Questions about starting a side-business in NL (e-commerce, publishing, tax, UK)

[olly1212]

Hey everyone,

I have several questions (sorry for the long post) but I am looking for some advice after hours and hours of Googling.

 

Taxes/VAT/Dropshipping

I am currently employed (0.8fte) and work around 8-10 hours a week on a side business (registered as a ZZP already). It is a publishing company and soon to be web-shop. I am currently publishing books on Amazon and other online retail platforms however, in the near future, I would like to do short-run printing: meaning printing the books, working with wholesalers and distributors both within and outside the EU. Furthermore, I also want to sell artwork in the forms of posters and other accessories. Do you know what & how it works with the VAT? Is it something I would need to charge on every product I sell? And if I use other online platforms such as Shopify, Amazon etc., then do they do this for me? I am looking into setting up the KOR-small business scheme, but not sure how it works. Also, as I want to ship worldwide, I don't know if it's too complicated to set this up myself now or just use other platforms (dropshipping).. If anyone has any experience with this, it would be very much appreciated!

 

Currently, I do not have any income as I am only starting but I want to start correctly, and expect to earn only a few thousand a year so I want to keep my outgoings as small as possible. Also, is it necessary to open a business bank account or for such small amounts, do you think I can open a private account?
Also, in terms of taxes - I know I need to declare my income every quarter and every year - however will this impact my taxes on my full-time job? Or it's seen as 2 separate things? Do you know the minimum amount you need to earn before you are taxed as a small business?

 

Legal

Furthermore, as we are making contracts between authors and artists, I don't have any legal protection. I know taking out a B.V is very expensive and complicated therefore, I was wondering if you knew how to protect myself/what insurances I need to take out? Also, regarding contracts - I need a 'business address' but do not want to provide my home one. Is it possible to 'buy' or rent an address (like a PO box in the UK for e.g.,)? Also when making the contract, I need to include 'dispute settlement' clauses etc., - is this something I need to get verified by a lawyer? If anyone has experience or even some contacts to reach out to, again very much appreciated :) 

 

Business in UK

Also, as my family is in the UK - I would like to also set things up there locally: selling books etc., I already have a bank account and a registered address for the business in the UK (as I set it up when I was on holiday there) however, now I have decided to 'officially' register it in the NL where I live. So, does anyone know if it's possible to also work in the UK? In the future, I would love to work with wholesalers/distributors there and it would make a lot of sense for me to do it directly from there instead of the EU. As a side note, I am working together with my mum (who lives in UK) although she is registered only under her name as a self-employed but perhaps it can work? 

 

Finally, if you maybe don't know the answers but know where you can point me to, I would highly appreciate it! Thank you :)

19 oktober 2022 aangepast door olly1212
Added to the title

[Joost Rietveld]

Dear Olly, welcome to the forum.

 

As is the case with all starting entrepreneurs: you really need to be able to figure things out yourself. In your post you are basically asking the forum to write a big chunk of your business plan. Information about most of your questions is readily available on this Dutch government website. 

 

Having read your questions I sincerely wonder if you are doing the right thing by wanting to start this business. Your fiscal and legal issues and risks are cross border into different jurisdictions. You have to draw up contracts with copyright holders and you are asking if you need a lawyer? Of course you do! It would be foolish to go about copying and pasting together your own contracts if you don’t have a legal background. 

 

The fiscal and legal risks far outweigh your possible profits if your business remains a few thousand euro per year. I think the catch phrase: go big or go home applies here. Either get funding and invest in serious legal and fiscal advice, or best not to start at all. Not meaning to lower your spirits, but if you want to take on international selling and shipping be prepared to invest in it.

 

best of luck

Joost