Accounting and bookkeeping in the Netherlands

For a Dutch company whose owners live abroad, accounting is usually handed to a local firm from the first day. That firm keeps the ledger, prepares the year-end figures and the annual accounts, and sends the directors the reports they rely on to run the business from a distance. The government’s guide for founders from abroad states that records must be kept for at least 7 years, and a BV must file its annual report and financial statement with KVK every year. Those duties apply whether or not anyone from the company is in the country, so in practice the firm you engage becomes your finance department in the Netherlands.

Firms offering accounting in the Netherlands

Doorpol

Accounting firm · Boutique firm

Rotterdam

  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Tax compliance
  • VAT
  • +1 more

Languages: Polish · German · English

View profile of Doorpol

Newtone

Accounting firm · Medium-sized firm

Capelle aan den IJssel

  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Tax compliance
  • Payroll
  • +1 more

Languages: Dutch · English

View profile of Newtone

67 more firms offering accounting in the Netherlands

What to ask a Dutch accounting firm

Ask which software the firm keeps your books in and whether you can log in to see the ledger yourself. Ask how often it closes the period, monthly or quarterly, and what the regular report to the shareholders contains. Find out who prepares the annual accounts, who files them, and whether the firm can produce figures in the format your parent company abroad needs for its own consolidation. If a holding company sits above the BV or a branch sits beside it, ask how intercompany charges are booked and reconciled. Agree in writing which work is covered by the fixed fee and which is billed by the hour.

Firms on Accountanty

Accountanty lists 91 firms that keep accounts in the Netherlands: 70 accounting firms, 20 corporate service providers and one law firm. Sixty are small, 19 medium-sized and 12 part of large networks. English is offered by 74 of them and Dutch by 68. Most are in Amsterdam, which has 49, followed by Rotterdam with 18 and The Hague with 14. For corporate income tax and other returns, see tax compliance in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Dutch BV keep its books outside the Netherlands?

The company stays bound by Dutch record-keeping rules wherever the work is done, which is why most owners abroad hand the ledger to a local firm. Ask the firm where the records will be held and how you can reach them if the tax authority asks.

Do Dutch accounting firms report in English?

Many do. Seventy-four of the 91 firms on Accountanty that keep accounts in the Netherlands offer English. Ask for a sample of the monthly or quarterly report before you sign, so you know what you will receive.

What does an accountant in the Netherlands need from a new client?

Usually the deed of incorporation, the trade register extract, bank access or statements, sales and purchase invoices and any contracts with group companies. Ask for the firm's onboarding list so the first period can be closed on time.

Other services in the Netherlands

Accountants by city in the Netherlands

Setting up a company in the Netherlands: the guide and every firm

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and fees change: check them with the official sources linked on this page or with a qualified adviser before you act.