Hospitality. Your place is busy, your figures are in order.
For restaurants, cafés, hotels and caterers that are growing, from 1 to 25 people. 9% and 21% VAT on one bill, tips, the till, young staff and the hospitality cao: Alvelion handles the accounting around it.
Request an introductory meetingJust started? Read this firstWhat does hospitality cover?
Businesses that offer food, drink or a place to stay. From snack bar to hotel, from café to event caterer.
We follow the classification of Statistics Netherlands: SBI 2025, divisions 55 (accommodation) and 56 (food and beverage). Restaurants are 56.11.1, fast food and cafeterias 56.11.2, cafés and bars 56.30.0, event catering 56.21.0 and hotels 55.10.
The Netherlands has more than 81,000 hospitality businesses, half of them without staff. Growing means rosters, young staff, tips, a till that keeps everything and a cao. That is where we help.
Where things go wrong in hospitality
Do you recognise one of these situations? Then your accounting needs attention.
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One rate for a package
An overnight stay has been 21% since 1 January 2026, breakfast 9%. An all-in price must be split by the value of each part. Wine with dinner stays at 21%, also in a package. One rate on everything is almost never right.
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Card tips mixed with sales
Tips that come in by card land in your account. Keep them separate from sales and show that everything goes to the staff. Then you pay no VAT and no payroll tax on them. If you pay less than the cao wage, tips still count as wages.
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A till that doesn't keep everything
The Tax Administration wants to see all till data, including open tables, corrections, tips and the training mode. Summarising is not allowed. If anything is missing, you have to prove yourself during an audit that your sales are right.
With your accounting in order, you know per bill which VAT you charge, where the tips go and what you set aside for wages, rent and tax.
At the table and behind the scenes
At the table
Is the bill right?
Food and soft drinks 9%, alcohol 21%, the room 21%. Your till adds up the VAT per rate and keeps everything. You may put tourist tax separately on the bill.
Behind the scenes
Are roster and pay right?
The hospitality cao, young staff with their own working hours, on-call workers and a PH&C pension from age 18. On 1 January 2027 the youth minimum wage rises extra.
We link till, card payments and bank to your accounts, so every day balances.
How Alvelion handles the figures of your hospitality business
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Getting to know you and setting up
We look at what you sell, how you take payment and with which people. We set up your accounting, VAT codes and the link with the till accordingly.
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Keeping up to date
Till, card payments, purchases and bank are processed continuously. Every month you see your sales, purchases and staff costs as a share of sales.
Every month
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Payroll and tax returns
Payslips, payroll tax returns and VAT returns go out on time, with the hospitality cao, youth wages, tips and the PH&C pension processed correctly.
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Looking ahead
A second place, an added terrace or getting through the quiet months? We work out in advance what it means, also for paying off an old tax debt.
You work with one dedicated contact who knows your business, not a changing team or a general helpdesk.
Where Alvelion helps your hospitality business
From till to figures
Till, card payments and purchases are processed continuously, with the right VAT per rate and tips kept separate from sales.
Go to online bookkeepingStaff on the payroll
Payslips and payroll tax returns, with the hospitality cao, youth wages, on-call staff and the PH&C pension processed correctly.
Go to payroll administrationMargin per plate and per glass
We show which share of your sales goes to purchases, staff and rent, and where to adjust. Every month.
Go to financial insightThrough the quiet months
A monthly cash flow forecast, with the season, rent and the repayment of a COVID tax debt.
Go to cash flow forecastLease, permits and terms
Lease, rent increase, transfer of the business or general terms for groups and catering. Our own legal team helps you.
Go to legal adviceGrowing with figures
A second place, a kitchen refit or a BV. We work out in advance whether it fits and what it brings in.
Go to SME advice and coachingStaff on the payroll
Hospitality cao for employers
Hiring a cook, waiting staff or a dishwasher? Choose skilled or non-skilled, the job and the age, and you get an employment contract with the right monthly wage, never below the minimum wage, probation, notice period and chain rule. With the wage table, job grading with 207 reference functions, staff letters and what an employee costs you.
Make an employment contractWhat the till keeps tonight, you don't have to explain later.
Your place and your figures with one team
Knows the rules in hospitality
VAT at 9% and 21%, accommodation and packages, tips, the till, young staff and the hospitality cao: we know the rules that apply to hospitality.
Wages straight into your figures
Payroll and bookkeeping run side by side. That way you see every month which share of your sales goes to staff.
One contact
Bookkeeping, payroll and advice with the same dedicated team.
“A pleasant accounting firm, always helped in a friendly way and everything is arranged neatly.”
Mike M., October 2026 (translated from Dutch)
“Up and running quickly, and clear replies.”
Erik, October 2026 (translated from Dutch)
Frequently asked questions
Food and non-alcoholic drinks are 9%, also for takeaway. Alcoholic drinks are 21%. An overnight stay has been 21% since 1 January 2026. If you sell a package for one price, split it by the value of each part. In doubt? Ask us before you put the prices on the menu.
Usually not. Tips that guests give and that go to the staff through a tip pool, also when they come in by card, do not count as wages you pay. If you pay less than the wage under the hospitality cao, the difference does count as wages. Keep tips separate from sales in your till and accounts.
Tips are always voluntary. You may charge service costs if the guest knows in advance, but then they are sales: you pay VAT on them and they are not tips for the staff.
The Tax Administration wants to see all data from the till, including open tables, corrections, returns, tips and the training mode. Summarising or deleting is not allowed, and you keep everything for 7 years. Choose a till that can do this, and link it to your accounts.
The hospitality cao of KHN, De Horecabond and CNV. It is generally binding until 31 December 2026, so it also applies if you are not a member. A new cao from 1 January 2027 is being negotiated. Contract catering has its own cao. The pension runs through PH&C, compulsory from age 18.
Young people of 16 and 17 may work until 23.00. Under 16 they may not work where alcohol is served, in the kitchen they may. Serving alcohol is allowed from age 16. Also watch the youth wages: they rise extra on 1 January 2027.
If you serve alcohol, you need a licence under the Alcohol Act, with managers listed on the annex. Without such a manager on the premises you may not open. The municipality also often requires an operating licence and, for a terrace, a terrace permit, with an integrity check.
The standard payment arrangement for many COVID tax debts ends on 1 October 2027. If you can't make it, you can ask for an extension to 1 October 2029 if the debt is €10,000 or more. Make a cash flow forecast now, so you know in time what you need.
The ban on cash payments of €3,000 or more has applied since 2026 to traders in goods. A meal or overnight stay is a service, so it does not apply there. Still, paying by bank is safest for large amounts, also because European rules set limits for service providers from 10 July 2027.
Further reading
All articlesReady to grow your hospitality business further?
Tell us how your business runs now. We deliberately work with a limited number of clients. That is why we first look together at whether we are a good fit. You'll hear back within one working day.
Request an introductory meeting