What it actually looks like to hire a Dutch freelance developer from abroad

The footer of this site has a small wall of unfamiliar Dutch business terms in it — KvK number, BTW number, eenmanszaak. None of it is complicated once explained, but I'd rather explain it upfront than have it be a source of hesitation for someone reaching out from outside the Netherlands.

What "eenmanszaak" means for you

RG Digital is a Dutch sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) — legally, that's me, personally, doing business under a trade name. It's registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK, number 97419575) and has a Dutch VAT number (NL005268653B64). For a client, practically, that means one point of contact, one person accountable for the work, and a real registered business behind the invoice — not a shell, not a marketplace listing.

Invoicing across the EU

If your business is VAT-registered in another EU country, invoices to you are typically zero-rated for Dutch VAT under the EU reverse-charge mechanism — you self-account for VAT on your end, I don't add Dutch BTW to the invoice. If you're outside the EU, similar zero-rating usually applies for services. This isn't tax advice for your specific situation, but it's the normal, unremarkable shape of cross-border B2B services within the EU, and it's exactly why "based in the Netherlands" doesn't mean "only works with Dutch clients."

Contracts and liability

Working with a sole trader doesn't mean working without a contract. Every project starts with a written agreement covering scope, payment terms, and IP transfer — under Dutch law by default, though this is a starting point for discussion, not a take-it-or-leave-it clause. Custom code built specifically for you transfers to you on full payment; anything that's genuinely a reusable tool or library stays mine to reuse on other projects, the same way most software consultancies handle it.

Time zone and communication

Central European Time, generally available weekday mornings through late afternoon (Amsterdam hours). For clients in the UK that's a one-hour overlap shift; for US clients it means mornings-your-time tend to be the reliable overlap window. None of this is unusual for remote work — I mention it only because "based in the Netherlands" sometimes reads as more exotic or complicated than it actually is for someone hiring from London, Berlin, or New York.

The short version

Hiring me works the same as hiring any independent developer: a conversation, a written scope, an invoice, a deliverable. The Dutch business terminology in the footer is just the paperwork behind that — not a barrier, and not something you need to understand before reaching out.

Questions about how a cross-border engagement would actually work for your business? Ask directly — that's a much faster path to an answer than guessing from a footer.