Accountants and corporate service providers in Amsterdam

What the Amsterdam firms work on

Real estate is the sector Amsterdam firms name most, 14 times, and the next places go to private equity (seven) and funds (six), with three more naming investment funds. Technology, energy and construction follow with four each, then crypto, shipping and e-commerce with three. That weighting towards property and investment structures shows in the company forms the Amsterdam firms handle: holding companies and BVs are named 15 times each, foundations ten times, special purpose vehicles four times and fund vehicles three times, alongside sole proprietorships (11), branches of foreign companies (9) and NVs (5).

So an Amsterdam firm that suits a fund manager setting up a Dutch holding may not be the one for a freelancer registering a sole proprietorship, even though both are on this page. Ask each candidate which of these structures makes up most of its current client list.

Who the Amsterdam firms serve

Expats are the client group named most, by 17 Amsterdam firms, followed by SMEs (seven), freelancers (six), private clients and multinationals (four each). Three firms name US citizens living in the Netherlands, a group whose filings in two countries often need careful coordination, and two name Japanese companies. Fifty-nine of the 60 say they work with foreign clients.

English is offered by 48 Amsterdam firms and Dutch by 39. German is next with seven, then Spanish, Russian and French with four each. Italian, Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish and Bulgarian are each offered by two firms, and Hebrew, Japanese and Hindi by one, so an owner who prefers to discuss the file in one of those languages has a short list to work from.

Services in Amsterdam

Fifty-nine Amsterdam firms handle tax compliance, 49 keep accounts, 44 handle VAT and 41 run payroll. Twenty-eight offer company formation. The city also carries most of the country’s specialist services on the site: 16 Amsterdam firms act as company secretary and 13 offer a virtual office, against six and two in Rotterdam. Sixteen help with residence and visas, 11 with bank accounts and eight offer audit.

Several Amsterdam corporate service providers describe themselves as licensed trust offices supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Two firms say they are members of the NBA, the professional body for Dutch accountants, and others mention membership of the Dutch Association of Tax Advisers (NOB) or registration as a tax intermediary with the Belastingdienst. Eighteen state a founding year, the oldest 1965 and the median 2008, and 19 publish some of their prices.

Choosing a firm in Amsterdam

With this many options, narrow the list by structure first, then by language, then by size. A ten-person practice and a network office will both file a BV’s return, but they differ in who answers your e-mails, how fees are set and how much international tax work sits in-house. Ask who your day-to-day contact will be, which work is inside the fixed fee, and whether the firm already looks after companies of your size and sector.

If your company will be based just outside the city, Amstelveen, which borders Amsterdam, has three firms of its own, two of them part of large networks. The Netherlands guide covers the legal steps, company formation in the Netherlands explains how to choose a provider, and Rotterdam and The Hague have the next largest lists. To reach several Amsterdam firms at once, send a single quote request.