It is essential for a non-resident entrepreneur to appoint a local director in the Netherlands for their company.
Entrepreneurs face basic but fundamental challenges when establishing a company in a new country due to their inexperience and unfamiliarity with local Company and Tax law. At best, these challenges slow down the business; at worst, they result in failures that have a significant negative impact on the company’s success.
Bolder Launch ensures that the businesses we assist in establishing are ready to operate and grow smoothly. As part of our commitment to providing added value to clients, we provide directorship services where we help our clients nominate and appoint a local director in the Netherlands.
It should be noted, though, that the term ‘nominee director’ can sometimes be misleading. Bolder Launch does not support traditional ‘nominee services,’ in which a director for a Netherlands business is appointed to simply follow the instructions of a beneficial owner (or even provide a general Power of Attorney).
This is no longer the case with directorship services. Instead, Bolder Launch provides professional and independent directorship services that comply with Dutch regulatory requirements for trust offices and tax purposes.
This service provides non-resident entrepreneurs with an experienced local director to ensure that they meet all mandatory compliance obligations in the Netherlands, have an authorized representative negotiate and sign necessary service agreements on their behalf, and have someone to assist with a variety of administrative duties.
With our Dutch Directorship service, you can focus on your core business priorities while we handle the day-to-day tasks.
Reasons to appoint a Dutch director
1. Meet Company Compliance Requirements
Certain legal structures require a formal ‘Secretary’ for incorporation purposes. Businesses can meet these requirements without appointing a local nominee director by appointing one of our Dutch directors, allowing them to retain full control of the company in the Netherlands.
2. Dealing Directly with Government Authorities
Your Dutch Director can be authorized to interact directly with various government agencies. They can apply to tax authorities for a VAT number or a social security number, as well as deal with immigration authorities for visa applications.
Where necessary, (local) representatives (not necessarily Directors) can be given authority to deal with the local Chamber of Commerce on your behalf. This makes it incredibly simple to arrange for share transfers, director changes, and other organizational changes. If traveling to the region is inconvenient for you and time is of the essence, which means sending notarized documents by courier isn’t an option, a Local Representative will be your best choice.
3. Provide an Authentic Local Image
Having a Dutch Director gives your company a real presence in the Netherlands because they will be visible in the extract of the Chamber of Commerce that is available for public review. If your customers or potential partners want to ensure that your company has legitimate local substance, they can rely on the extract to do so.
Not to mention, having a local representative who speaks the language and understands the intricacies of the business culture can ensure that customers and partners legitimately view your company as a local one.
4. Growing Your Business
As your company grows, you’ll need to consider expanding your team and possibly investing in real estate.
When it comes to finding and negotiating leases for a new office in the Netherlands, your Dutch Director can help. In some cases, having your representative sign the lease on your behalf can be advantageous because some landlords are hesitant to lease to non-residents.
With their local knowledge and business experience, they’ll also be well-positioned to create and publicise job postings for your company. That way, when the time comes, you’ll have a head start on finding the right people.
Does Appointing a Local Director Help to Open a Bank Account in The Netherlands?
To be clear, Bolder Launch does not offer Dutch Directorship services. However, our Group’s sister company (www.boldergroup.com) does, as it is regulated by the Dutch Central Bank.
Such services are highly regulated and necessarily require a thorough understanding of the company’s transactions. This means the ‘compliance’ requirements are quite stringent and costly in terms of both time and money.
When all (variable) expenses are considered, using a trust office to appoint a director in the Netherlands requires an annual budget of approximately 8.000- 10.000 EUR.
Having that said, opening a bank account may be beneficial. Particularly at online money institutions such as 3S Money and Alpha FX, with whom we have good relationships and who are familiar with our compliance procedures. They would charge a 2,000 EUR accounting opening fee.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Launch Crew.
