leuce (Mar 31 2011, 11:50 AM) said: > original post
G'day everyone

I'm a ZZP'er and my administration is a mess. I desperately need a bookkeeper and someone to design my office administration. Well, "design" is a big word, but basically I'm not doing any bookkeeping right now, and I need to have administration in place.

I'm a freelance translator and all of my services are via the internet. I would pay very little VAT because virtually all of my clients are non-EU. My biggest nightmare is knowing what to keep track of.

Does anyone know of someone (preferably who speaks or understands English) in Apeldoorn or surrounding areas who can do bookkeeping for a ZZP'er?

Thanks
Samuel

Hello there. I'm afraid I cannot help you with your main question, where to find a bookkeeper in your area. I can though, refer you to a resource in relation to your not knowing what to keep track of:
www.lancelots.nl
It touches on (in detail) all the different aspects of freelancing in NL, also regarding administration requirements by the Belastingdienst. It's in Dutch of course but perhaps you can manage, between your Dutchie and your Afrikaans. The requirements for administration are not all too complicated by the way (I'm a freelance translator also); I myself use two Excel files, an invoice/payments log and a daily activity file (to keep track of the invested hours requirement needed to maintain full-time status). But perhaps your problem is purely that you don't have the time for it, hence the need for a bookkeeper. If you DO have some time though, on a weekend perhaps (foreign term for a freelance translator), I'd suggest you try to take care of it yourself in one fell swoop (your backlog), and then try to keep track of it daily/weekly. The time you spend on your administration does after all contribute towards your invested hours total. But again, perhaps you just don't have the time so this may be redundant.
You mentioned that you invoice very little VAT - know that (you may already know that) you'll be exempt from paying BTW if you don't expect to accumulate more than 1,345 euros worth of BTW by the end of the year, though you will have to file for BTW as normal.

Hey there, Janet. I've had an eenmanszaak myself since last year, but haven't actually ever written off any investments yet from my tax dues. It does seem unlikely though, that you'd be able to write anything significant off if you only made 300 last year. I'd call the Belastingdienst to make sure, can't hurt.

I DO know though that you will be entitled to get the BTW back that you paid for 2010 - if the total of your (invoiced) BTW is less than 1,345 euros, you do not have to pay the BD that 19% (can get it all refunded, assuming you've already paid it).

I'm not too familiar with the rules for the inkomstenbelasting aangifte - I wasn't 'invited' to do them this year, apparently on account of my relatively meager earnings last year. I always assumed that inkomstenbelasting aangifte was always mandatory, but apparently not when your income is below a certain level - I wonder if that might apply to you too.

I'd call the Belastingdienst about these points, and also look at this website (in Dutch): http://www.lancelots.nl/. It has specific info regarding freelance work in NL, also about taxes.

paper_eater (Mar 8 2011, 02:47 PM) said: > original post
Thanks for the translated version and the things I should watch out.
definitely it seems really daunting to attempt this full-time status and attempt to prove it all.
my current job at an art space requires me to get this VAR-WUO so that I can invoice them. when I first applied for the VAR. I described my activity as administrative en creatieve werkzaamheden in kunstsector.

just a question if I put myself down as a kunstenaar, does it matter if the assignments I get are more administrative?

and i guess some of the questions i may have answered "wrong" would be
3a)minder dan 10,000euro

4g)Ja. (Since I am working at their premises as an administrative personel...)

as for income taxes, aren't there any waivers if one earns under a stipulated income...?

thanks once again!

Mmm, not sure whether you should put yourself down as a kunstenaar or administratieve dienstverlener, I guess whichever of the two you'll be doing the most. I don't know if it's better to use the one over the other on this one. It is true though of course that you have to be honest in your answers, so there aren't any real "wrong" answers. If you really expect to make less than 10,000 you should check that box (same as for question 4g). You may well still get a VAR-WUO back, based on the time you expect to invest maybe...

There are no waivers that I know of on the income tax (that's the problem if you're working part-time - you'll be earning less and will have to pay more tax on those earnings, less breaks), but there is an important waiver for the BTW - if your total invoiced BTW at the end of the year is less than 1,345 euros, then you get to keep your BTW, won't have to pay it back to the BD. If it's between 1,345 and 1,883 euros, you'll have to pay back only a part of it. If you really expect to make less than 10,000, then you´ll definitely be eligible for this break.

It is indeed true that the BD will assume what you’ve declared (estimated) in your VAR application. But they are of course aware that it’s a guesstimate since it’s your first year starting, they just want to be convinced that you’re serious about the venture, that you’ll invest time and even some money in it. I can’t say for sure what the consequence would be if, after the end of the year, they were to come to find out that you had only two clients for example, or made under 10,000 in 2011. I expect though, that if you were to get a VAR-ROW designation after all (in 2012, based on your income tax return) after first receiving a replacement VAR-WUO now, that you would then lose your tax discounts. To be eligible for discounts on the income tax, you need to be working full-time on your business (invest more than 1,225 hours this year) and you’ll have to keep accounts of your daily/weekly/monthly investment (in hours) and profits so that you can demonstrate these if audited (not likely). You are officially required though, to notify the BD of any changes in circumstances which may compromise your WUO status. These tax rules are not very attractive/are useless to part-time freelancers, and I know it can be daunting being forced to go full-time from the get-go so you don’t unnecessarily lose a bigger chunk of your earnings to taxes.
The following are the “expected” answers which the BD would like to see from entrepreneurs, as explained in Dutch on the link I gave. In your case, I’d advise you to pick out the questions “that you got wrong”, and explain to the BD in a motivated letter that your initial estimates were too modest in hindsight and that the designation of a WUO status is furthermore essential to your collaboration with your clients. Convince the BD man that you're serious – register at the KvK as soon as possible, also mention a website/gallery or any other form of advertisement and any other positives you can think of. Good luck.

2c. What designation do you think yourself you should get? – VAR-WUO.
2d. How many hours do you expect to invest? - 200 or more.
2e. How many assignors do you expect to have? - 3 or more.
2g. Can you outsource your work to a third party without the assignor’s permission? – Yes (because you’re independent).
2i. Are you liable if an assignor is not satisfied with your work? – Yes (you’re independent).
2j. No.
2k. No.
2l. No.
3a. How much do you expect to make from your freelance work this year – 10,000 or more.
3b. Do your assignors withhold income tax on your earnings? – No (you’re not an employee).
3c. Do your assignors continue to pay you when you’re sick – No.
3d. Are you required to follow all your assignors’ instructions? – NO. This is a very important point. You’re a freelancer and do not have any real obligations to the assignor.
3e. Do you expect to perform more than 70% of your work this year for a single assignor? – NO. Also very important.
4a. Do you send out invoices? – Yes.
4b. Do you advertise your work? – yes.
4c. Registered at the Kvk? – yes. Try to do this quickly (registration costs about 40 Euros).
4d. Do you employ others? – no.
4e. Have a btw number – yes.
4f. Do you expect to invest 2,500 or more? – best to choose yes in any case, it shows your entrepreneurial spirit. This is the main point of these answers, to convince the BD that you’re serious about your endeavour.
4g. Do you expect to perform your assignors’ work at their location? – no.
4h. Do you hold permits/certificates necessary for the performance of your work – preferably yes.

Another thing: Your VAR/full-time or part-time status relates to the income tax (inkomstenbelasting) but you will also need a BTW number. When you register at the KvK - which is apparently compulsary now - you'l get your KvK number and also a BTW number for the BD, which you'll need on your invoices.