal rights. Another possibility is a licence for use.

Check the requirements for running an online business from home

If you intend to start a home-based online shop, you have to make sure your business does not cause nuisance to your neighbours, for instance because of extra traffic, due to delivery services.

You will usually have to report this intention to your local authority and check the environment plan (omgevingsplan). If you rent, you will also have to ask permission from your landlord.

Dropshipping

What is drop shipping? With dropshipping you start an online store without any inventory. You sell the products through a dropship supplier. This way of online sales saves your webshop time and costs. You put the supplier's products on your website and you determine the selling price yourself. After purchase by your customer, the supplier delivers the products directly to your customer. Read more about dropshipping.

Find out which taxes you need to pay

If your online shop is a source of income, the Tax Administration will most likely view you as an entrepreneur for income tax. You will then have to pay tax on your company profit. As an entrepreneur you may be entitled to a reduction of income tax.

If you’re doing business within the EU, you need to pay VAT (BTW) on most products and services. The Netherlands has three VAT rates (0%, 9% and 21%). You can obtain an exemption for some goods and services. You don’t pay VAT yourself, instead you reverse charge it to your customers and then transfer it to the Tax Administration office. If you deliver goods or services to a business client (B2B) within the EU, the VAT rate is 0%. Your client is then responsible for reverse charging VAT on its products.

Do you deliver to private individuals in the EU?

If your turnover in another EU country is higher than €10,000, you calculate the VAT rate of that country. You also have to pay the VAT there. You can register as an entrepreneur in that country, or use the one-stop-shop system (in Dutch) of the Tax Administration. You use this system to declare the VAT for other EU countries. Log in as an entrepreneur to use this system. The Dutch Tax Administration pass on the declaration and payment on your behalf to the tax authorities abroad. The threshold for distance sales differs per country. If you need help, you can get assistance from a fiscal representative. Read more.

Keep business records

Every entrepreneur is obliged to keep business records. The rules are no different for an online shop. Your records must comply with certain rules. For instance, you have to retain your records for at least 7 years. And if you wish to receive the entrepreneur allowance, you must keep a record of the number of hours spent working for your business.

Give clear information on your website

Your website must clearly state your company’s identity. Besides your address details, you must state your business registeration number and your VAT number. You must also inform customers about the price and features of your products, the method of payment, the order process, warranty, the cooling off period, and the delivery details.

Ask your customer's permission to place cookies on their computer

A cookie is a small file that saves internet settings on your customer's computer. You can follow their surfing behaviour or place targeted advertisements. Your customer must give you permission to do this. You should request this permission as soon as they enter your online shop.

Make certain that your customers' personal details are safe

You must handle customers' personal details with due care, in accordance with EU guidelines: the GDPR. Customers' personal details must be secured against loss or theft, for example. Please be advised by your internet hosting provider on available security options.

Ensure that your customers are able to pay securely

Secure payment is possible with a secure internet connection. A secure internet connection includes 'https' in your browser's URL.

Send order confirmations in writing

You must send customers an order confirmation in writing, enclosing your general terms and conditions, your guarantee conditions and your contact details. Your customer must receive this information – at the very latest – when the product is delivered or the service is provided.

Observe the rules on email advertising

You are not permitted to send emails or make mobile phone calls to private individuals or companies for advertising purposes without their prior consent.

Alcohol and tobacco

You may only sell high-alcohol beverages via an online shop if you have an off-licence permit or a licence under the Licensing and Catering Act. You do not need a licence to sell low-alcohol beverages.

You are not allowed to sell tobacco products online to customers inside the EEA. You can sell tobacco products to customers outside the EEA.

Draft the general terms and conditions

It is wise to use general terms and conditions to minimise your risks and provide clarity for you and your customers. General terms and conditions include rules about payment, delivery times, guarantees and disputes. You can use the specimen terms and conditions drawn up by the Dutch Home Shopping Organisation (Thuiswinkel.org).

Check product, packaging and labelling requirements

Consumer goods must be safe to use. That is why the products your online shop sells must comply with several product requirements. Check which ones apply to you. There are also requirements for product packaging and labelling, for instance the language on the label when you export products.

See what Thuiswinkel.org can do for you

Thuiswinkel.org (Home Shopping) is a Dutch organisation that offers advice, market research activities and complaints mediation to online shop entrepreneurs and their customers. You can also obtain a webshop quality mark as proof of your online shop’s bona fides.