{"id":141,"date":"2026-10-02T06:46:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?post_type=ba_guide&#038;p=141"},"modified":"2026-10-02T06:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:46:24","slug":"bookkeeping-invoices-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"ba_guide","link":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?ba_guide=bookkeeping-invoices-netherlands","title":{"rendered":"Bookkeeping and invoices in the Netherlands: what a business must keep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ba-lead wp-block-paragraph\">A Dutch business must keep records that allow its tax position to be checked. Bookkeeping is therefore not optional even for a one-person business, although you can choose whether to do it yourself or use a bookkeeper\/accountant.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What belongs in your administration?<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>sales invoices and received invoices;<\/li><li>bank and cash records;<\/li><li>contracts, quotations and relevant correspondence;<\/li><li>tax returns and correspondence with Belastingdienst;<\/li><li>time records where relevant to tax claims or agreements;<\/li><li>travel\/mileage records where relevant;<\/li><li>payroll records if you employ people;<\/li><li>supporting records for deductions, assets and business costs.<\/li><\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Invoices: build a compliant template before the first sale<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your invoice requirements depend on the transaction, but commonly required information includes supplier\/customer details, invoice date and unique sequential invoice number, description and date of supply, amounts and applicable VAT information. Special VAT situations can require additional wording.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retention<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do not delete records after filing a return. Dutch tax rules impose retention periods, with longer rules for some records such as those relating to immovable property. Check the current Belastingdienst retention requirements for your records.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical setup<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"ba-checklist wp-block-list\"><li>Create separate folders\/accounts for sales, purchases, tax and contracts.<\/li><li>Reconcile the bank regularly.<\/li><li>Keep original supporting documents in an acceptable form.<\/li><li>Reserve money for VAT and income\/corporation tax.<\/li><li>Do not wait until the annual tax return to discover missing invoices.<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Records, invoices, tax evidence and a practical bookkeeping routine for Dutch businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","ba_country":[2],"ba_topic":[188,193,186,187],"ba_audience":[17],"ba_section":[22,21],"ba_stage":[28,30],"ba_location":[],"class_list":["post-141","ba_guide","type-ba_guide","status-publish","hentry","ba_country-netherlands","ba_topic-bookkeeping","ba_topic-invoicing","ba_topic-business-tax","ba_topic-vat-btw","ba_audience-residents","ba_section-money-costs","ba_section-work-business-section","ba_stage-getting-established","ba_stage-living-stage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/ba_guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/141\/revisions\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ba_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_country&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"ba_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_topic&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"ba_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_audience&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"ba_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_section&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"ba_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_stage&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"ba_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_location&post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}