Every entrepreneur has to deal with it once, registering with the Chamber of Commerce. As a sole proprietorship or if you work together as a general partnership (also known as VoF for short), you must go to the Chamber of Commerce yourself.
If you immediately go for a BV, NV or perhaps a Foundation or association, you will go to the notary who will set it up for you. And then immediately does the Chamber of Commerce registration.
The Chamber of Commerce has the task of registering all companies and keeping a register of them. When registering, you will also be registered directly with the tax authorities if necessary.
In this article we will not discuss the differences between these forms of business. That will be discussed in a later blog.
Chamber of Commerce?
No, nowadays they are called KVK for a short time. That has been the case for a few years now, but has not received much publicity. Although everyone will still know that by Chamber of Commerce you mean the Chamber of Commerce.
Register as? How does that work, the registration?
It's very simple, you go to the website of the Chamber of Commerce (www.kvk.nl) and make an appointment to register your company.
You then indicate that you want to register as a sole proprietorship. Not as a self-employed person, because that term does not legally exist. The official term is sole proprietorship. Which means that you as a person are responsible for the expenses and income. If your company makes a lot of profit, then that profit is for you and you pay tax on it, just like you would be employed.
But also important, if your company goes bankrupt, then you are personally responsible for it. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that your possessions such as your house and car have to be sold to pay the debts. It's good to be aware of that.
And then what?
Then you have registered a company, and it is actually just starting. Recruiting customers, carrying out assignments, sending invoices, maintaining contacts, keeping your administration, paying taxes. There is a lot involved, but you will probably succeed.
Good luck!