Founder handbooks / Dutch BV / by sector 9 sectors · 64 plays
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Founder handbooks / Netherlands / by sector

Your sector.Your Dutch BV.Your playbook.

Setting up a Dutch BV looks the same on paper for every company, but a SaaS start-up, an Amazon seller and a food importer hit very different walls. Bowarr splits the job by sector: the decisions you make first, the permits to check, the VAT timing and the first hires, each with a worked example.

Pick your sector

00

The 5 decisions
every founder makes

Same five calls in every sector. The answers are what change. Each playbook works through them in this order.

  1. 1

    Entity

    BV, branch or a holding above it. The structure decides liability, tax and how you take money out.

  2. 2

    VAT timing

    When you register, how you invoice cross-border and whether reverse charge or OSS applies to you.

  3. 3

    Permits

    The sector licences and registrations to check before you sell, ship, build or hire.

  4. 4

    First hires

    Payroll registration, contracts and whether a director, employee or contractor fits the role.

  5. 5

    Accounting

    Bookkeeping, filing deadlines and the annual accounts every BV has to publish.

+

New plays

The latest step-by-step guides, across all nine sectors.

01–09

The sector index

One handbook per industry. Start with yours, then read the crossover guides for your home country.

  1. 01 Tech, SaaS & fintech Playbooks for software, SaaS and fintech founders opening a Dutch BV: IP location, cross-border digital VAT, stock options for early hires and when a payments licence comes into play. 35plays
  2. 02 Consulting & professional services How consultancies, agencies and professional-services firms set up a Dutch BV, invoice foreign clients, hire their first consultants and stay clear of false self-employment. 3plays
  3. 03 E-commerce & marketplaces Setting up a Dutch BV to sell online: marketplaces, Amazon FBA, dropshipping, EU distance-selling VAT and One Stop Shop, warehousing and returns. 4plays
  4. 04 Trade, import & logistics Playbooks for importers, distributors and logistics firms using a Dutch BV as their EU gateway: EORI, customs, import VAT deferment and fiscal representation. 4plays
  5. 05 Food, pharma & health How food, pharma and health companies set up a Dutch BV while handling the extra layer of product registration, facility permits and regulator checks. 4plays
  6. 06 Construction, energy & industry Dutch BV set-up for construction, energy and industrial companies: posting workers, chain liability, safety certification and project-based VAT rules. 4plays
  7. 07 Media, hospitality & services Playbooks for media, creative, hospitality and service businesses opening a Dutch BV: municipal permits, alcohol licensing, VAT rates and seasonal staff. 3plays
  8. 08 Joint ventures & holdings How founders and partners structure joint ventures, franchises and holding companies with Dutch BVs, from shareholder agreements to the participation exemption. 4plays
  9. 09 Sector x country guides Crossover guides for one sector from one home country: what changes when a US SaaS firm, a UK consultancy or an Asian trader opens a Dutch BV. 3plays

Talks to operators,
not lawyers.

Bowarr is an independent set of founder handbooks that explains, sector by sector, how a foreign company sets up and runs a Dutch BV. Every playbook has the same bones: decisions first, numbered steps, the sector's permits and one worked example.

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