Doing business in the Netherlands

One of our members in the Netherlands tells us about his experience as a member of the TGS network.

Do you want to do business internationally? Trust the expertise of full-service accountancy firm Vermetten Accountants and Advisers in the Netherlands. Vermetten and TGS Global international network can work together with accountancy firms all over the world and support entrepreneurs wherever they are. Rob van den Bosch tells us more about it.

We have the world at our feet. Many SME’s are expanding their business and increasingly crossing national borders. This also applies to many Dutch companies which are targeting foreign countries for their development. They’re opening a new branch in Spain, working with a manufacturing location in Malaysia or sending employees to America. Sometimes they’re looking for something a bit closer, such as sending employees to work in Belgium or Germany.

Doing business internationally increasingly more often

Rob van den Bosch is a member of the board at Vermetten | accountants and advisers and he also works as a tax adviser for numerous SMEs. Rob explains: “I noticed a few years ago that more and more customers wanted to do business abroad. They wanted to open a new location or collaborate with a foreign manufacturer but this entails various cross-border issues. We could not tackle all these sometimes complex issues on our own and required the help of local accountancy firms.”

Affiliation with TGS Network

“We thought it would be a good idea to join an international network for accountancy firms, which is why we joined TGS in 2012. To become a member, we had to meet strict quality requirements. We were screened and several meetings followed. TGS had about ten members at the time but the network organisation now has 68 members in 57 countries, including offices from Australia, China, India, Mexico, America, Ghana, Qatar, Germany, Belgium, France and more. Every continent is represented but there are only two offices in the Netherlands are affiliated, with Vermetten being the only full-service accountancy firm!”

Entrepreneurs are relieved

“Being affiliated with TGS means that we can support foreign entrepreneurs who want to do business in the Netherlands. The same applies to Dutch entrepreneurs who want to do business abroad. In cross-border cases, we provide advice and take on a variety of accountancy tasks. We relieve the entrepreneur of some of their worries. If a Dutch entrepreneur wants to open a new business location in Spain, we will work with the Spanish accountancy firm that is affiliated with TGS Network. This Spanish firm can then handle many of the financial, legal and fiscal issues for the entrepreneur. They’ll help the entrepreneur with the start-up of a local company, payroll administration, drawing up annual accounts, tax returns and more. Much more. All complicated or risky matters associated with doing international business can be taken care of.”

Impact of COVID-19 and Brexit

“International travel is currently restricted due to COVID-19. Travel from some countries is temporarily not permitted, which has also affected international business. I’ve noticed that some SME entrepreneurs have put international business on hold and it’s had a major impact. Hopefully, this pandemic will be over in the course of 2021 and normal business can resume. Brexit will also have a huge impact. For example, we receive various questions from accountancy firms in the United Kingdom whose customers want to continue to do business with the Netherlands and Europe after Brexit, and they are investigating the possibilities of opening a branch in the Netherlands. The same applies to Dutch entrepreneurs. They want to know what will change if they wish to continue doing business with the United Kingdom.”

Conferences with members of TGS

TGS Global holds two conferences every year. These multi-day conferences are always held in different locations, such as Paris, New York, Milan, Shanghai and Amsterdam. During these conferences new members are introduced, new developments are shared, international laws and regulations are discussed and automation solutions are shared. It’s all really interesting! The social aspect is particularly important. It enables us to really get to know the contact persons of the affiliated accountancy firms. This is very valuable; if you want to contact an accountancy firm from Australia or France for a client, then you immediately know who to contact.