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Answers to the questions business owners ask us.

Practical articles on accounting, staff and tax. Backed by sources and written for business owners.

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Does a customer have a cooling-off period for a made-to-measure kitchen?

If a customer buys a kitchen in your showroom, there is no statutory cooling-off period. If you sell the kitchen at the customer's home or online, 14 days usually apply. That falls away for goods made to the customer's wishes that are not prefabricated. Whether a kitchen from standard cabinets counts has not been clearly decided by the courts.

28 October 20269 min read

Business advice home furnishings

The sofa is delivered late: can the customer cancel the purchase?

If you are late delivering a sofa, the customer usually may not cancel the purchase straight away. The customer must first give you a reasonable period to deliver after all, unless the date was essential. If you miss that period too, the customer may cancel and you repay everything received without delay.

28 October 20268 min read

Business advice home furnishings

How much of a deposit may you ask for a sofa or kitchen?

In a consumer sale you may require the customer to pay a deposit of at most half the price. If you put more in your general terms, that clause counts as unreasonably onerous. If customers want to pay more in advance themselves, that is allowed. If you are part of CBW-erkend, the maximum for kitchens is 15%. And in cash, the deposit and the rest together may not be € 3,000 or more.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice supermarkets

No tobacco, alcohol only under 15%: what can your shop still sell and what does a mistake cost?

A supermarket, late-night shop or corner shop that mainly sells food and drink may no longer sell tobacco, vapes or nicotine products since 1 July 2024. Without a licence you only sell drinks with less than 15% alcohol, in closed packaging. If you sell alcohol to someone under 18, the mayor can impose a fine, and after three times in 12 months a sales ban.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice supermarkets

What must the franchisor show you before you sign a franchise agreement?

Since 2021 the law sets out what a franchisor must give you before you sign: the draft contract, an overview of all fees and investments, and figures on the intended location or comparable shops. Four weeks of reflection follow. You must use that time yourself as well, because the law expects you to look into what you are signing.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice bakers and butchers

Registration, hygiene code and allergens: what does the NVWA check at a baker or butcher?

A baker or butcher must register every branch free of charge in MijnNVWA and confirm that registration every year. Anyone registered before 10 March 2026 must register again. During an inspection the NVWA checks whether you work with a hygiene code or your own HACCP plan, whether the premises are clean, whether temperatures are right and whether you inform customers about allergens. A one-hour reinspection with measures costs € 331.37 in 2026.

28 October 20268 min read

Business advice fashion

Shopkeepers' association and BIZ: what do you have to pay as a retailer, and what do you get for it?

A shopkeepers' association is voluntary, a BIZ is not. In a business investment zone the municipality levies a BIZ contribution on all businesses, based on the WOZ value, and passes the proceeds on as a grant to an association or foundation of the businesses. That is only allowed after a vote with enough support, and for no more than five years at a time.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice fashion

Do you buy clothing abroad yourself? Then you may be a producer under the textile EPR

The extended producer responsibility for textiles, the textile EPR, applies to whoever is the first to offer new clothing or household textiles in the Netherlands. If you buy from a Dutch wholesaler, you need do nothing. If you buy abroad yourself, you are an importer and therefore a producer. You then register with Rijkswaterstaat or join a producer responsibility organisation.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice online shops

Product safety (GPSR): what must be on your product page, and who is responsible in the EU?

The European General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) has applied since 13 December 2024 to consumer products that are not food. Your product page shows the manufacturer's name and address, details to identify the product and all warnings in a language the customer understands. If the manufacturer is outside the EU, the responsible person in the EU is shown too. If you buy outside the EU and the manufacturer has no authorised representative in the EU, that is you.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice online shops

What must your online shop show since 2026: withdrawal button, guarantee notice and accessibility?

In 2026 two rules were added for online shops. Since 25 June 2026 there must be a withdrawal button with which the customer can cancel the purchase without an account. Since 16 July 2026 you must show the European notice on the legal guarantee prominently, not only in your terms and conditions. In addition, accessibility rules have applied since 28 June 2025 to online shops with 10 or more people or more than € 2 million turnover.

28 October 20267 min read

Business advice retail

Sunday trading in your municipality: do you have to open, and do your staff have to work?

On Sundays a shop is closed, unless the municipal council grants an exemption. Even then, you decide whether to open. A landlord or retailers' association cannot change the opening hours without your express consent. Your staff only work on Sundays if it is in their contract and part of the job, or if they consent.

28 October 20268 min read

Business advice retail

Renting shop premises: what does the law say about the term, termination and rent increases?

If you rent a shop, the law gives you a five-year lease that is extended by five years automatically. You can only terminate at the end of a term, with at least one year's notice. The landlord has to state the reason and, without your consent, go to court. In the meantime the rent only rises if the lease says so.

28 October 20269 min read

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